SWEET COUNTRY World Cinema

Warwick Thornton’s beautifully photographed Outback Western tells the story of a stoic Aboriginal stockman, Sam Kelly (Hamilton Morris), working the land of a white preacher (Sam Neill), whose strength of character ignites a fierce conflict that divides a small settlement in Australia’s Northern Territory in 1929. Using real events as the starting point, Thornton’s narrative delves deep into the inequities that divide a frontier community of farmers, laborers, veterans and outlaws who, out of necessity, are as tough and unforgiving as the scorching, dusty Outback itself. When Sam is forced to go on the run, he navigates this dark “sweet country” with humanity, determined to protect the woman he loves, restore his honor and return to work the land his people once owned. – Jacqueline Lyanga