Tommo-22
Although the plot has been done before many times - stranger in a strange land - TOF handles it with charm and restraint.Jack is a blow-in from Sydney to the close-knit oyster-farming region of the Hawkesbury River, just north of Sydney. He snares a job with rough diamond Brownie, who is smarting under the embarrassment of his estranged wife farming a lease next to his and doing much better at it. Brownie has a gabby old Irish father who beneath his verbosity is shrewd and wise to the nature of Jack's unsettled presence in the oyster farming community. Naturally, there's a pretty young thing Pearl strutting her stuff and Jack takes a shine to her and she to him. Just to complicate Jack's life, he has a financially-draining sister in tow who is apparently recovering from a serious car accident but who appears to be healthier than just about everyone else on the river. I don't think her part, or situation, is well written of delineated. There are one or two pivotal events but nothing that manages to get out of hand or spoil the viewer's congeniality with the film. The Hawkesbury looks stunning and the actors look at home in its confines and do a good job with a script that is hardly demanding. Veteran Australian actor Jack Thompson plays Skippy, a Vietanam vet who lives in a camp on the river with fellow vets and who gives Jack the benefit of his reflections on life. Thompson is quite good, although I got the feeling his part was the eccentric that every writer is looking for to complete the full range of characters. A nice, undemanding piece of entertainment. 7/10
dean-schneider
A debut film from an AFTRS student. A typical, empty, superficial piece of work that displays no effort at trying to get inside the minds of these characters, indeed, it rather pretends to know and is so convinced that these are 'good blokes and Sheila's' it doesn't even bother to try any harder. The story lumbered from point to point with holes in between the size of the Hawkesbury River, and the acting does no more than try and cover over these. In the end, none of it comes together in any sensible way, and there is no attempt to show what the hell this whole mess of a film is about anyway. Is it about oyster farming, or is it about life of a Sydney sider living in the country?Or is it neither? A confusion. (Spoiler) It ends with the main male and female characters in a bath together, having somehow successfully fallen in love, with no attempt on the part of the filmmaker to convincingly portray the two falling in love. It's almost as if we are expected to believe this relationship based on the mythology or formula seen in other films, a concession that this is poorly written but telling us at the same time we should go along with it for the sake of pleasing the ego of some filmmaker far far away with nothing to say and all the power to say nothing. Another film from our abysmal industry, and why? Just ask where the filmmakers learned their craft.
waynelfo
"Oyster Farmer" is a refreshing story that gives an insight into a few of the many characters scattered throughout the country. Though the story line is far from spectacular, it in engrossing with the ordinariness of people trying to eke out a living in a cut throat business. The interplay between the characters enriches the plot as one couple oppose each other, a wanderer carries robs an armoured car to pay off a debt and a group of Vietnam veterans make a life away from a world that has rejected. There are other interesting characters who also intertwine the plot with their affairs and dealings. Really, this film has no pretenses. The scenery is just so typical of a great waterway as are depictions of the life style of its people.
butterfly24
There was a certain degree of anticipation for this movie for me, since I live in the area where most of the movie is set. And after being part of the experience - drinking at the pub with some of the stars, and watching the film crew in action, it certainly didn't disappoint!! It's not every day that you watch a movie on the big screen set in your own suburb, recognize the faces of locals who have bit parts, and feel a great sense of pride in the beautiful scenery that you have come to know so well... it's a bit surreal.... I'm not sure if I would have enjoyed the movie quite so much if it wasn't set in my home town, but nevertheless, the story was pleasant enough, the characters were likable... some may find it a little slow and tame, and the plot was a little disjointed, with not a great deal of drama or suspense or even character development.The general consensus of my neighbours who have seen the film is that the true star of the movie was the Hawkesbury River.
AD
