Wish You Were Here

A Slow Build Character Drama From Australia, Not A Pulse Pounding Thriller As Billed
Note: Despite the enormous face of Theresa Palmer (a rising star after Warm Bodies) on the DVD cover, she plays a supporting role. The real female lead is Felicity Price and she's terrific. I guess she won't sell as many DVDs!

The sparse Australian film "Wish You Were Here" is a small movie that might easily be oversold. If you look at the accolades that it received in its native land, you'd think you were witnessing a truly monumental experience. At the Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards, this picked up Best Actor (Joel Edgerton), Best Supporting Actor (Anthony Starr), Best Film and Best Screenplay along with a slew of other nominations including both leading ladies Felicity Price (who co-wrote the screenplay with her husband and the film's director Keiran Darcy-Smith) and Theresa Palmer. The Australian Film Institute chimed in with wins for Screenplay and Supporting Actor. I don't mention these awards to encourage you to watch the film because it's the "best thing...

a major winner at sundance and deservedly so
this is an australian film that was a big hit at the sundance film festival and deservedly so. a husband and wife, her sister and the sister's boyfriend take a trip together to cambodia. they are in their thirties. the couple have two children back home and a third on the way. the pregnant wife can't hold up for long and goes to bed early. this is the kickoff for the other three to get into trouble. one of them goes missing.

for the rest of the film we see the three remaining characters trying to sort out their lives in Sydney. intercut with that action are flashbacks to cambodia so we can discover what happened,

one thing i think this captures extremely well is the supposed safety bubble tourists travel in where they believe because they are tourists in that country, they are somewhat protected. thus, they walk freely about, drinking, mingling And not really watching what is going on. this is a really bad idea. and the consequences if it may haunt one...

wish I was elsewhere
I first must explain that I am a Sydney resident and know the locations of this film well. As far as the acting and photography goes the film does quite well. As far as the plot and storyline goes it's all downhill. We are meant to believe that first of all this couple; she an AMES teacher and he, a boat builder can afford to live in a million dollar house overlooking star studded Tamarama beach (yes ... I know ... it is only semi-renovated). One presumes they are in their early to mid thirties and have two children whom they leave behind to go on a backpacking holiday through Cambodia. Whilst at a full, half whatever moon party on the beach (normally the realm of 20 somethings straight from College) they take ecstacy with dramatic consequences. She, by the way is around 4 to 5 months pregnant.
The film could have been (like most Australian films) edited down to about 50 minutes. If you leave out the domestic histrionics, around 40 minutes. The fast forward button can be used...

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