THE TURNING: THE DVD REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY
Big thanks to Salty Kernel, Andrew Brusentsev, for attending this one in September and writing what I found one of his best reviews. I am devastated I missed this but my turn will come today, Monday 24th February, when it releases in Australia on DVD and Blu Ray. Be advised – it’s a mammoth one – over three hours long and rated MA15+. And our awesome friends at MADMAN ENTERTAINMENT have given us a whopping giveaway – we have 3x copies on DVD and 3x copies on Blu Ray for you all. Suss out how after Andrew’s review.
Let me say straight off the bat that the adaptation of Tim Winton’s collection of stories “The Turning” is one of the most ambitious movies made in Australia. It premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival with much fanfare and was marketed there as something fresh, new and interesting. A monumental moment in Australian cinema. Robert Connolly the project’s creator certainly has given us something monumental. At just over 3 hours we are presented with 18 stories from Tim Winton’s novel of the same name. Each story is interpreted by different teams of film makers. And not just film, we have an exploration of Winton’s stories through photography, animation, visual art and dance. What did I think of it? Read on dear reader…

Some heavy weight directors signed on for this project, it really is a showcase of Australian talent. It reads like a talent laundry list: Justin Kurzel (Snowtown), Warwick Thornton (Samson and Delilah), Tony Ayres (The Slap), Claire McCarthy (The Waiting City) and making their directorial debuts, two high profile actors Mia Wasikowska and David Wenham. On the other side of the camera we have some fairly brilliant talent too; Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Miranda Otto, Richard Roxburgh and a career defining performance from Rose Byrne.
These movies are centred on short ideas, pastiches have a hard time working a lot of the time. There needs to be a unifying central theme that links all the work together, The Turning, I believe achieves this. It may take you a while to work out the central message; indeed I pondered it for days. Everyone will probably have their own deeply personal interpretation. The Turning is definitely engaging, haunting and thought provoking. I didn’t enjoy every story but nearly all captivated me, enchanted me and transported me into the world of the story effortlessly. It can be forgiven a few missteps.

Some of the episodes are stand-alone, some are linked. Characters drift in and out of narratives at different stages in their lives and it often allows you, as the viewer, to explore the central theme from a different perspective. It really is an extraordinary achievement in this sense. The different mediums of explorations, different pacing and styles keep things fresh and interesting.
It is also a very unashamed unapologetically Australian film. Our vast and contrasted landscape is laid bare in all its aching beauty. From the city, to remote coastal towns to the outback it is all there.
We see the lives of many different types of Australians: children growing up in different circumstances, fishermen, AFL players down on their luck, the privileged, the middle class and the working poor. It deals with some very dark themes: drug addiction, alcoholism, child homicide, disconnection, police corruption and domestic violence.

I loved the preface to the whole movie done in different dark hues of whites, browns and blacks, exploring the sea, its terrors and it uncompromising beauty. What is quite brilliant is that most of the linked short films have no resolution. It is as if we have just stumbled in on the lives of these characters, voyeuristic watching of their lives from a distance. Some characters are played by different actors, different races, with different temperaments. There is something unifying and human about it all.
One of my favourite episodes called “Reunion” sees the brilliance of Roxburgh and Blanchett take front and centre. I would mention Hugo Weaving but who needs to, once again he proves why he is one of Australia’s finest ever actors. Mia Wasikowska’ s proves herself a more than capable director and also one, it seems, possessed with a very dark comic voice. One that I thought I would not enjoy, but really fell in love with, was Yaron Lifschitz’s modern-dance piece “Immunity”. The stand out performance though is Rose Byrne who plays perhaps her best role to date on camera. I won’t spoil any of it but it is like no role of hers you have ever seen, impressive.

