Sweet Country (2018)
84%RT Audience Score: 71%
Awards & Nominations: 22 wins & 29 nominations
Sweet Country makes brilliant use of the Australian outback as the setting for a hard-hitting story that satisfies as a character study as well as a sociopolitical statement
Sweet Country is the kind of movie that makes you want to saddle up and ride off into the sunset, even if you’ve never ridden a horse before. With stunning visuals and a gripping story, it’s a Western that’s not afraid to tackle tough issues and leave you thinking long after the credits roll. And let’s not forget about Hamilton Morris, who gives a performance that’s so good, you’ll forget he’s a first-time actor. So grab your cowboy hat and get ready for a wild ride with Sweet Country. Yeehaw!
Production Company(ies)
2.4.7. Films, France 3 Cinéma The Kennedy Marshall Company,
Distributor
Samuel Goldwyn Films
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Mid Northern South Australia, South Australia, Australia
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for violence, bloody images and for language throughout
Year of Release
2018
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:D-Cinema 48kHz 5.1
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:1h 53m
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Language(s):English, Aboriginal
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Country of origin:Australia
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Apr 6, 2018 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 10, 2018
Genre(s)
Western
Keyword(s)
Sweet Country, Western, Bryan Brown, Matt Day, Tremayne Doolan, Anni Finsterer, Natassia Gorey Furber, Gibson John, Warwick Thornton, David Jowsey, Greer Simpkin, R, English (Australia), Samuel Goldwyn Films, Scope (2.35:1), $85.6K, reviewed by Karl Quinn, J.R Kinnard, Alan Zilberman, Marjorie Baumgarten, Nick Dent, Chris Nashawaty, Joanne Laurier, Hamilton Morris, Indigenous, Australian outback, character study, sociopolitical statement, self-defense, violence, box office performance, MPAA rating, produced by David Jowsey, Greer Simpkin, directed by Warwick Thornton, written by Warwick Thornton
Worldwide gross: $1,849,718
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $2,176,700
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,391
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 237,372
US/Canada gross: $104,297
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $122,734
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,636
US/Canada opening weekend: $8,895
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $10,467
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,692
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Matt Day – Judge Taylor
Tremayne Doolan – Philomac
Anni Finsterer – Nell
Natassia Gorey Furber – Lizzie
Gibson John – Archie
Director – Warwick Thornton
Producers – David Jowsey, Greer Simpkin
Director(s)
Warwick Thornton
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
David Jowsey, Greer Simpkin
Film Festivals
Sundance, Venice, Toronto
Awards & Nominations
22 wins & 29 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (93) | Top Critics (31) | Fresh (89) | Rotten (4)
Indigenous actor Hamilton Morris is quietly magnificent in his first screen role.
January 5, 2019
Karl Quinn
The Age (Australia)
TOP CRITIC
Uncompromising, deliberate, and eerily beautiful, director Warwick Thornton’s rugged Australian Western puts a new spin on an old story.
May 16, 2018 | Rating: 3.5/4
J.R. Kinnard
Seattle Times
TOP CRITIC
If the movie’s outlook is less than hopeful, it nevertheless suggests that there is still time to learn from our mistakes.
April 17, 2018 | Rating: 4/4
Alan Zilberman
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
Sweet Country shows that the Western is a genre of ideas that’s as suitable to modernization in the northern Australian outback as in the ever-changing North American frontier.
April 12, 2018 | Rating: 3.5/5
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
Australia now has its High Noon.
April 10, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
Nick Dent
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
Spare, deliberately paced, and almost Biblical in its search for moral justice in a harsh and lawless landscape.
April 7, 2018 | Rating: B
Chris Nashawaty
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
The movie is a sincere work, with some remarkable performances, that centrally features Australia’s parched, barren desert landscape.
February 21, 2021
Joanne Laurier
World Socialist Web Site
From a beautiful, lyrical opening scene simply involving a dark bubbling pot and evocative audio to its devastating denouement, Warwick Thornton’s Aussie western is a triumph of taut storytelling and visual flair.
November 6, 2020 | Rating: 5/5
James Croot
Stuff.co.nz
The fourth feature by Australian filmmaker Thornton is not just the surprise of the week. It can even be the year, even though it has been released in our country with more than a year of delay. [Full review in Spanish]
June 14, 2019 | Rating: 2.5/4
Ernesto Diezmartinez
Cine Vértigo
Sweet Country is a powerful drama boasting strong performances, an engrossing story, and a viewing experience not easily shaken off.
March 23, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
Phil Guie
Film-Forward.com
Not only is Sweet Country a superb genre film, its focus on Aboriginal lives… makes it more than a little revolutionary. Most US Westerns fail at their indigenous representation, and this Aussie film is here to show them how it’s done.
February 26, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
Jack Blackwell
One Room With A View
A piece of cinema that will both enrage and inspire you, Sweet Country is a true triumph of cinema.
January 30, 2019 | Rating: 4/5.5
Doug Jamieson
The Jam Report…
Plot
Sweet Country is set in 1929 in the outback of the Northern Territory. It is the story of a young boy called Philomac, who witnesses Sam, an Aboriginal stockman kill station owner Harry Marsh in self defense. Sam and his pregnant wife Lizzie go on the run and a posse pursues them across the outback.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels doesn’t have anything goofy or funny to say about Sweet Country, but they do mention that Indigenous actor Hamilton Morris is “quietly magnificent” in his first screen role.
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