HEAVEN'S BURNING

"This is a well made Aussie road movie with strong performances, excellent cinematography and great music. An interesting plot incorporates elements of Japanese, Afghani and Australian cultures in a fascinating context. Russell Crowe is reasonably convincing as Colin, flawed but not without a conscience. It is a role which relies on subtleties and nuances, and Crowe delivers well. Youki Kudoh as Midori is pretty as a picture, and handles the change of her character well - from timid, intimidated unhappy bride, to the confident, happy lover in control of her life. Her performance, however, is patchy. Why oh why, when Midori is bumming it on the run in the outback Australian towns, is she always made up as though she is ready for a make-up shoot? This somewhat hinders the convincing nature of her performance. And if the blond wig is necessary (I tend to agree with Paul, below), does it have to look false? These elements actually in part are a detraction from the convincing nature of the character. Especially when Kenji Isomura’s (Yukio) transition from sedate Japanese husband to shaved headed bikie is so effective. Isomura gives a fantastic performance: perhaps the most memorable in the film. The scenes with the Afghani family at home are fascinating with strong performances. Brian Breheny’s cinematography shows much of the beauty and diversity of Sydney and the wide open spaces in the Australian countryside. The music soundtrack is hugely diverse with tracks from Marlene Dietrick to the Budapest Symphony Orchestra playing Mozart and provides great impact."
Louise Keller

"Often, Australian cinema prides itself on its sense of originality and audacity, so when a film so full of promise is such a major disappointment, one has the distinct feeling that our industry has suddenly regressed. The idea behind Heaven’s Burning is a noble one, but it’s an idea whose execution is a total misfire, from script, to direction and even to performances. The film has so many ludicrous moments, a collage of plot holes so gaping, that one wonders what the thinking was. The film begins promisingly, as the Japanese bride feigns her own kidnapping before taking off with a reluctant bank robber. From then on, nobody knows what to do, and the film becomes a series of absurd coincidences. Let’s take the jilted husband. Meek, bespectacled, respected. His wife embarrasses him, so he shaves his head, kills his best friend, and with his limited English, manages to motorcycle his way from Sydney to the outback, without a map, turning into this Japanese biker from hell. The film switches from surrealism to moments of excessive violence, but even these are staged in such a way that the outcome is obvious. The final sequence, featuring an overbearing slice of romantic music out of Ryan’s Daughter swells up in deafening proportion and over one of the more silly climaxes of contemporary filmdom. One would hope, however, that following his turn in LA Confidential, Russell Crowe would be able to save the film from total tedium. Regrettably he adds to it, delivering the laziest and most lacklustre performance of his career. He is so stilted, so unemotive, that the romantic relationship between the two central characters is unbelievable. Even their love scene is sleep-inducing. Only Kudoh as the bride, adds a bit of style to the film, until she dons a blonde wig for reasons that remain unfathomable. Visually, the film is far better, but Craig Lahiff’s direction is muddled, hampered by a script that fuses so many styles that it becomes a mass of contradictions. There’s so much passion in our industry; none of it is present in Heaven’s Burning."
Paul Fischer