Public Service Announce: See The Horseman

I don't too often do this, but i feel it is necessary.

It has been nearly two years to the day that I saw Steven Kastrissios' debut feature The Horseman at the Melbourne International Film Festival. The cinema was the tiniest at Greater Union on Russell Street and it was late at night so this tiny cinema had even fewer people in it. I had no idea what to expect other than it was some sort of Aussie revenge flick. If you have good memories then you may remember my review in which I wrote:

...unlike far more nihilistic and violent films such as The Passion of the Christ and Saw, the film around it is so incredibly strong and powerfully made that the violence is there to truly serve. It makes you question the lengths people will go to for justice, and the depths of depravity that lurk beneath the surface of even the most peaceful individual.

That amongst so much more praise. It's a stunning film. I named it the 8th best Aussie film of the decade, ahead of titles such as Japanese Story, Ten Canoes and Wolf Creek. I also listed Peter Marshall's astonishing performance as the 70th best moment of the decade. Marshall's performance is a thing of true power and I would rank it as one of the five best male performances from the 2000s.

I feel like I've been with The Horseman since the start since, if I remember correctly, that MIFF screening two years ago was its "world premiere". In the two years that have followed I have been frustrated at the lack of Australian release. It's played at a festival here or there, received a UK cinema release last year and has even found its way onto American DVD and Blu-Ray. So it's with great happiness that I see it is finally getting a (very) limited Australian release starting from tomorrow.

It will only be screening at the Chauvel in Sydney, The Tribal in Brisbane and the Cinema Nova here in Melbourne (late shows only on Friday and Saturday) so I beg anybody with access to it to please go and support this excellent film. It will be so much more rewarding than seeing something like The Karate Kid while Predators and Toy Story 3 will still be there next week. Beware though that it is rated R18+ for a reason. Still excellent though!