Even in the world of Internet criticism and the democratisation of opinions about media, there is still one name and one name
only who is the most important film critic in Australian history: David
Stratton. The Oceanic answer to Roger Ebert, gaining mainstream attention
through the Australian version of At The Movies with fellow critic Margaret
Pomeranz, he basically embodies everything I both love and hate about the
typical newspaper film critic. He has a very evident love for the medium and
helped build up the Sydney Film Festival, but he also employs a lot of the
faux-profundities and literary snootiness that I have railed on many times
before. Still, regardless of all that, I find myself almost required to show
respect where it’s due because of his importance to the industry. Have to
admit, I wasn’t exactly anxious to check this film out, given how this is the
sort of critic I usually try to avoid out in the wild, but considering how this
year has been for Aussie cinema already, I reckon it’s worth being given its
time in the sun on this blog.
