On SBS in Australia on 2 June 2006

I watched this earlier today after taping it off SBS last night. It's a pretty compelling watch, mostly on account of the powerhouse acting by its two young stars. Adele Haenel as the autistic sister feels very authentic: the changes that she brings about to her character as the film progresses seem very natural. It's mostly in her facial expressions though, and she never gets a note of it wrong - her stares showing her lack of understanding, and her reactions that she tailors towards making her brother feel more comfortable. Vincent Rottiers as the brother has to portray an extensive series of emotions, and he really has it feeling like he is totally against the world. The anger and the joy he expresses never feel out of character. The quality of the performances in the film makes it feel real, and as a result, I was pretty much glued to the screen, as if what I was watching had really happened.

Thematically, two ideas constantly came to mind during the film: loyalty and the irresponsibility of children in a world that they are against. The whole film is about Joseph's loyalty to his sister, or at least his loyalty to the one person who has been with him from the beginning. There's also the loyalty of the gang leader to Joseph, and both these loyalties cause destruction and chaos in the world. These are children who are unhappy with the world that they have been born into - it could almost be taken as symbolic of the idea that children want to stay in the womb, as the world is no fit place to live in. The series of havoc that the children go on is shocking - causing car accidents, committing arson, even attempted murder. As a viewer it is a most uncomfortable assault on the senses - we are shown graphically all the destruction that they cause, yet also how little responsibility or care they have about what they have done.

It's a pretty full on, unrelenting film, and I can't quite decide whether I would ever want to see it again. It's kind of like The Deer Hunter in that sense, where some scenes are so strong and assaulting that it is difficult to justify ever placing oneself in the film again. I still have not formed a full opinion of it yet, but other than a jarring inclusion of a rap song, it looks like this film will sit quite well in my books.

      A man can change the whole world with a bullet in the right place.