(No plot spoilers)
When I ask somebody" what's your dream holiday ?" 9 out of 10 answer: "Australia". The other "1" instead has already been there: Ayers Rock, Sidney Opera House, the souvenir boomerang and the photo with a Koala bear. That's the Australia we know about.
But what about the Australia we don't want to know about? Once I was chatting with an Australian guy, Bondi beach surfer type with a bleached grin. When I asked him about the Aboriginal people he scorned "...they're just a bunch of drunks". I didn't like what I heard. This long preamble is to say that "Goldstone" is about the Australia we don't want to know about. An Australia made of endless rocky deserts and of aborigines copying with drug abuse and high suicide rates while the "whites" exploit the hidden ores of the underground.
Also women are exploited in this story which starts with federal cop Jay Swan arriving in the mining town to track a missing Chinese girl , his presence and methods are not welcomed by the local authorities and by the mining company that finances everything.
The word "town" is repeated several times in the movie but there is no town as we imagine it, just cargoes, cargoes scattered on a barren lunar landscape. Inside these cargoes we find are offices, neon lit brothels, a morgue and even a perfect suburban kitchen where the mayor bakes cakes like in a Doris Day comedy. Director and cinematographer Ivan Sen seems to have had fun with this juxtaposition between interior and external scenes, and the main character Jay Swan who has indigenous origins is usually seen to stand on the threshold of these two worlds.
"Goldstone" is a solid thriller with all the elements of the classic western: the lone stranger new in town, the wise old native man, the sympathetic prostitute, the villain and its henchmen and there are some effective shootouts. The film has its weaknesses too: characters are sometimes predictable and dialogues a bit clichéd and unrealistic while the plot could have benefited from being a little more straightforward.
"Goldstone" has certainly dropped Australia down the list of places Im looking forward to visiting but on the other hand I'm now looking forward to watching its prequel "Mystery Road" (2013).
When I ask somebody" what's your dream holiday ?" 9 out of 10 answer: "Australia". The other "1" instead has already been there: Ayers Rock, Sidney Opera House, the souvenir boomerang and the photo with a Koala bear. That's the Australia we know about.
But what about the Australia we don't want to know about? Once I was chatting with an Australian guy, Bondi beach surfer type with a bleached grin. When I asked him about the Aboriginal people he scorned "...they're just a bunch of drunks". I didn't like what I heard. This long preamble is to say that "Goldstone" is about the Australia we don't want to know about. An Australia made of endless rocky deserts and of aborigines copying with drug abuse and high suicide rates while the "whites" exploit the hidden ores of the underground.
Also women are exploited in this story which starts with federal cop Jay Swan arriving in the mining town to track a missing Chinese girl , his presence and methods are not welcomed by the local authorities and by the mining company that finances everything.
The word "town" is repeated several times in the movie but there is no town as we imagine it, just cargoes, cargoes scattered on a barren lunar landscape. Inside these cargoes we find are offices, neon lit brothels, a morgue and even a perfect suburban kitchen where the mayor bakes cakes like in a Doris Day comedy. Director and cinematographer Ivan Sen seems to have had fun with this juxtaposition between interior and external scenes, and the main character Jay Swan who has indigenous origins is usually seen to stand on the threshold of these two worlds.
"Goldstone" is a solid thriller with all the elements of the classic western: the lone stranger new in town, the wise old native man, the sympathetic prostitute, the villain and its henchmen and there are some effective shootouts. The film has its weaknesses too: characters are sometimes predictable and dialogues a bit clichéd and unrealistic while the plot could have benefited from being a little more straightforward.
"Goldstone" has certainly dropped Australia down the list of places Im looking forward to visiting but on the other hand I'm now looking forward to watching its prequel "Mystery Road" (2013).