1993
Writer /Director: John
Tatoulis
Also stars: Caroline Goodall as Elyne Mitchell and Amiel Daemion
as Indi Mitchell
It is awfully easy to complain about
Russell's lack of screen time in this movie, but at least
he is pivotal to the plot and is the most sympathetic villian
you are ever likely to encounter. Unless you've seen "Romper
Stomper", that is. Amazing how he can inject humanity and
vulnerability into any character. (I know, don’t digress.
OK, I’m not up to reviewing RS.) The difference here is
that the character in Brumby is written sympathetically.
I have seen so many movies in which the man chasing the
wild horse is mean, evil, wicked, and rotten. This man just
really loves horses. You would think that without a name
or very much human interaction, the character would be bland
or boring. Not
bloody likely. His passion and obsession for capturing the
wild horse are expressed without words. (And how many times,
in more complex movies, have reviewers said exactly the
same thing about this actor.) Russell shares a lot more
screen time with critters than people and he delivers lines
to dogs, horses, and cows as if they were, okay, not quite
Al Pacino, but, I had the impression they were paying darn
near as much attention to him as the average human actor.
He had their attention and mine. The other major character
is Australia, the land, the trees, the mountains. The cinematography
is magnificent and the landscape is viewed through all seasons
and in all weathers. (Hey, it's a Russell Crowe movie, it
has to rain on him sometime.) The filmmakers should have
gotten a nice stipend from the Australian Tourist Commission.
To give you an idea of whether or not you might want to
give this movie a go, my friends who liked “Gladiator” thought
it was too slow and my friends who liked “Proof” loved it.
If you enjoy Russell’s work, you will enjoy it, but you
might use the fast forward button a bit. You have my permission.
Rated:
five crowes
~jan
Thanks to the Crowe
Slide Shows site for the screen captures! |