Balibo (2009)

a film about East Timor. only at first sigh. in fact, a film about basic values of humanity.piece of a large and painful chronicle but, in same measure, a warning. its virtue - it can be more than picture of a case. it is an artistic form of testimony and the beauty and force of images are remarkable. but, in same measure, it is an honest manifesto about media role in political crisis, about sufferance, about the other. and this fact define it in same measure than nuances of performance - Anthony LaPaglia does an impressive role who represents mirror of a cruel reality. A film about essence of a world. not only a territory from Asia but remember of fight for liberty and respect in each part of world, of each period.

I wish I knew the names of every single person whose unwarranted death is represented by this film. To honor them. To remember. Instead, we do have this version of a story, which in itself is a stark reminder of the horror of the Indonesian invasion of East Timor. Intelligent viewers are usually fully aware that any film cannot possibly contain all the details, nuances and even accuracies of a great story. The film does more than merely insinuate the negligence of Australia, the US, and so forth, though some could miss this altogether.Those of us who were the same age as the journalists around which the story focuses have been well-trained to read between the lines, or view between the frames as it were. So, you can view this as a suspenseful tale half-told, or whatever you wish. All war is atrocious. Here, one seemingly small story resonates through the decades, enough to make us want to know more. Hopefully stories like this will help prevent the world sitting idly by as similar atrocities continue elsewhere. Peace. (Would it could occur everywhere.) Mr. LaPaglia brings a wealth of understanding and compassion to his role as the lone Australian who embarks on a search to learn the truth about five missing Australian journalists. Told through the eyes of a little girl, now an adult, who witnessed the massacre of innocents, this film is indeed riveting. Kudos to the director Robert Connolly and all the cast and crew of this remarkable, though gut-wrenching, film - Balibo.Search online for the article titled East Timor Questions & Answers by Stephen R. Shalom, Noam Chomsky, & Michael Albert, Oct 99. It will fill in some gaps.

Born a decade on from the events depicted in this film I new little of the story of the occupation and take over of then Portuguese Timor , even though I was avid History student in school. By the end of this film my eyes were well an truly open. This movie left with so many conflicting emotions. Angered with brutality and senselessness of human violence and cold cruelty towards other beings, mixed with the marvel of a truly well told film. Brilliant acting, with a pace that never seems to linger despite the seriousness of the topic.Truly worth the price of admissionJustice for the Balibo 5.

As someone with a long-standing interest in the history of East Timor, I had mixed feelings about this film, and how the people and events would be depicted. However, Robert Connolly did a great job, considering all of the constraints of a limited budget that he had. It did not go into minute detail about the historical events, but nor did it dumb down and sex up.What happened to the Balibo Five and Roger East is only a very small fraction of the story of what happened in East Timor in 1975, and there will be accusations that the deaths of half a dozen Westerners are given more prominence than what happened to a far greater number of East Timorese. However, the East Timorese actors in the film, none of whom were professional actors, were tremendous - not least as they were reenacting events that they and their families were familiar with.