Here Out West (Fadia Abboud, Lucy Gaffy, Julie Kalceff, Ana Kokkinos, Leah Purcell, 2022) wr. Nisrine Amine, Bina Bhattacharya, Matias Bolla, Claire Cao, Arka Das, Dee Dogan, Vonne Patiag, Tien Tran, dp Tania Lambert; Genevieve Lemon, Nisrine Amine, Mia-Lore Bayeh, Gladys Iturra Beiza, Anita Hegh; drama
Luke Buckmaster:
This film has eight chapters to cover in 101 minutes, which inevitably cuts stories short and clips performances. Sometimes this limited space creates a desire to be short, sharp and snappy, but pace-wise Here Out West goes the other way – rarely rushing anything. There is an admirable tenderness in the way the various directors and screenwriters find the humanity in their characters quickly, probing them for attitudes, emotions and worldviews. It is no surprise that the stories based in and around the hospital work particularly well, given hospitals are obviously associated with drama: the place where most of us are born, many of us die, and where we are drawn to in times of sickness. The Guardian.
Chris Greenwood:
There is nothing "sexy" about Here Out West. It will not attract a mainstream audience. I sat in a 250 seat Event Cineplex with three other punters. We stood afterwards and talked glowingly of what we had just seen. I notice there are no more big screen showings here in Western Australia. Our national broadcaster the A.B.C. played a part in the film's origins; a national release will take place on its streaming service IVIEW. Thank goodness for our ever evolving digital formats. Compassion and tolerance can continue to seep into the consciousness of society. Films like Here Out West ensure that will happen. A Sliver of Film.
Ian & Sheila Taylor:
Filmed in Arabic, Bengali, Cantonese, English, Kurdish, Spanish, Tagalog, Turkish and Vietnamese, Here Out West is a ground-breaking production that deserves to be seen widely. It will, in fact, air on ABC Television eventually but see it on the big screen if you can. The performances are very good, some from familiar faces like Lemon, Anita Hegh, Rahel Romahn and Leah Vandenberg, and some from first-time or beginning actors. Despite the differing writers and directors, its mise-en-scène is seamless because it has the same DoP (Tania Lambert, who’s done a terrific job), production designer, costume designer, editor, composer and sound designer, thus creating a cohesive look-and-feel to the entire movie. It was a bold move to try and bring all the various elements of Here Out West together but the filmmakers have pulled it off. They’ve successfully shown that the ‘west’ is no longer ‘way out’ – it’s here and it’s us.
Celina Ribeiro 2022, '"Will it translate?": how a risk-taking Australian film hopes to change the industry', The Guardian, 28 January.
Garry Gillard | New: 5 May, 2022 | Now: 5 May, 2022