Limbo (2023 Film)

''Limbo'' is a 2023 Australian independent mystery-crime film directed by Ivan Sen and starring Simon Baker, Rob Collins, Natasha Wanganeen and Nicholas Hope. The film had its world premiere in competition at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival, on 23 February 2023, where it competed for Golden Bear.

Synopsis

In a small Australian outback town named Limbo, detective Travis Hurley arrives to investigate a 20-year-old unsolved homicide of a young Aboriginal woman, Charlotte Hayes. The desolate region is pocked with caves, opal mines, and dusty unpaved roads. Hurley attempts to interview Charlotte's brother, Charlie, who excavates an opal mine, and her sister, Emma, who waitresses at a local café. Hurley is at first rebuffed by both Charlie and Emma, neither of whom seem inclined to cooperate with the re-opened investigation of their sister's murder. Eventually, they come to trust Hurley and share recollections which implicate Joseph, a debilitated elderly white man whose late partner, Leon, threw parties to attract young Black girls to his cave. Though some figures who were witnesses to the parties are now dead, others who still live in the area provide enough clues for Hurley to piece together a likely scenario about Charlotte's murder.

Cast

* Simon Baker as Travis Hurley
* Rob Collins as Charlie
* Natasha Wanganeen as Emma
* Nicholas Hope as Joseph
* Mark Coe as Zac
* Joshua Warrior as Oscar
* Alexis Lennon as Jessie

Production

''Limbo'' was produced by Bunya Productions and Windalong Films, with the support of Screen Queensland, South Australian Film Corporation, and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Filming began on 19 August 2022 at Coober Pedy in South Australia. The film was shot in black and white, partly for technical reasons, but mainly because of the large expanses of white ground at Coober Pedy, which provide a dramatic backdrop. Sen wrote the script based on his experience of the town, with its underground dwellings and unusual culture.

Release

The film had its world premiere at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival on 23 February 2023.

It premiered in Australian cinemas on 18 May 2023, and had its television premiere on ABC TV on 9 July 2023. It was invited to Horizons section of 57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where it was screened on 30 June 2023. The film was also invited to the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival in centrepiece section.

The film was selected in country focus section 'Best of Contemporary Australian Cinema' at the 29th Kolkata International Film Festival and was screened on 6 December 2023. It will be showcased in February 2024 at the 39th Santa Barbara International Film Festival in 'Non Premiere Feature Films' section.

Reception

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes website, the film has an approval rating of 97% based on 33 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 76 out of 100 based on 6 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Peter Bradshaw of ''The Guardian'' rated the film with 4 stars out of 5 and wrote, "It is a tough, muscular film with the grit of crime, but a heartbeat of compassion." David Rooney for ''The Hollywood Reporter'' stating that the film is "A riveting, multilayered genre piece", concluded writing, "With its strikingly cinematic locations and Sen’s expressive use of the widescreen frame, ''Limbo'' also sneaks up on you, leaving a haunting impression." Guy Lodge reviewing at Berlin Film Festival, for Variety wrote, "This is outback noir — oblique, secretive and as hard-boiled as the ground is hard-baked — and Sen wears it well." Wendy Ide for ScreenDaily wrote in review that the film is "a distinctive work, both visually – the stark black and white photography accentuates the uncanny, almost lunar pockmarks on this scarred terrain – and in terms of its intriguingly detached outback noir storytelling."

Accolades

''Limbo won the Jury Grand Prix, Best feature film, at the 2023 Rencontres internationales du cinéma des Antipodes (Antipodean Film Festival).

References

External links

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''Limbo''
at Berlinale
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{{Ivan Sen

2023 films
Films directed by Ivan Sen
2020s English-language films
2020s Australian films
Australian crime drama films
Australian detective films
Screen Australia films
Films shot in South Australia
Australian mystery films
2023 crime drama films
Films set in the Outback
English-language crime drama films