Balibo - a must see

I normally reserve a trip to the movies for the big budget films, ones with a raft of special effects, deafening sound, and action sequences – the types of films that pale into mediocrity when viewed in the living room. Occasionally I break the mould and venture to the movies to see a film which falls outside this genre. Last night was one of these nights as I attended a charity screening of ‘Balibo’. The following are my thoughts on the movie.

Balibo – 111 mins
Starring: Anthony Lapaglia, Oscar Isaac

What is the value of a human life? The value that one person puts on their own life can differ greatly from the value they put on the lives of others, a concept explored in vivid realism in Balibo.

This is the story of the “Balibo Five” – a group of five Australian journalists who travelled to East Timor in 1975 to film the invasion of the newly liberated East Timor by the Indonesian Army. This invasion was one that the world turned a blind eye to, one that western nations had blood on their hands over; one that to this day most people never know existed.

The Australian journalists were sent to cover the invasion and felt an obligation to show the rest of world the evil that lay off the coast of Timor and on its jungle clad mountain borders; an evil without compassion and human decency.

That the journalists met their death is not a secret, it has been the focus of many a program and analysis in the ensuing 34 years. Balibo recreates the time leading up to and immediately following their untimely deaths and what transpired in this period.

There are two standout performances in this film. Anthony Lapaglia is outstanding in his role as Roger East, a washed up journalist who barely survives on a diet of Darwin stubbies and fitful sleep – a man who is his own words is ‘too old for this shit’. Oscar Isaac plays a youthful Jose Ramos-Horta, the freedom fighter and future leader of East Timor. He is smooth and suave but also haunted, determined, and ruthless. He is driven by the demons he has witnessed and mourns for his country and its people throughout.

These two head into the East Timorese jungle to locate the ‘Balibo Five’ – both at times ready to quit, only to be reinvigorated by horror and loss. The film is shot with an almost documentary quality, one part home movie, and one part first person recollection. The cinema almost felt humid, you could sense the sweat, the mosquitoes, and the engulfing blanket of the jungle.

The character study of East and Ramos-Horta is central to the success of Balibo. Throughout we are privy to their public exultations and their private, tender, heart wrenching moments – when they are alone with their demons and cannot run and hide.

The examination of human interaction and psychology is disturbing and enlightening at the same time. The chilling glee on gunman’s faces, the way different people approach imminent death; some with reservation, and others with fierce opposition. It is hard to imagine regional neighbours treating one another with such disdain and callous indifference – how can life lose meaning so quickly? It would be like Australia invading New Zealand and slaughtering the population. It is unfathomable. What is also unfathomable is how Australia and the rest of the World stood by and let it unfold. But these things did happen in 1975 and have happened regularly throughout history.

Like Schindler’s List, Hotel Rwanda and other films that centre on people in wartime, Balibo is an important study of human behaviour that we all need to watch.

In doing so, hopefully we do not repeat the sins of those who have come before us.