Van Diemen's Land

It definitely worth watching! It is a film that reveals the evil side of the humanity, but because it is not an action film or a romantic film, so i give it 8/10. Also, the reflection on humanity disgusted me and which define the film as a thriller. It is a good opportunity to know the history by watching this film, and to think about what action we would take if we were in that position, deeply review ourselves.

It's based on a true story. The music, cinematography and the acting was superb. I love this movie, the bleakness, the nature..it's really interesting to see something darker about human nature.if you want something fun then this movie isn't for you. The music when the credits roll...outstanding! I never written a review before nor will it probably help you in anyway but it justifies that how much i love this movie.

sorry for my bad English

Despite moving at a slow pace and sometimes lacking in exposition, Van Diemen's Land is an impressive film. The story of Alexander Pearce's escape, along with 7 other convicts is gut-wrenching, especially when we take into account it is inspired by a true story (to which extent, we may never know).

As soon as the movie begins, you are hit by jaw-dropping cinematography that definitely takes you in this very different place and time. Silences and sounds are used to good effect and the minimalist score is wonderful yet bleak. The movie does not rely on much dialogue and at times, suffers a little from this

The characters are very life-like, even if they aren't sketched very clearly to start. You learn who these men are and what each is capable of over the course of the movie, which becomes increasingly bleak and permeated with a strange sense of evil. Not a cartoonish Hollywood-like evil but rather, the terrible things men can do and the group dynamics displayed when acts of cruelty are done.

The narration by the character Pearce did not work all that well for me, and the movie felt a tad long to me due to its slow pace but this was an uneasy viewing. The genre listed on IMDb is "thriller" but this felt much more like a very, very gruesome drama. This is a film bordering on horror themes. Do not expect flashy scenes of action and clear cut good guys against bad guys.

Worthwhile, even if somewhat depressing

The film is probably realistic, but would have been better as a shorter documentary.

The Tasmanian bush in winter looks dark and foreboding, and the convicts are a pretty uninspiring lot, divided between the Irish and English. The pace is slow, the killings brutal and none of the convicts are very likeable.

While it successfully recreates the awful experience these men went through, it is too dour to be good cinema.

Grim. Relentless. Unsettling. Frightening even. This film leaves nobody sitting comfortably whilst they watch it.

This is 'us' when the thin veneer of being 'civilized' is stripped away. When all that Life has left you is no future, a few rags and a brutalized nature then the consequences can reach unfathomable depths.

I've read some of the negative reviews for this film and can understand it when viewers who watch 'sanitized' Technicolor visions of what are classed as the 'norm'…that is their benchmark and they don't like concepts that stray beyond that. But when one has watched unglamourous brutality and emotions in such good, raw films like Saving Private Ryan, Last of the Mohicans, Apocolypta, Fateless and the superb Kokoda, then one can appreciate what this true-life film was trying to achieve.

There are no heroes in this film…and no villains, just survivalists. From the uniformed officers and men posted to what seemed a god-forsaken land, to the convicts they had control of, they all had one thing in common…the desire not to be there!

I'll not watch this film again for a couple of months as I'd like my senses to be on an even keel next time, but already I'm looking forward to it.