The events that take place within the surprisingly short 104-minute runtime of Van Diemen's Land might have been depicted as more visually shocking and disgusting if in the hands of someone like Eli Roth or Rob Zombie. But first-time feature-length director Jonathan Auf Der Heide (who also co-writes) handles everything here in a strangely delicate fashion, a way that makes such things as murder and cannibalism seem very matter-of-fact. It's a film of true, raw power that, although certainly not to everyone's tastes, can be revelled by those who enjoy their cinema to be about more than explosions and car chases.

Set in the early 19th century, Van Diemen's Land tells the true story of a group of convicts who after escaping their captors in Tasmania, head out into the vast, treacherous and unknown wilderness that surrounded where they were being held. Managing only so long before the harsh conditions and lack of food take hold, the group are forced to turn on each other for survival.

Van Diemen's Land could very well be described as a pessimistic look at aspects of the human condition, shining light on the ugliest things that human beings would do not to live and be comfortable in their conditions, but to merely survive. And it's never a pretty or easy watch; it contains scenes that - as far as the principle of the act which is occurring goes - are downright stomach-churning. But somehow it all makes sense, even if in normal, everyday life it would cause jaws to drop.

What adds to the weight of the movie, as is almost always the case, is the fact that it's based on a true story. There really were eight convicts who escaped captivity in 1822, having to brave the harsh weather and surroundings in pursuit of freedom and, ultimately, survival. In contrast to that, there's also a certain fairytale like quality to the movie, almost as if it's all a dream and these men are still back in the hands of their captors.

Article Author: Ross Miller

I am a film critic and blogger, and have been so for almost three years now, going from starting my own movie review website, Movie World (which is still running), and then moving on to writing for various movie blogs.

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