No. 11. (2020) STRANGE COLOURS February 21st.

Film No 11 (2020)  February 21st.  8:10 PM  SBS On DEMAND Living Room, Mt. Hawthorn . 

"You're not just bouncing around the country like a tennis ball are ya?". (Melina's dad, Max, begins his conversation with his daughter after not laying eyes on her in years).

This small film is a classic in the mold of Sunday Too Far Away (1975). A big call I know, but we get to see an Australia in all it's raw beauty through the eyes of a hero not quite sure about where they stand in life. 

Milena, brilliantly underplayed by Kate Cheel, is a beauty amongst beasts as she arrives in Lightning Ridge opal fields in barren New South Wales to visit her dying father Max (Daniel P Jones). They have as much in common as Milena has with the dirt, dust and hot winds. Milena however is mesmerised by this land of strange colours.

Naturalism (more often referred to as realism) in film can surely leave audiences flailing for a foothold in the narrative of a story. Strange Colours will surely leave some audiences flailing, but Alena Lodkina, a first time director, has captured a unique aesthetic. It's like the natural beauty of Milena in all her innocence arrives like a rare stone in this renowned opal town.

The performances are real and unpretentious. The atmosphere is quietly electric but never threateningly so. International cinema lovers wanting to get one specific dimension depicting isolation in Australia should catch Strange Colours. SBS On Demand provides that opportunity. To think Lodkina arrived in Australia as a 15 year old. She really does have a true sense of her adopted country. 11GUMS.