Review of Mad Bastards (2010) by Shirley O — 30 Jan 2014
A solid independent film, Mad Bastards was an entry into the 2011 Sundance Festival, and is a great character study.
The film tells the story of a violent estranged father, TJ, who goes on a journey to reunite with his son Bullet. Along the way, he meets various characters and learns to let go of his violence. In the meantime, his son is struggling due to the poor parenting he's received, and his only role model is his grandfather, the town cop.
What international viewers may not pick up on is the extreme reality that this story has in relation to the lifestyles and socioeconomic issues facing the indigenous population of Australia. While unflinchingly displaying these problems, it also shows situations that can be quite daunting to a white man in Australia (such as a group of Aboriginals blocking the road, which unfortunately has a reputation to mean that they will try to rob you or steal the car) to be quite harmless some of the time.
A solid debut for director Brendan Fletcher.
This review of Mad Bastards (2010) was written by Shirley O on 30 Jan 2014.
Mad Bastards has generally received positive reviews.
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