The Furnace (2020 film)
The Furnace | |
---|---|
Directed by | Roderick MacKay |
Written by | Roderick MacKay |
Produced by | Timothy White Tenille Kennedy |
Starring | Ahmed Malek Baykali Ganambarr David Wenham |
Cinematography | Michael McDermott Bonnie Elliot |
Edited by | Merlin Eden |
Music by | Mark Bradshaw |
Production company | Umbrella Entertainment |
Release date |
|
Running time | 116 minutes |
Country | Australia |
Language | English |
The Furnace is a 2020 Australian
Cast
- Ahmed Malek as Hanif
- Baykali Ganambarr as Woorak
- Kaushik Das as Jundah
- Noah Skape as younger man
- Andrew Hale as older man
- David Wenham as Mal
- Samson Coulter as Trooper Sam
- Erik Thomson as Corporal Briggs
- Graham Boyce as prospector
- Jay Ryan as Sergeant Shaw
- Steve McCall as Trooper Fergal
- Wakarra Gondarra as Mandu
- Peter Jones as Mandu's son
- Gregory Shar as Juney
- Latrell Curley as Boolgie
- Trevor Jamieson as Coobering
- Sean Choolburra as the tracker
- Goran D. Kleut as Yates
- Mahesh Jadu as Sadhu
- Osamah Sami as Majid
- Daniel Motearefi as Kourosh
- Evan Williams as Water Wagon Teamster
Synopsis
The film is set during the
Production
The film was directed by Roderick MacKay,[3] his debut as director.[4]
Several of the Aboriginal actors speak their
The Furnace was produced by Southern Light Films, Meaning Maker and The Koop, and distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Umbrella Films and internationally by Arclight Films.[4]
Release
The Furnace premiered at the
Reception
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 89% based on 18 critics, with an average rating of 7.1/10.[7]
David Stratton wrote "If the film has a flaw it's that it doesn't quite reach the satisfying climax it promises; it's beautiful, even powerful, but rather bleak".[8]
According to Jake Wilson of The Age, "MacKay is not lacking in talent, but for a first-time director he may have taken on a little too much. While the scattered quality of the storytelling may be partly deliberate, a bigger problem is the lack of consistent tone".[9]
Writing for The Hollywood Reporter David Rooney commented that the film "Smolders effectively, even if it doesn't quite achieve maximum heat".[10]
Xan Brooks of The Guardian called The Furnace "as tough as old leather and as unadorned as cow hide",[11] while Variety's Jay Weissberg called the film "An enjoyably absorbing experience".[12] Lance Bakare wrote in The Guardian that he hoped that the film would help to highlight some forgotten history of Australia, giving the film 4 out of 5 stars.[5]
Accolades
Award | Category | Subject | Result |
---|---|---|---|
AACTA Awards (11th)[13] |
Best Film | Tenille Kennedy | Nominated |
Timothy White | Nominated | ||
Best Direction | Roderick MacKay | Nominated | |
Best Original Screenplay | Nominated | ||
Best Actor | Ahmed Malek | Nominated | |
Best Supporting Actor | Baykali Ganambarr | Nominated |
References
- ^ a b c Singh, Manpreet K. (9 December 2020). "'Confronting truths': Film peels back layers of 'untold history' of migrant cameleers in Australia". SBS Language. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
- ^ a b "Australian feature film shines light on pioneering gold rush cameleers". Gold Industry Group. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
- ^ Buckmaster, Luke (8 December 2020). "The Furnace review – David Wenham's gold thief traverses harsh outback morality". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
- ^ a b c Smit, Sarah (31 July 2020). "WA film 'The Furnace' only Australian film selected for Venice Film Festival". National Indigenous Times. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
- ^ a b Bakare, Lanre (8 September 2020). "The Furnace director: stories of Australia's cameleers 'felt like a huge historic omission'". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
- ^ O'Shea, Ben (6 September 2020). "WA film The Furnace wins applause at Venice Film Festival". The West Australian. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
- ^ "The Furnace (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ Stratton, David (11 December 2020). "Anne Hathaway in top form in Roald Dahl's The Witches". The Australian. Retrieved 14 November 2021.[dead link]
- ^ Wilson, Jake (9 December 2020). "First-timer forges an unconventional Australian Western". The Age. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
- ^ Rooney, David (4 September 2020). "'The Furnace': Film Review - Venice 2020". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
- ^ Brooks, Xan (4 September 2020). "The Furnace review – brutish western is tough as old leather and good as gold". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
- ^ Weissberg, Jay (16 September 2020). "'The Furnace' Review: Oz Western Delivers Racial Sensitivity and Good Old-Fashioned Storytelling". Variety.
- ^ "Winners & Nominees". AACTA Awards. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
External links
- The Furnace at IMDb