Bunya Productions
Now Available to Stream on Amazon Prime
The Australian outback is not a place of Limbo as this movie’s film title suggests. Instead, it’s a world of isolation. Here, crimes can go unsolved for years, and by the time authorities get wind of a situation, rushing to a commune named after this place of purgatory to catch a criminal is often too late.
In this movie’s case, Travis Hurley (Simon Baker) comes to this migrant hovel to look at a homicide left to rot. Charlotte went missing. She didn’t go on a walkabout, as hinted in the opening moments, otherwise she’d be back. Had she been a person of European descent, I’m sure the authorities would’ve been on the case sooner. This detective came here to investigate. But when not everyone wants to talk, I wonder what they are hiding. This work isn’t like Twin Peaks by any stretch of the imagination, but I’m sure Ivan Sen got some ideas from this cult classic.
I believe this hamlet is ready to become a ghost town, and because there’s no local authority, these people are on their own to do as they like. Some have curious background that slowly gets unveiled, and others are easy to figure out by appearance alone. But when this lawman arrives to investigate a very cold case, the only tension comes from folks who think he shouldn’t meddle.
What’s presented is a very slow burn as Hurley tries to get answers. He knows he’s facing an uphill battle, and even when he finally gets to a revelation, he’s not sure if he can present what he’s discovered to his superiors. They want a report, and what he’s found …. well, I won’t spoil these particular details.
To say this film is watchable is tough. If you’re a fan of noir, it’s worth it just for the cinematography. The investment put into painting the world in black and white says it all. And when contrasted with what Australian aborigines put into some of their art, especially mandalas, that’s subject to interpretation. I suspect there’s more story in the opening frames than the rest, since it shows feet moving between different spheres.
Although the Tjukula Jukurrpa (known as the Dreamtime, in Western culture) is very colourful, what’s presented here is very grey. I love how the camera positions itself and let the moment linger to enhance the visual narrative. I spent more time admiring how everything is blocked for this lens. And as I was searching the landscape for spiritual clues, I may have missed the point of the story. I also get the feeling Baker was purposely emulating Bogie in a lot of the shots.
Ultimately, I wished there was more information regarding why Limbo continues to exist. I get the feeling this township is getting dismantled, and not everyone is willing to leave. One of them happens to be Joseph (the person Travis wants to locate) and he’s not even found until the end, living in a cave, and just waiting to cross Death’s door.
Anyone interested in visiting the film location of Coober Pedy will see why this mining town is perfect for the film. It’s full of creepy decorations and really feels like a world lost to time.
Limbo is an odd tale where the hero arrives too late to do anything of relevance. It is very talky, and I suspect it’s a mixed genre film that embeds folk culture into noir. Unless one knows more about this aboriginal world, it’s easy to get confused. I feel the tale would have benefited from adding more mysticism to make it work. That is, it could have been made better by explaining the world and why native people chose to make this place their settlement before the coming of the white man. It started off well enough, even though it seems to have lost its way by mid-act.
3½ Wallabies out of 5
Limbo Movie Trailer
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