Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16834 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-09-17
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 124 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
With its subdued emotional tone and superbly subtle performances, Jindabyne is the kind of film you have to be in the right mood for. If you get onto its low-key but ultimately powerful wavelength, you'll find much to admire in this Australian adaptation of Raymond Carver's short story "So Much Water So Close to Home." The same story (available in the Carver collection What We Talk About When We Talk About Love) was previously adapted as a segment of Robert Altman's Short Cuts, but here it's been given a decidedly indigenous spin, focusing on the emotional fallout that occurs when four men discover the half-naked body of a 19-year-old Aboriginal woman while fishing in a remote river near their home town of Jindabyne, on the border of outback country in New South Wales. Stewart (Gabriel Byrne) was the one who discovered the body on a sunny Friday afternoon, but he and his buddies didn't report their discovery until two days later, resulting in a local news scandal and deep resentments from the Aboriginal locals.

Worse yet, the incident dredges up a storm of emotions in Stewart's wife, Claire (Laura Linney), who's still recovering from a marital separation and post-partum depression following the birth of their young son. Simmering guilt, familial tensions, and strained friendships threaten to tear these residents of Jindabyne apart, and director Ray Lawrence (making only his third film since 1985's Bliss and 2001's underrated Lantana) does a remarkable job of exploring mysteries of human behavior that are slowly resolved as the drama unfolds. Jindabyne is not the kind of film one watches for light entertainment--its deliberate pacing and deep-rooted themes must be appreciated with careful attention--but it's a mature and richly observant study of people in crisis, whether they're aware of it or not, or even ready to admit it. --Jeff Shannon

Synopsis
While on his annual fishing trip with friends, Stewart (Gabriel Byrne) discovers a dead woman (Tatea Reilly) floating in a mountain river. Deciding that there's nothing they can do to help her at this point, Stewart, Carl (John Howard), Rocco (Stelios Yiakmis), and Billy (Simon Stone) continue their weekend, calling the police only after they've finished fishing and come down from the mountain. When they return to their small town of Jindabyne in New South Wales, they're surprised when their families and the community treat them with anger and hostility for their selfish, callous behavior. Stewart's wife, Claire (Laura Linney), is particularly disillusioned, calling into question her entire relationship with Stewart and their young son, Tom (Sean Rees-Wemyss), who himself has been getting into dangerous situations hanging around with a slightly older, troubled girl, Caylin-Calandria (Eva Lazzaro). And tensions are even higher because the murdered woman was a member of a nearby Aboriginal community, sparking cries of racism. Inspired by the Raymond Carver short story 'So Much Water So Close To Home', JINDABYNE was written by playwright Beatrix Christian and directed with a subtle elegance by Ray Lawrence (BLISS, LANTANA). The film features gorgeous cinematography by David Williamson and outstanding performances all around. JINDABYNE touches on themes such as family, murder, abandonment, racism, faith, and redemption, but, at its heart, it's about the everyday choices people make in life--and how they live with the consequences.

Customer Reviews

P.S. Don't miss this movie.
The premise of the film is that a moral dilema is created by the delayed reporting a of crime. That idea is that mixing this with quasi-religious themes and small town issues makes a compelling film is a horribly flawed concept. Long drawn out scenes do not in themselves create atmosphere or make a poor script at all interesting. I also agree that the sound track makes some of the dialogue impossible to hear (having to replay parts to try to understand what is being said doesn't make for a pleasant experience). The landscape is the most interesting element of the film - so if you like landscape, solid acting, but a totally unbelievable plot...don't miss this film!

WORKS FOR ME
If you possibly can, try to see this film before you read much in the way of reviews or other commentary that might give away too much of the story. I was lucky enough to do this, and now after seeing a selection of opinions I feel fairly certain that I had the chance to get the best out of it.

By this I imply no criticism whatsoever of any reviews that I have since read. Favourable and unfavourable alike, they have provided me with many helpful insights. However what they make me think is that the extent to which you are likely to enjoy this film, and the rating you are liable to give it, are going to depend on your temperament much more than on your rational faculties, ordinary day-to-day standards, education or even moral values. Just let it take you by surprise if you still can. For my part, I'm not sure that it is like anything I ever saw before.

The filming and camera work seem to get plaudits from nearly everyone, so let me join in that chorus. The scenery is simply gorgeous, and the close-up filming of the actors is adroitly and perceptively handled. The effect of mystery and of uncertainty regarding what it is all going to be about is quite extraordinarily well suggested in the opening sequences. After the sinister first episode it all moves slowly for a while, and the air of menace is retained without being reinforced explicitly. That, I would say, is largely to the credit of the camera crew. They never seem to miss a chance, as for example when there is a brief appearance (never explained or followed up) of a dubious-looking stranger approaching the little boy on the beach. Effective in the extreme - it made me catch my breath, although it is a long time since my children were that age and I had to worry about that sort of thing. I might even say that one of the few criticisms I have of Jindabyne concerns this side of things, the side that nearly everyone agrees to be outstandingly good. There are a great many themes and issues (too many for some critics) in the film, and I felt on a couple of occasions that the camera angles were seeming to suggest `meaningfulness' and `significance' when in fact nothing much came of it. It could be that I was missing something, of course.

The `story', insofar as there is one, is a kind of `moral maze'. It is inviting us at every stage to sit in judgment on the characters. The startpoint is an unbelievably crass piece of disrespectful insensitivity by the four male leads. From there on it is nothing so simple as just people's reactions, (and of course their own), because we have to discover and take into account where the main actors are coming from in their lives up to that point. We are also made to endure some wince-making exhibitions of people's inability to communicate, and I for one was left wondering whether that might have been the main unifying thread of the narrative. The various subplots are woven together very well, I thought, and not badly acted either, but the general impression is rather like the impact of the music of Delius - much more atmosphere than structure. I love Delius myself, and I loved this film. However I can perfectly well understand the point of view of those who like neither, so not knowing which category you come into I can't say whether this film is likely to be your kind of thing. It is nothing if not original, and as I said already I don't recall anything really like it. One touch was completely superb, and I should be surprised if anyone at all disagrees - after wringing out our capacity for judgments and moral assessments, the film ends by abruptly reminding us that what we have been agonising over is in fact a rather minor misdemeanour in comparison with the major atrocity that nobody has seemingly been able to spare a thought for.

A really very good film
Like a lot people I thought about this film for a few days after. I saw that the film is special as it was filmed completely with natural light and technically it is beautiful to look at. What struck me was the portrail of the Aborigines. The white people were portrayed with the usual flaws plus supersitions etc, ie praying to St Bridget to proctect the house, brewing home brew and drinking and fighting and it was the aboriginal people who were protrayed with great dignity. The difference between the different cultures was captured well especially at the memorial ceremony. It really hit the mark. This was the subtle point of the film and I would recommend everyone, especially Australians, to see it. This is not a thriller, horror movie or particularly scarey but there is a message there for all Australians to ponder on.