The One

Inspired by the disappearance of a young white girl in the 1930s — and the subsequent refusal of her father to allow an Aborigine member of the New South Wales police force to search for her — this concise feature from director Rachel Perkins is an ambitious exploration of the prejudice faced by indigenous Australians. Kim Batterham's photography captures the wild beauty of the outback and rock star Paul Kelly excels in his first film role as the farmer who ignores wife Kaarin Fairfax's plea to let tracker Kelton Pell find their daughter (who's been lured into the bush by the beauty of the Moon). The story is engrossing, but it's the expression of the characters' emotions through songs — combining indigenous, Celtic and contemporary country/folk styles — that makes this film so unique and moving.

"...Wong adds real muscle to the high concept with a string of truly excessive action sequences....It's like an insane Japanese Manga flick in live action..."