This insightful documentary follows two young women who find themselves broke and in need of work in Western Australia. They were victims of theft while vacationing in Bali and need money to travel home. The young women in question are from Finland and find work in a bar in the rough hewn mining town of Coolgardie through an employment agency in Perth.
True to form when envisioning a place like this where the folks are as rough as they place they inhabit not unlike some of backwoods towns in the States. The men are primarily mysogynistic and the women largely unsympathetic and almost abrasive to the girls. It's very disturbing to watch these two young women tolerate the abuse which is flung their way by the bar owner. But they push forward through the awkward backwards pulse of a dirty, dusty mining town which is almost like a nightmare. Endless drunken men who continuously and callously treat them with thorough disrespect. There are a few of the men who endear themselves, but they're goal is much the same. The girls are strangers in a strange land where most of the people treat them with contempt and even more so because they are not from Australia. I've lived in the south most of my life and I witnessed things such as this for myself.
In the end the girls manage to find themselves going home not necessarily the way initially planned, but not without considerable misery at the hands of yokels with nothing much better to do than stay drunk. The movie is an experience and should certainly be seen to get a real feel of the outback. I had heard a comedian on TV once describe Australia as "Redneck England" and Robin Williams make a similar statement many years ago which landed him in hot water. Obviously, the film is not an overall depiction of Australia itself by any means. The film illustrates a study in humanity which often ugly, but as I stated before. I've been in some backwoods places which were very similar here in the States. Anyway, the film was jarring and well worth the time to watch with a grain of salt so as not to excoriate the locals living in such conditions.
True to form when envisioning a place like this where the folks are as rough as they place they inhabit not unlike some of backwoods towns in the States. The men are primarily mysogynistic and the women largely unsympathetic and almost abrasive to the girls. It's very disturbing to watch these two young women tolerate the abuse which is flung their way by the bar owner. But they push forward through the awkward backwards pulse of a dirty, dusty mining town which is almost like a nightmare. Endless drunken men who continuously and callously treat them with thorough disrespect. There are a few of the men who endear themselves, but they're goal is much the same. The girls are strangers in a strange land where most of the people treat them with contempt and even more so because they are not from Australia. I've lived in the south most of my life and I witnessed things such as this for myself.
In the end the girls manage to find themselves going home not necessarily the way initially planned, but not without considerable misery at the hands of yokels with nothing much better to do than stay drunk. The movie is an experience and should certainly be seen to get a real feel of the outback. I had heard a comedian on TV once describe Australia as "Redneck England" and Robin Williams make a similar statement many years ago which landed him in hot water. Obviously, the film is not an overall depiction of Australia itself by any means. The film illustrates a study in humanity which often ugly, but as I stated before. I've been in some backwoods places which were very similar here in the States. Anyway, the film was jarring and well worth the time to watch with a grain of salt so as not to excoriate the locals living in such conditions.