imageWe are all too familiar with ‘issue’ films that follow a white, western protagonist into a troubled developing country (El Salvador, The Constant Gardener, Blood Diamond, The Last King of Scotland). We associate with the moral outrage of the bystander, raging against the apathy of the rest of the world, who ignore the harsh and chaotic brutality. Australian film, Balibo, has received a lot of press, bringing attention to the killing of five journalists in 1975 and the cover-up that followed. The film is political, its purpose to inform and rally. Unapologetically Australian focused, Balibo is concerned with a very small period of time, in what was a long struggle to independence for East Timor. After watching Balibo you should be furious that the truth has been unacknowledged for so long. Balibo should be just the start though, because if we are exploring Australia and East Timor’s relationship, then there is so much more to be angry about.
Click here to read my full article at Onya
