romulus, my father

i had contemplated going to see this one for a while
decided tonight was a good night to see a film
came down to a choice of 3
as is now quite often the case
the decision came down to a factor
of which one was most enviromentally friendly
i.e. walk to the cinema as opposed to driving
i'd read a few reviews and kind of knew what to expect
a study on european immigration
a father-son story
a view of life in outback australia
a timepiece
something uniquely australian
i also went to the film with no knowledge
of the author upon whom the story is based
raimond gaitor
the son of romulus and central figure in the film
i had a conversation a month or 2 ago
with someone who is a major fan of the book and it's author
hadn't seen the film but couldn't wait
this added to my expectation
i hope i'm not being too harsh here
but it was somewhat disappointing
it was beautifully filmed
with just-so-lovely footage
but it seemed so non-contiguous
every scene was left to live or die on its own merits
each one seemingly so obviously set up
all that was missing was the cry of 'action' and 'cut'
the actors didn't seem that interested in the full picture
just the here and now of the current scene
i tried to put this down even now
to maybe a style of direction
i am not used to or have not encountered before
concentrate on the getting the parts right
and the whole itself will surely be greater
in hindsight i think the problem may be because it is based on a book
and there is only so much detail that can be translated to the screen
especially if the book, the whole book and nothing but the book
is what is being laid out before us
i don't think this is a particularly complex story
but the speed at which characters came and went
were born, died, killed or committed suicide
were one moment in a hospital
and soon after in another
or introduced and then shelved
or introduced but not developed
or one moment living in one place
and the next somewhere else
was all a bit frustrating
for this viewer of no prior knowledge
it was like seeing a 90 minute trailer
of what could be a very good tv drama series
where things could be fleshed out
characters could be fully explained
actors allowed to inhabit their roles
and we could stay in one place for longer
yes i think i am being too harsh
it was a lovely film
really it was
really