The Furnace

This film captures a side to West Australian history I've not seen in a film before, beautifully told with a narrative that pays homage to the traditional owners of this land, their languages and customs. A really fascinating story that had me gripped from the first scene!!!

The story, set in stunning locations, is always intense, moving and suspanceful, from beginning to end, with many highlights. Through its harsh landscapes, rough characters, tough stories, perfectly represented and real, 'The Furnace' moves you, remains in your heart, gets you thinking, instills hope. The film brings to light a piece of Australian history, example of inclusion and humility, and treats important issues that must be a warning to people today. Intelligent and sensitive direction and cast are visibly very involved. I haven't seen a film in a long time that has moved me so much. Grateful to have had the chance to see it at Venice Biennale. A must see.

I went to the limited screening of The Furnace at Perth to watch it from the perspective of Sikh community, but I ended up forgetting that and got immersed into the film's astonishing narrative. In my opinion there is something for everyone in this film, a weekend watcher will enjoy the quest side of it, a regular watcher will enjoy the exposition of characters without need of too many dialogues, the acting, the beautiful pace of the film and an avid watcher will end up finding a lot of subtle touches within the film like the significance of the dates and the fallen tree.

Roderick is the director and writer of the film and to me that is the most beautiful arrangement. To him I say, keep making movies. Nothing that he creates in future will be dull or lazy. This film could have gone wrong at so many points, but it's very finely put together. It clearly shows that Roderick understands the pitfalls of lazy writing and how Hollywood ruins beautiful constructed plots by giving into establishing larger than life characters or clichéd plot devices. None of that here.

A word has to be said about the editing and the soundtrack of the film. Editing is so subtle, so gentle and well done that it is pretty much a lesson in how to pace a slow burner. A plot like this usually suffers from unnecessary exposition and long monologues or the lack of them and long cinematic shots which try to create importance of the narrative by trying to convince you that this is an important and serious work of art (The Grey comes to mind) - pretty much spoon feeding the viewer. But in The Furnace, the editor balanced the film so well that in my opinion a lot of big budget Hollywood films can learn a lot from it.

And of course, the reason why I was invited by one of my mates to go to this screening. The film is historically quite accurate. Sikhs and Muslims have been part of the Australian outback longer than many could imagine. Their stories, rituals and routines are nicely interwoven into the fabric of the film. The turbans are accurate (for once). Many a times I've been pissed at the ready made look of Sikh turbans but in the Furnace, they are proper. Being a Sikh I can say, yes, that is us.

Well done. It's so fulfilling to see Australian cinema coming into its own. It's a film that me, a Sikh and an Australian, is proud of.

While this film grabs you with its excellent performances, stunning landscapes and suspenseful, action-packed storyline, the real beauty of it lies in the way the experiences of so many diverse cultures battling to survive such a harsh environment are so intelligently and empathetically drawn. It was wonderful to watch a movie that worked so well on so many levels and left me thinking about it for days. I even went back and watched it a second time so I could take it all in. I learnt something about a relatively little known part of our history and the messages contained in 'The Furnace' still resonate today.

This is not a typical western movie, so if you are looking for shootings and horse chases you are in the wrong place. The western story part is just used to show the personal journey of the young Afghan cameeler Hanif and an excuse to show a part of Australian history that risks not to be told. Three highlights that make The Furnace a worth watching movie: 1 - Maleck's acting chops: this is his first gig in the international movie world and he did a wonderful job showing his internal suffering and emotions. All the actors are well casted and invested in the story. 2 - Stunning landscape: this movie needs an award for photography 3 - the representation of "fathers and son" relationship and the father-like figure. Blessed to have seen the premiere in the wonderful location of La Biennale in Venice