Hearts and Bones

source: Hearts and Bones

Originally scheduled for a mid-scale cinema run, Ben Lawrence's follow-up to his brilliant Aussie doco Ghosthunter and debut as a narrative feature was made more readily available to stream/purchase due to the Covid-19 pandemic and its a local offering worth tracking down, even if it never hits the real emotional highs it's aiming for. A heavy drama that isn't prone to any bouts of humor or relief from an onslaught of heavy subject matter, including PTSD, death and war, Hearts and Bones is the type of dreary drama that Australian cinema does so well as we follow Hugo Weaving's emotionally wounded Sydney based photographer Dan Fisher, who has made a career out of documenting the worlds various wars and conflicts. There's clearly a lot going on in Dan's life, haunted by the things his seen and also the grief in his own life and it all comes to a head when his partner Josie informs him that she is pregnant and when Andrew Luri's Sebastian Ahmed's Sudanese immigrant/taxi driver makes himself known to Dan and asks that photos Dan took of his terrorized village don't appear in an upcoming public exhibition. Safe to say the film takes on various twists and turns as Dan and Sebastian strike up a friendship of sorts and the two conflicted men come to terms with the ailments that are troubling their everyday thoughts and movements. As always, we get an extremely committed and heartfelt turn from Weaving who never delivers a performance that isn't further proof his one of our very best acting exports and the debut performance of Andrew Luri (an actor with no previous experience) is solid stuff but Lawrence's and co-writer's Beatrix Christian's narrative doesn't always lend itself to the most engaging of elements and a fair portion of the films big moments aren't all that shocking when they've been signposted for a long time previous to being unveiled. There's also an air of implausibility to how Dan, a seemingly private person, strikes up such a committed friendship with Sebastian who himself doesn't strike one as the most genuine or charismatic of figures. It's never really apparent why Dan see's something worth his time in Sebastian or his demand, no more evident than in the under explored side plot of Sebastian community music group/choir, a plot strand that may as well of remained on the writing room floor. Final Say - A well filmed and performed Australian drama that never hits the dramatic beats it aspires to, Hearts and Bones starts out promisingly enough but on its quest to explore its topically themes, gets lost in a slightly unbelievable and only mildly engaging character driven drama. 3 washing machines out of 5

War photographer Dan Fisher (Hugo Weaving) has a devastating incident in Iraq. He returns home to Australia where he's preparing to stage an exhibition. South Sudanese refugee Sebastian Ahmed has issues with his photos. This movie has some big ideas and asks some big questions. As a movie, it's a little slow, a little long, and falls a little flat. Weaving and newcomer Andrew Luri do good work. Ben Lawrence seems to be more of a documentary filmmaker. He needs help putting more tension into the film.

Hearts and Bones is not an easy film to watch. Full of harsh truths and the messiness that is life, it upends our notions of right and wrong and causes one to reflect upon perspective and time and circumstance. Do not miss the photo sequence at the end.

(There are no pictures of you in hell.) A man named Dan Fisher (Hugo Weaving) is getting ready for a large exhibition featuring his photographic work. Daniel is a professional photographer who is best known for taking photos on the most dangerous battlefields and during the many wars around the world. After Dan gets interviewed on the radio, a taxi driver named Sebastian (Andrew Luri) hears the interview and decides to try to find Dan and speak with him. The reason for this is that Sebastian is originally from South Sudan, where his family was murdered in a massacre. Dan was present taking photos when these tragic events occurred to Sebastian's family. The images that Dan took are scheduled to be part of the exhibition. Sebastian politely asks Dan if these photos can be removed from his upcoming presentation as he feels his family has suffered enough. To my surprise, the plot of Hearts and Bones on paper sounds like a possible drama movie focused on the two men. But after watching this film, I was surprised to find it is nothing like what I initially assumed. This film is about an unlikely friendship and a life-changing bond. While the two men have a different past and present, they have both struggled to confront some personal issues and move forward in life. For example, while Dan is dealing with his upcoming exhibition, he discovers his partner is pregnant, and he does not react too well when he hears the news (for reasons explained later in the film). Dan is also suffering from health challenges, and the list goes on. As far as performances go, they are tremendous, particularly from the actor Hugo Weaving. I must also speak highly of actor Andrew Luri who plays Sebastian. The supporting cast was also fantastic and played critical aspects within the film's story. As a plot, this film got to me deeply. At times I had watery eyes or even found it hard to breathe, it is that impacting and dramatic. While the film is dramatic, I was also surprised that there were some moments of slight mystery which was also a nice touch. Hearts and Bones has been directed by Ben Lawrence who previously completed the documentary known as Ghost Hunter, back in 2018. But this is Ben's first time directing a drama film, and I must say it certainly feels fresh to see. Overall, Heart and Bones is a tremendous film with incredible performances from all cast (particularly Hugo Weaving). As a plot, it is undoubtedly a touching story which impacted me greatly. Credit also goes out to director Ben Lawrence who tackled the drama genre with beautiful results and a freshness. Any issues I had with the film were more personal and related to minor elements.

