Balibo (2009) 6.9
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 |
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Balibo (2009) 6.9
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 |
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
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Bea Viegas | ... |
Juliana
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Christine Martins | ... |
Juliana's Child
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Ana Rosa Mendoça | ... |
Juliana's Child
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Mazarela Martins | ... |
Juliana's Child
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Nazário Baptista | ... |
Juliana's Child
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Michael Stone | ... |
Interviewer
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Jose Belo | ... |
Interviewer's Assistant
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Anamaria Barreto | ... |
Young Juliana
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Nick Farnell | ... |
Ken White
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| Anthony LaPaglia | ... |
Roger East
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Ella Watson-Russell | ... |
Secretary
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| Oscar Isaac | ... |
José Ramos-Horta
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| Simon Stone | ... |
Tony Maniaty
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| Thomas M. Wright | ... |
Brian Peters
(as Thomas Wright)
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Julia Pratt | ... |
Brian Peter's Girlfriend
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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. Written by Balibo Film Pty Ltd
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.