RESPONSES OF THE VIEWERS
May 18, 2010
SX NewsGreg Crockett
A fiery political docudrama is the star vehicle for hot actor David Wenham
Generally, my idea of keeping up with the news involves watching Entertainment Tonight every single day. This means I can hold extended discussions on the real paternity of Katie's baby, but I'm usually quite clueless about what's going on in the real world. Therefore Answered by Fire was initially something of a mystery, as this powerful new mini-series is set against the backdrop of East Timor's struggle for independence. I'm sure I should have already known about this very serious issue, but up until now my main experience of Foreign Affairs involved a brief encounter with a Frenchman at Sleaze Ball.
As I soon discovered, Answered by Fire is based on a United Nations mission to East Timor in 1999 where the assignment was to oversee the area's upcoming vote on independence from Indonesia. Given the task of ensuring a fair ballot, the UN's volunteers were hampered by interference from the brutal Indonesian military and the corruption of the local authorities. It was a dangerous exercise, but as one of the Aussies in the series explains, УThe East Timorese saved our arses in WWII against the Japanese. Then in 1975 we just stood by and let the Indonesians walk in and take over. We owe these people, big time.
Answered by Fire is David Wenham's first television vehicle in quite some time. The hunky bloodnut plays Mark Waldman, an Australian policeman who volunteers for the mission to East Timor and is put in charge of the Civilian Police in Nunura. One unexpected benefit of this plot is that Wenham gets to wear a very sexy policemanТs outfit for the entire show. For anyone with a uniform fetish, this has roughly the same effect as six beers and a Viagra... although in some scenes he also wears a rather pale blue beret, and not even Diver Dan can make that look good.
In the village, Mark meets both a Canadian policewoman who's on her first overseas mission and a young Timorese translator whose father and sister are actively campaigning for independence. Over the course of the film the lives of all five of these people will be changed forever, but the main focus remains squarely on Wenham's character. Mark is initially a little too good to be true, but as the situation in Timor worsens his fade crumbles as he edges towards a nervous breakdown. Wenham does some fine dramatic work here... and whether he's bawling his eyes out or pushing one of the locals off a cliff, he still looks devastatingly handsome.
Answered by Fire is an intriguing piece that consists of two ninety minute episodes, with part one covering the events leading up to the vote and part two taking place in the chaos that ensues after the UN decides to pull out of the area. Adding a layer of authenticity to the drama is that many of the cast are actual Timorese who fled to Australia to escape these events and are now recreating scenes that they themselves experienced. Coincidentally, violence erupted in East Timor again this week and Australian troops are once more on standby. I know... I saw it on a newsbreak during Entertainment Tonight.
June 4, 2010
IMDbelvinone-1
Brilliant!! Should win many Awards!!
This brilliant movie is so timely! Our hearts go out to the people of East Timor who are yet again going through what "Answered by Fire" brought to light.
The acting was sensitive and superb by all participants. The action particularly the scenes when people were trying to scale the barbed wire on top of the walls was handled far better than so many similar American productions. We don't always need graphic blood and guts technicolour with loud noise to convey the horror of a scene. The silence can be chilling and tends to zoom the mind into focus on the reality.
The acting of the Timorese people was so real that we felt a bond develop and our thoughts are even more with them now in their present predicament. It is our opinion that this film deserves wider showing and yet again we hope that our very fine Australian Film Industry gets recognition for the excellence of their productions. The down-to-earth genuine presentation of stories in our films cannot be rivalled by so many of the American films that are punched out and fed to us over here. No need for heaps of trick lighting with venetian blinds, much filming in the dark and close-ups of talking heads and meaningful looks. Give us a sensitive Aussie male like Wenham anyday.
About the title, as we aren't aware if the film was taken from a book or written especially for TV. Could you please explain how the writer came up with the name Answered by Fire. There are many explanations we can come up with, but would like to know the answer to this question.
One more comment we would like to make is how well the two different worlds of culture were portrayed with the "back at home" scenes. We spent 3 years as Missionaries in Bulgaria 10 years ago and experienced reverse culture shock upon re-entry. A heart that is left behind with other people you have loved takes time to heal...you are never the same again.
We have been suitably stirred by this great film and feel a love for the people of East Timor as a result. Go Aussie films!!!!
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