Unfinished Sky
A dishevelled woman (Monic Hendrickx) staggers exhaustedly through the Australian bush until she is unable to move another step. She ends up at the house of a surly farmer named John (William McInnes), who seems preoccupied, and is not inclined to treat her kindly.
It turns out that she (Tahmeena) has fled to Australia from Afghanistan but has been forced to take to the road again, to escape the abuse she has been suffering at the hands of her exploitative landlords. Sadly, it seems she has gone from one hostile landscape to another.
The reasons for John’s abrasive demeanour become clear as the story develops. But in the meantime, we are never quite sure whether he will treat the stranger who has stumbled into his life sympathetically, or if he will turn her over to her captors.
Unfinished Sky is Australian director Peter Duncan’s adaptation of a Dutch film: The Polish Bride, with the story translated well to an Australian landscape, and to a more politically significant context.
Atmospherically shot, and featuring a marvellous performance by William McInnes, there are echoes in the earlier part of the film, of Ray Lawrence’s superbly atmospheric Lantana.
The title of Unfinished Sky is taken from a jigsaw puzzle that acts as a metaphor for the relationship between these two people, and the pasts they are forced to leave behind. It is a poetic symbol, a cornerstone of the film, in fact, which was devised by Duncan, but sadly, frowned upon by the Dutch press, who couldn’t understand why it was included.
Dutch actor Monic Hendrickx copes capably with the Dari dialect she intones (a wise choice on the part of the filmmakers was not to provide subtitles when she talks, emphasising John’s sense of confusion). However, while she looks striking, she doesn’t seem particularly Afghani.
Nevertheless, with a slight suspension of belief, it is possible to enjoy watching the relationship between John and Tahmeena develop. It is especially interesting to observe McInnes’s beautifully understated but powerful transformation.
This is a very good film, but is let down by the ending, which won’t be divulged here, of course. Suffice it to say, it seems incongruous with the rest of the film. It would have been preferable to sustain the atmosphere created during the first part of the film, for the duration of the entire feature. Also, the pictures used to promote the film, do little to convey this atmosphere.
Nevertheless, it will be very interesting to see what Peter Duncan does next; he certainly deserves support for future projects.