Film: Balibo
Year of production: 2009
UK Release date: 25th April 2011
Distributor: High Fliers
Certificate: 15
Running time: 107 mins
Director: Robert Connolly
Starring: Oscar Isaac, Anthony LaPaglia, Bea Viegas
Genre: Drama/Mystery/Thriller
Format: DVD
Country of Production: Australia
Language: English
Review by: Katy Stewart
Anthony LaPaglia worked with politically-conscious director Robert Connolly in the 2001 thriller The Bank. Here, they join forces again, along with rising star Oscar Isaac (Che: Part One) for this hard-hitting portrayal of real events in terrorized East Timor.
Balibo is based on the true story of the Balibo 5, a group Australian journalists who went to East Timor in 1975 to report on the imminent Indonesian invasion and disappeared. With both the Australian government and the wider international community turning a blind eye to events in the tiny Portuguese territory, Jose Ramos-Horta, the Foreign Minister (Isaac) asks veteran Australian journalist Roger East (LaPaglia) to head up the national news agency to bring the crisis in East Timor to wider attention. Reluctantly, he agrees, although his initial motivation is simply to find out what happened to his fellow countrymen.
His early interest in the case quickly turns to obsession and he doggedly traces the steps of the Balibo 5 against the implorations of Jose. His story is intertwined with that of the Balibo 5, scenes alternating between the two. However, as his search progresses, Roger cannot help becoming deeply involved in the national crisis, the impending invasion and the story that the missing journalists were trying to tell…
This is a story which director Robert Connolly felt needed to be told and from the opening scene, the testimony of Juliana (Viegas) about the horror she witnessed as a child in 1975, it is clear that is not necessarily going to be an easy watch. However, Connolly does not let the raw politics of the real events overpower the film. It is a well-crafted thriller, which racks up the tension as it progresses towards the climax. At the same time, he does justice to the East Timorean people and does not hide his own political leanings.
Roger East is brilliantly portrayed by LaPaglia as a flawed hero; he does not have particularly noble or ideological aims, he is easily persuaded to give up under gunfire and he is very reluctant to tell the story of the troubled nation. This makes him incredibly human, someone we can relate to and perhaps ultimately admire. It is Isaac, as impassioned leader Jose Ramos-Horta, who provides the fire; the passion and rage of an idealist trying to protect his people and his country. However, it is East who shows a dogged resilience to his cause, covering miles on foot through jungles, destroyed villages and deserted towns, in his search for the journalists.
The interwoven story of the journalists is a concept which in some ways works brilliantly, but which also jars slightly. The constant switching of stories is sometimes disruptive to the flow and to the tension which Connolly otherwise builds up so well. At the same time, it feels as though more time should be given to the journalists and their journey, which is only lightly sketched - the viewer does not really get to know these key characters. However, these are minor points; this dual plot is almost poetic in its powerful symmetry and contrast between the two geographically identical journeys. The village, where the journalists stayed, answering questions and listening to stories, is littered with corpses and ruins when Roger passes through. The pool where they laughed and splashed around with locals is still and silent. Connolly’s research and attention to detail also pays off in the subplot; the locations and speeches of the journalists’ broadcasts are faithfully based on the little surviving footage, giving a real authenticity and chilling power to these scenes. They are also shot with the slightly washed-out colours of ‘70s footage and the telltale wobbles of handheld cameras, which also creates a slightly ghostly feeling.
As the film draws us towards the end, we feel like we have been on every step of the journey with East. At this point, Connolly creates almost unbearable tension and it is impossible to look away, however much we might want to, from the barrage of pure horror that he releases. If we did, it would make us just as bad as the Western governments and organisations that Connolly so forcefully indicts. He implicitly asks some very difficult questions, provided by the contrasting characters of East and Ramos-Horta. Why should the deaths of five white Australians get more press coverage than 180,000 East Timoreans? Why were all outside observers so reluctant to step in or even comment on the Indonesian invasion of a powerless nation?
Not just a well-crafted thriller, then, nor simply a political statement. This is a complex and haunting film about a country many people will never have even heard of. The lead performances are understated but stunning, and though it is not an easy film to watch, it burns with a kind of fury which palpably conveys the feelings of the director and writers and the fact that they care about the story they are telling. Because of this, it has great integrity and a real power. It is not a film that you can dismiss after watching; it demands action, even if that is just acknowledging what happened in East Timor in 1975. Above all, it offers a new generation the chance not to turn a blind eye.
Balibo is a triumph of Australian cinema. It is unapologetic in its brutality and has a few minor flaws, but it is a powerful and important story exceptionally well-told. KS
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