Sometimes these
movies won’t be groundbreaking or magnificent enough to make you wonder why
they weren’t more popular. Other times, you’ll watch some and wonder why they
were made at all. But the good ones will always leave you glad you saw them.
Many of the good ones, like Goldstone, are subtle, with small settings, a
tiny cast, and made to entertain rather than be a crowd-pleaser.
Goldstone is
a nice film—the kind that makes you realize that doing nothing is the same as
being part of the problem.
The movie is a standalone film, but it’s also a sequel to Mystery Road,
which also starred Aaron Pedersen as Jay Swan.
Set three years after the events of the previous movie, Jay is sent to a town
to investigate the disappearance of a missing Asian tourist. Like I said, the
movie is standalone, and while his past actions are mentioned, they have no
bearing on this story.
Jay is a headstrong Aboriginal police officer, and his arrival in the town is met with hostility from the locals. He even has a shootout in the trailer he’s staying in, orchestrated by a racist crew who take pleasure in hurting foreigners and Aboriginal people. As I mentioned, it’s an Australian movie, and Jay is in a local Aboriginal town where many of the elders are selling out their land to a company promising development.
Jay’s presence
becomes a problem as his search for the missing tourist leads him to uncover a
human trafficking ring that turns Asian girls into sex slaves.
The people
running the trafficking ring are in cahoots with the racist crew, the town
elders, and even the local law enforcement. The local police officer, Josh,
turns a blind eye to everything. He’s forced to pay attention and reluctantly
joins Jay in cleaning up the town after Jay accuses him of being complicit.
Together, the two stir up enough trouble to expose not just human trafficking
and land grabbing but also murder, which becomes another problem the town has
to face.
This Australian
thriller is directed and written by Ivan Sen. If you don’t know who he is,
neither do I. He also handled the music, cinematography, and
editing—essentially a one-man Swiss army knife of movie production.
The movie is enjoyable and has earned numerous Australian accolades (both
nominations and wins) from their film awards community.
Like I said, it’s a subtle movie—not a lot of gun-blazing action, but it packs
enough suspense to keep you hooked. So, if you’ve got the time for some good
drama, go see this movie.
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