So I hadn't really known much about Beautiful Kate before seeing it, but it turned out to be a quietly stunning example of the kind of Australian cinema that seems to come down the line quite frequently whose success lies in the way it integrates its more dreamily poetic impulses with the more concrete, character-driven elements that give the film its punch. The flashback scenes are hazily nostalgic without obscuring the harshness that is so integral to Ned's past; over and over, the past bleeds into the present and vice versa, the physical landscape providing both continuity and indicia of change (most particularly, the dried up dam), each as unforgiving as the other. Much of the credit must go to director Rachel Ward, but she's also gifted with uniformly strong performances from her Australian cast; this is a really good one.
(w/ Kai)
