The line above is an understatement when two young women deep in the Outback run out of funds and get jobs in a tiny hotel dive bar to earn enough money to continue their travel. Liv and Hanna find good things that come with getting to know the locals, and bad things too. There are radiant stars like they've never seen before, jagged bear tooth shaped mountains, fantastic swimming holes and waterfalls known only to a few people, and surreal storms. Yet the threats to their safety are constant and unrelenting. With the hotel owner drunk half the time, Hanna and Liv are forced to navigate for themselves the entwined dangers and splendors of the Australian Outback.
Loosely based on real experiences, The Royal Hotel delves into the power dynamics between men and women. Hugo Weaving contributes his considerable acting talent with Julia Garner (The Assistant) and Jessica Henwick (Glass Onion). Director Kitty Green, present at this Canadian premiere screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, avoids telling people what to think with the music and plot structure. No one is "rescued" here. The girls figure things out for themselves. The Royal Hotel takes on the drinking culture that defines much of the Australian Outback. The film tests boundaries and ratchets up the tension between lonely and desperate men, and determined, independent, and resourceful women.
Loosely based on real experiences, The Royal Hotel delves into the power dynamics between men and women. Hugo Weaving contributes his considerable acting talent with Julia Garner (The Assistant) and Jessica Henwick (Glass Onion). Director Kitty Green, present at this Canadian premiere screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, avoids telling people what to think with the music and plot structure. No one is "rescued" here. The girls figure things out for themselves. The Royal Hotel takes on the drinking culture that defines much of the Australian Outback. The film tests boundaries and ratchets up the tension between lonely and desperate men, and determined, independent, and resourceful women.