BALIBO: A TALE THAT NEEDS TO BE TOLD
September 28th 2009 07:29
Anthony LaPaglia turns in a powerful performance as doomed newsman, Roger East, in Balibo.
In a bumper year for Australian films none has garnered as much attention as Balibo. The story of six Australian journalists ruthlessly murdered during Indonesia’s 1975 invasion of East Timor has aroused a fresh wave of local interest in the incident, with an Australian Federal Police probe now being launched to investigate the war crimes.
The film follows seasoned Australian newsman, Roger East (Anthony LaPaglia), during the closing days of 1975, when he set out from Darwin for East Timor at the behest of a young Timorese politician, Jose Ramos-Horta (Oscar Isaac). East Timor was in the process of gaining its independence from Portugal, and Ramos-Horta had designs on East becoming the head of the new nation’s media bureau.
But East Timor’s freedom was anything but guaranteed, with Ramos-Horta himself acknowledging the evidence that Indonesia was preparing for an East Timorese invasion. And Roger East had concerns other than his new job at the head of the media bureau, launching virtually a one-man investigation into the disappearance of five Australian journalists from Balibo, an East Timorese village on the border with Indonesia, three weeks earlier.
Balibo sticks with East as he travels from Darwin to Dili and then on to Balibo, but also sketches out the story of the five murdered journalists – contemporarily known as the ‘Balibo Five’ – in a series of flashbacks. Cleverly delineating the two timelines from each other, cinematographer Tristan Milani has filmed the Five using equipment similar to the news cameras of the time, lending the sequences a grainy, documentary-like feel that’s in stark contrast to the crisp stock applied to East’s story.
It’s a technique that works to a large degree, allowing director/screenwriter Robert Connolly and editor Nick Meyers to quickly flip between the two timelines, although the design of the screenplay necessitates that the Five are barely more than brief sketches of the real individuals.
Instead, Connolly and co-writer David Williamson have wisely decided to make this East’s film, charting his journey as one of professional and personal redemption. It lends Balibo a careful focus, even if necessitating the skimming over of other interesting issues regarding the Indonesian invasion of East Timor, such as the Australian government’s involvement (or lack thereof – you be the judge) in the affair and the deeper political situation of the island nation.
As Roger East, Anthony LaPaglia is quite brilliant. When not in front of the camera, the US-based LaPaglia speaks with a broad American accent, but its hard to imagine when he’s onscreen: there’s something distinctly Australian about the actor, a haunted physicality that makes him absolutely compelling to watch. He’s in his element as East, latching on to the potent grist supplied by Connolly and Williamson.
Illustrations of their nationality didn't spare the Balibo Five from a grisly fate.
In support, Oscar Isaacs is also excellent as Ramos-Horta, capturing the young man’s cheeky but assertive charisma perfectly, while the five murdered journalists are almost overdosed on acting talent through Damon Gameau, Gyton Grantley, Mark Winter, Nathan Phillips and Thomas Wright.
Even if Connolly’s palpable rage at what happened to these innocent men sometimes drifts towards the maudlin – particularly in an overworked closing sequence – this remains gripping stuff. The filmmakers’ work at bringing this story to the screen is brimming over with passion, but remains invigoratingly entertaining throughout, which is a credit to the craftsmanship on display. Detailing a dark corner of Australian history, Balibo is essential viewing for any Australian.
Check out the trailer for Balibo below:
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