Unfinished Sky
Dir Peter Duncan, (PG) featuring Monic Hendrickx, William McInnes, David Field
By Ruth Hessey
Unfinished Sky began life in Holland where a film called The Polish Bride sought to tackle the issue of forced prostitution among women in post Soviet Eastern Europe. Dutch producers Anton Smit and San Fu Maltha joined forces with Australians Cathy and Mark Overett to make what they called "a beautiful love story which would also be a political statement".
Dutch actress Monic Hendrickx plays an Afghani woman on the run, and Peter Duncan directs. William McInnes takes the challenging role of John Waldren, a lonely farmer locked into grief and guilt over the death of his wife.
While Hendrickx has to approximate the learning of English at a rate compatible with the demands of the screenplay, McInnes has to dismantle the armour of a lonely and bitter man in time to make the romantic element turn the film from thriller to love story.
With David Field as a corrupt country cop, and Elvis the dog as Milo, Waldren's best friend, the film has a tender aching quality that softens the obvious political motivation behind the story.
If Duncan doesn't quite manage to pace the developing emotional life of the characters convincingly, he does distil the haunting loneliness of the Australian rural landscape into a film that not only asks questions but also attempts to answer them.