The Turning

This film has the look and feel of Tree of Life. Moments of beautiful imagery, mixed with numerous ponderous scenes for an overlong three hours, makes wonder why it wasn't edited better. Seventeen separate movies ranging from ten to fifteen minutes make up the one hundred and eighty minutes. The beach is a recurring theme throughout, with frequent narration with contemplative music in the background. The storyline is simply the harshness of everyday life, told with a realistic and mundane tone. There are no happy endings at anytime; just a gritty seriousness with very little humor thrown in, with the exception of Kate Blanchett and a swimming pool at Christmas. Otherwise, this is a long and depressing ride. The acting is superb, but the length is a definite drawback in what could have been a contender.

THE TURNING is a breath of fresh air, an experimental Australian film based of the short stories of the gifted writer Tim Winton. Every aspect of the film is unique, challenging and utterly mesmerizing. The quiet animated opening sequence 'Ash Wednesday' (based on TS Eliot's poem of the same name, is simply an eerie animation narrated by off screen Colin Friels and sets the mood for the episodes to come.

The film is divided in to eighteen short segments - Big World, Aquifier, Abbreviation, Ash Wednesday, Damaged Goods, Small Mercies, On Her Knees, Cockleshell, The Turning, Sand, Family, Long, Clear View, Reunion, Commission, Fog, Boner McPharlin's Moll, Immunity (a wordless, modern dance piece), and Defender – and presented as a three- hour epic based on Tim Winton's short story collection, THE TURNING, and explores the impact of past on present, how the seemingly random incidents that change and shape us can never be escaped or let go of. All of the stories are bound together by recurring themes: the passing of time, regret, addiction and obsession.

The stories are set on a coastal stretch of Western Australia, 'a stunning collection of connected stories is about turnings of all kinds -- changes of heart, slow awakenings, nasty surprises and accidents, sudden detours, resolves made or broken. Brothers cease speaking to each other, husbands abandon wives and children, grown men are haunted by childhood fears. People struggle against the weight of their own history and try to reconcile themselves to their place in the world. With extraordinary insight and tenderness, Winton explores the demons and frailties of ordinary people whose lives are not what they had hoped.'

Each of the book's 18 stories is interpreted on film by a different team of filmmakers, including collaborators from the worlds of theatre, photography, visual art and dance. Characters re-appear in different episodes at different stages of their lives, fleshed out in snapshots that explore recurring themes from different angles. The lives of fishermen, surfers, AFL players, the working class and angst-ridden suburbanites are chronicled with sometimes dark themes, including alcoholism, child homicide and police corruption. A number of key episodes feature Aboriginal characters and symbols. Though the film courts the mystical, it's grounded with romance and macabre suspense.

Overlooked by many, this film is one for the most poetically satisfying visual experiences and deserves far more attention than it has received.

Wtf.... Seriously what a let down, this is my first review and am so disappointed that I have to give one like this. I decided to watch this on Australia Day with a few friends, thinking how many good Aussie actors and actresses in this movie must be good. The cover is misleading, making you think that maybe the stories are somehow consist with a bonfire at the beach, making you think it's gonna be good story or stories that joins together. The only consitantcy is 18 stories that confuse you, there was so much potential for growth in each story, but you are left wanting your favourite part to continue, just to be let down by introducing a new short story before you can wrap your head around the last one. I recently watched Breath and that was awesome, I am now going to go and read the book because It remind me of my younger years I highly recommend Breath, but this was a waste of talent and has no story. The only good one for me was the turning & reunion.

Don't bother,read the book instead

Beautiful filmically. Poetic. So local it hurts. Love the short film format - clever - no final scenes or answers. Life? Made a whole lot of sense to me.

Overlong, overwrought and overly depressing The Turning is another example of an Australian film or in this particular case 18 mini-films existing for seemingly the sole reason to showcase just how sad and miserably us Aussie's can be and how life here is obviously just far too tough. With much talent and much promise behind this project it is therefore sad to admit that this 3 hour wannabe opus developed by Balibo director Robert Connolly is just such a miserable and tough watch.

Based upon a collection of author Tim Winton's short stories The Turning's ties that bind are all participants are alive and going through the motions, motions that rarely if ever detour from a soul hurting ambiance of depression that tinges the entire film with such a sour taste it's hard to see why it exists other than to try and be realistic and haunting but what we end up with is a film that could act as some form of torture for those asked to sit down with it for 3 hours. This raggedly assembled collages of pain go from trailer trash domestic abuse cases, man called "Bonar", cops caught up in corruption and creepy ginger kids who like to play with loaded rifles. These mini-episodes of grief and depravity are all so short and uninvolving that you forget that not only in front of the camera is talent but behind it also.

Featuring a varied collection of some of Australia's favourite and best actors including Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Rose Byrne and Richard Roxburgh the film promises to be a fine showcase to strut the acting ability of our nation but in the end product it would be suffice to say that only Rose Byrne and Hugo Weaving make any sort of go at material that must of been hard to work with. behind the camera also we have many fine Australian based directors in Justin Kurzel, Warwick Thornton and Tony Ayres along with actors David Wenham and Mia Wasikowska trying their hands at developing some nice little tales of hard lives. Many of the pieces are fine looking and feature a well constructed score but its hard to recommend them on this alone.

The Turning is a missed opportunity that offered to gather together some of the finest film centric people Australia has to offer but thanks to a disjointed feel to the material, a reliance of being emotional rather than entertaining and a bunch of truly unneeded episodes the film is just a complete train wreck that at 3 hours is a particular journey you don't need to or should want to take. All on screen and behind screen have done better and will do better in the future making The Turning a film you can avoid without a second doubt.

1 and a half depressing life snapshots out of 5