BALIBO
HHHH
Director: Robert Connolly
Starring: Anthony LaPaglia, Oscar Isaac, Bea Viegas
Review by Adam Brunes
Every so often we are reminded of cinema’s potential to at once entertain, inform and inspire. Australian writer/director Robert Connolly’s political thriller Balibo has such power, shedding light on war crimes that have been covered up for more than 30 years. Boldly political and unashamedly provocative, it tells the true story of 1975 and the murder of five Australian journalists in East Timor in the lead-up to the invasion by Indonesia.
In November 1975, four weeks after five journalists are reported missing in East Timor, veteran Australian foreign correspondent Roger East (LaPaglia) is approached by 25-year-old José Ramos-Horta (Isaac) and offered a job as head of East Timor’s news agency. Refusing to accept the official reports that his colleagues were killed in crossfire, East sees the job as an opportunity to uncover the truth and travels with Ramos-Horta to East Timor. Intercut with their journey is the story of how the five Australian journalists, four weeks earlier, made their way to Balibo determined to film the impending Indonesian invasion. Although confusion results from these recurrent time leaps which tends to weaken emotional engagement, this truly is inspired filmmaking. The Indonesian assault is particularly compelling and marks one of the most shattering finales in Australian film history.
The magnificence of a film like Balibo is that it engages a new audience who knows nothing of this extraordinary piece of history. Regardless of historical knowledge, it is impossible not to feel immense shame and guilt for the Australian Government’s abandonment of East Timor at a time when the people so obviously needed international support. Even more powerful, though, is the feeling of extraordinary pride for the Balibo Five who rushed to East Timor’s side when the rest of the world turned their backs. While Balibo’s identity struggle between cinema and documentary is trying, it represents an important story and one that demands to be told.
WHEN: Screening from Thursday Aug 13