My only real criticism is that the film is a tad too long and could have done with a few edits in places.
As a whole this is a landmark Australian achievement. But let’s take the Australian out of it. This is an achievement for world cinema and it should enjoy a lot of success, I hope it achieves it.
COMPETITION ENTRY RULES
With special thanks to MADMAN ENTERTAINMENT to win one of the 3 x copies of the DVD or one of 3 x copies of the Blu Ray of THE TURNING you need to either like and share this post on Facebook or retweet/ favourite it on Twitter, you then need to leave a comment below stating the answer to the following question (please also indicate if you would like Blu Ray or DVD):
What is your favourite Australian film of all time and why?
If you do not have Facebook and Twitter then get with the times old timer haha – You can still enter, leave your entry below and email me at jkdigitaldesigns@gmail.com telling me you don’t have social media 🙂
Prizes will no longer be awarded to first in first served. It will now be a game of skill and selected purely on the thoughts of the judges, said judges being the Salty Kernels.
The prizes will be sent in the next week. Good luck! Oh, and minor housekeeping – huge apologies for overseas readers, this competition is only available to Australian residents.
My favourite Aussie movie is The Dish, a perfect Aussie take on a historic moment, with warmth and spirit it invites you to laugh with the characters rather than at them
Great review! I saw a couple of The Turning shorts at White Night Melbourne on Saturday and can’t wait to watch the whole thing.
I’ve been looking forward to the Blu-ray release of The Turning for ages, I watched it in the cinema but found there was so much to take in, it was impossible to absorb it all in one sitting. I know I’ll rewatch it a few times.
My favourite Australian film is a somewhat unmentioned one – Proof from the early 90s shot in Melbourne with Hugo Weaving, it’s a powerful richly developed psychological drama with three compelling characters that exploits the cinema’s potential voyeurism and stays with you for years after. I can’t believe it’s over 20 years old !
My fav Aussie movie is an unusual one – Mary and Max, the dark but hilarious animation for grownups, it feels more true to life than a 100 Hollywood dramas, the voices of Toni Collette, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Eric Bana are perfect and most importantly it makes me go weak-kneed and misty-eyed while laughing myself silly
Picnic at Hanging Rock is a favourite of mine. Honestly, that movie still gives me chills just thinking about it. It was a truly haunting movie experience with that takes you into a disturbing mystery which never really leaves you.
My favourite Australian movie of all time would have to be The Castle.
I love me a bit of Eric Bana, plus the witty lines are hilarious.
It’s a movie that gives me a laugh every time I watch it.
Thank you for the opportunity to win; I don’t mind whether I get blu-ray or DVD if I’m lucky enough to win. 🙂
Whilst Australian cinema produces great comedies many of which i love my fav Aussie film is an oldie from 1985 called Fortress (if you have not seen it i highly recommend you do)some guys in masks kidnap a teacher and her students from a small country school house. A well done movie from when aussie cinema was still finding its feet well worth the trouble it might take one to find it.
If i win don’t mind if its Blu-ray or DVD.
The Proposition – it has a terrific acting ensemble with some Aussie greats like Guy Pearce and Noah Tayor, written by the Godfather of Australian-Gothic himself, Nick Cave and it’s a masterpiece of mood and menace, not only my favourite Australian movie but also one of the finest Westerns ever made
Blu-ray or DVD would be cool, Blu-ray preference. Cheers Ryan
My favourite Australian film of all time is ‘Rabbit-Proof Fence’. I first watched it during high school as an English text to be studied and I was captivated by the harrowing performances especially by Deborah Mailman and I believe it is a brilliant piece of collaboration by Phillip Noyce.
I never had the opportunity to delve into this masterpiece and I missed the first 90 minutes that was shown on ABC so the Blu-ray would be fantastic!
Razorback, I’m a sucker for Ozplotation films and this is one of the best. What’s not to love about a killer pig on the loose.
Two Hands. The bank robbery scene alone is worth watching the movie. Another bonus is the kickass soundtrack featuring a lot of Powderfinger songs.
I’m yet to see an Aussie film I’d call great let alone say it was my favourite.
I am sorry you have missed out on so many amazing Australian films Di, wish you the best of luck in finding something you enjoy.
Perhaps you could start with this list I wrote in 2008 on my old site – http://www.saltypopcorn.com/australian-films/
Personally some of the best films on the planet, I believe, are Australian, with Romeo and Juliet my number 2 film of all time. Dead Calm, Man from Snowy River, Two Hands, I can ramble on about how good the Australian film industry is. Of course there is a lot of shit, but then again there is way less shit than there are in American films.
Wow I enjoy so many of the people’s entries.
My favourite Australia movie is The Interview…..
Close runners up Mad Max, Lantana, Two Hands and Breaker Morant…
So many great movies to choose from….
It’s hard to pick one, there have been so many brilliant movies over the years but I especially love films that explore the uniqueness of our Australian landscape like Tracker, Ten Canoes, Rabbit Proof Fence and the recent Satellite Boy and the new Tracks which I caught in a preview last week. If I had to pick just one it would have to be Rabbit Proof Fence, it’s an astonishing tale of adversity and triumph and is a film of incredible emotional power.
Chris (blu-ray would be cool 🙂 )
For me, to be my favourite, an Australian movie has to combine humour, drama and that great Australian landscape. Two films do that for me – ‘Muriel’s Wedding’ and ‘The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’. Interestingly, these two movies also feature ABBA on their soundtracks – are you humming ‘Dancing Queen’ yet?? Priscilla is brilliant, but Muriel edges her out because I can identify more with Muriel (Toni Collette) than Tick/Mitzi (Hugo Weaving). Either blu-ray or DVD would be gratefully received and eagerly watched.
THIS COMP IS NOW CLOSED
Our winners are selected. Thanks to all that entered, it was some great films listed there, some of them I have added to my list of films to re-watch. There can only be six winners in total and they are:
1. Michelle V DVD
2. Cian DVD
3. Ryan Jordan DVD
4. Helena BLU RAY
5. Chris Watts BLU RAY
6. Andrew BLU RAY
I think I have everyone’s addresses on files from previous comps – oh you regulars you.
Can you just email a confirmation – won’t ask if you win again but just prefer to confirm.
Nice work peeps!
Wow that was odd. I just wrote an very long comment but after I
clicked submit my comment didn’t show up. Grrrr…
well I’m not writing all that over again. Regardless, just
wanted to say wonderful blog!
Thanks Andre – very kind of you – and I hate it when that happens with comments – I have had the issues in the past with entire articles disappearing – I have a tendency to copy everything before submitting 🙂 Have a great one!