Buoyancy

Well filmed and well acted.

Superb. Shame on the Thais. Shame.

Rodd Rathjen wrote and directed this Australian film on human trafficking in Thailand. It's a foreign language feature with Khmer and Thai the two languages spoken. First off, if you have any fears of swimming or deep water or drowning then I'd STRONGLY suggest skipping Buoyancy. This tense and haunting thriller never lets you look away. Rathjen's use of light to illustrate how confined spaces are make this movie come to life. While the sound design wasn't my cup of tea it was a minor blemish in what is hopefully a long and brilliant career of Rathjen. All of the actors are non-actors, but you wouldn't know it. This is a really great film that will open your mind about a subject that not enough light is on. Based on true stories, this is a film about survival. With 30 minutes left you'll have no idea where it's going and you won't mind. Final Score: 9/10

With its heart decidedly in the right place, this socially conscious Australian offering shines an exceedingly bright light on the plight of Southeast Asian men and boys who are willfully deceived and ostensibly sold into slavery aboard Thai fishing boats, forced to work under deplorable conditions and sadistic sea captains. In what essentially turns out to be a Western on the high seas, viewers witness the brutal coming of age of a 14-year-old Cambodian youth who is looking for a better life but unwittingly takes a difficult path to reach his goal. In telling his story, the film features superb cinematography, an excellent score, capable performances and a sparklingly clear message, but its minimalist, sometimes-repetitive, often-predictable narrative and one-dimensional character development tend to undermine the other fine assets that the picture has going for it. While it's indeed discomforting to criticize a release with such noble intents behind it, it's also nevertheless regrettable that the filmmakers chose a comparatively pedestrian approach to fulfill them and to tell a story that's long overdue in being told.

At one point, the 14-year-old Cambodian boy turned slave in a Thai fishermen ship, stares at the immensity of the ocean around him, contemplating a chance for freedom, a way to better survive his miserable condition. He might also regret leaving his home, with the excuse he wasn't getting paid for his father's requesting jobs ("why did you have so many children?" he courageously confronted his patriarch). He wouldn't have got trapped in a human trafficking, slavery operation taking place in the middle of the ocean, as an accurate portrait of what really occurs in these corrupt, lawless and impoverished parts of the world. His charismatic, determined personality attracts an allied from both sides: he becomes attached, and forms an unlikely father/son relationship with one of the slaved men among them, who shapes him through their suffering journey, and also captures admiration from one of the murderous captains in the ship, who decides to protect him and to turn him into one of his kind. Addressing children exploitation in a gripping atmosphere, powerfully performed and shockingly violent, Rodd Rathjen's feature debut is an impressive, cutting-edge survivalist tale.

Really Loved this movie... took a day or two to really digest this masterpiece. Very gripping

Not an easy film. But that is reality for you: not easy to watch and so many time overlooked.

Overall, make no mistake, Buoyancy can be classed as a tough drama film to watch but I personally have no regrets in seeing it. This film was a positive experience filled with solid performances and I would gladly recommend this film to many others. 8.1/10 - Walkden Entertainment