Balibo (2009)

War correspondent Roger East and the young Jose Ramos-Horta travel to East Timor to investigate the murders of the Balibo Five in 1975.

Director:

Robert Connolly

Writers:

Robert Connolly, Jill Jolliffe (book),

Stars:

Bea Viegas, Christine Martins, Ana Rosa Mendoça

13 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bea Viegas	...	Juliana
Christine Martins	...	Juliana's Child
Ana Rosa Mendoça	...	Juliana's Child
Mazarela Martins	...	Juliana's Child
Nazário Baptista	...	Juliana's Child
Michael Stone	...	Interviewer
Jose Belo	...	Interviewer's Assistant
Anamaria Barreto	...	Young Juliana
Nick Farnell	...	Ken White
Anthony LaPaglia	...	Roger East
Ella Watson-Russell	...	Secretary
Oscar Isaac	...	José Ramos-Horta
Simon Stone	...	Tony Maniaty
Thomas M. Wright	...	Brian Peters (as Thomas Wright)
Julia Pratt	...	Brian Peter's Girlfriend

Storyline

As Indonesia prepares to invade the tiny nation of East Timor, five Australian based journalists go missing. Four weeks later, veteran foreign correspondent Roger East is lured to East Timor by the young and charismatic José Ramos-Horta to tell the story of his country and investigate the fate of the missing men. As East's determination to uncover the truth grows, the threat of invasion intensifies and an unlikely friendship develops between the last foreign correspondent in East Timor and the man who will become President. BALIBO is a political thriller that tells the true story of crimes that have been covered up for over thirty years.

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Plot Keywords:

east timor | indonesia | journalist | political thriller | invasion | 

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Taglines:

East Timor, 1975: Five Journalists Are Missing. One Man Searches For The Truth. One Man Fights For Justice.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 August 2009 (Australia)

Also Known As:

The Balibo Conspiracy

Filming Locations:

Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arenafilm, Australian Film Commission, The, Balibo Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

Anthony La Paglia's tattoos, which are very visible at the bottom of his sleeves, are inconsistent with the era. Few people had tattoos then. Even fewer had such heavy tattoos.

User Reviews

Beautifully done.

As someone with a long-standing interest in the history of East Timor, I had mixed feelings about this film, and how the people and events would be depicted. However, Robert Connolly did a great job, considering all of the constraints of a limited budget that he had. It did not go into minute detail about the historical events, but nor did it dumb down and sex up.

What happened to the Balibo Five and Roger East is only a very small fraction of the story of what happened in East Timor in 1975, and there will be accusations that the deaths of half a dozen Westerners are given more prominence than what happened to a far greater number of East Timorese. However, the East Timorese actors in the film, none of whom were professional actors, were tremendous - not least as they were reenacting events that they and their families were familiar with.