Greetings again from the darkness. How would you feel if someone photographed the worst moment of your life, and then exhibited it for the world to see? That question is at the heart of this drama, the first narrative feature from writer-director Ben Lawrence. His co-writer is Beatrix Christian, who also wrote the screenplay for JINDABYNE, an excellent 2006 film directed by Ben's father, Ray Lawrence. Daniel Fisher (Hugo Weaving, "The Matrix" and "The Lord of the Rings" franchises) is a renowned war photographer, and we first see him on assignment in 2018 Iraq. When he returns home to the Western Sydney suburbs, his longtime partner Josie (Hayley McElhinney, THE BABADOOK 2014) surprises him with news that she's pregnant. They still struggle with the pain of losing their previous daughter, Eve. On top of that, Fisher's work is scheduled to be the centerpiece of a high profile exhibit coming soon. The stress manifests itself physically through shaking hands and fainting spells. Fisher is a bit of a mess when he's tracked down by Sebastian Ahmed (the screen debut of Andrew Luri), who requests that Fisher not include photographs of the massacre which occurred in his south Sudan village 15 years prior. Sebastian says the memories are too painful, as he lost his family during that time. He's now a refugee building a new life for his pregnant wife Anishka (Bolude Watson) and their young child. Sebastian works as a taxi driver and in a commercial laundry, and when he pushes Anishka to let him buy a house for their family, she says matter-of-factly, "We work. That is our life. It's all we do." It's a frustrating dose of reality for Sebastian who sees a house as confirmation that they belong. There is so much going on in what, on the surface, appears to be a quiet little film where two men form an unlikely friendship. PTSD is a factor for both men, as war has left its mark, as it so often does. Sebastian has kept his past life a secret from his wife, but that's only part of the story when it comes to why he doesn't want the photographs exhibited. Fisher is described as "documenting human pain and misery", while his work is labeled "misery *". Is that fair? We get both sides of the gray area associated with that question noted in my first paragraph above. Filmmaker Lawrence benefits from four terrific performances, and though the ending is a bit shaky, the stress and emotional turmoil that those four characters endure is extremely well handled. "Who are you?" is a question Anishka asks her husband, and by the end it can be asked of all four characters. There is little wonder why this has been so warmly received on the film festival circuit ... it's thought-provoking and emotional. In theaters and On Demand November 20, 2020

Great performances from all the cast, particularly the leads , and a wonderful story combining brilliant sub stories within which heightened the drama and gave insight into the Dreadful impacts on persons caught in a war zone , anywhere in the world , from the participators to the observers, to the partners of both - in this case , the observer, a photo journalist ( Weaving) freshly returned from Iraq, an encounter with a Sudanese refugee ( Andrew Luri in his first ever role ) , the participant - which evolves into a friendship and the partners of each of these men and their own stories. The interaction with a group of survivors of other war zones in a peaceful setting, all with their own stories , was wonderful, and a type of healing for them all. We could only guess at each of their stories and the hardships they had suffered before they ever arrived in Sydney, but the pain behind the smiles was palpable, and telling in itself. . The Sudanese story peeled off layer by layer - and I do not want to include spoilers. Suffice to say the film tore at the heartstrings in more ways than one , but deftly done, thought provoking and a truly great story. See it if you can - so glad we paid the funds to see this movie that may never have a cinema release due to the Covid crises . Weaving excellent as always as were all the cast .

Story is great with a feeling of green book but just more real. Acting is awesome for all actor/tress and feel right portion for what they perform. It's not based on true story but the powerful pic at the end reveals the real occcurence of refugee, wars in our real life.

Our family decided to pay Foxtel $19.95 to watch Hearts and Bones to support the Australian film industry in this time of the Coronavirus pandemic. Yes,but,what a beautiful film. Director Ben Lawrence belongs to the Ken Loach school of film making. Every gesture, every word, every silence, has a beautiful meaning. Of course, Hugo Weaving is a class act as usual, but Andrew Luri is a revelation. But let us not forget the wonderful contribution from Hayley Mchilleny and Bulode Watson. A beautiful film to savour.

As far as I can tell this is a fictional story but could very well have been modeled after the real experiences of photographers who go to world trouble spots to document unrest, war, famine, and such things. Hugo Weaving (of 'The Matrix" fame) is photographer Dan Fisher. When he returns to Sydney he finds that his partner is pregnant, and he also is looked up by a refugee from South Sudan who witnessed his whole family being killed. He suspects that Dan has photographs that would be of interest to him. The most of the movie moves deliberately, the two men become friends, during the last half hour or so tensions develop when secrets start to come out. Overall a good movie and one that makes you think. My wife and I watched it at home on DVD from our public library.