Balibo (2009)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Robert Connolly

Writers:

Robert Connolly (writer)
Jill Jolliffe (book)

Release Date:

13 August 2009 (Australia)

Genre:

Thriller

Tagline:

East Timor, 1975: Five Journalists Are Missing. One Man Searches For The Truth. One Man Fights For Justice.

Plot:

War correspondent Roger East and the young Jose Ramos-Horta travel to East Timor to investigate the murders of the Balibo Five in 1975.

Plot Keywords:

Political Thriller | One Word Title | Town Name In Title | Place Name In Title

Cast

Anthony LaPaglia	...	Roger East
Oscar Isaac	...	Jose Ramos-Horta
Nathan Phillips	...	Malcolm Rennie
Gyton Grantley	...	Garry Cunningham
Damon Gameau	...	Greg Shackleton
Tom Wright	...	Brian Peters
Simon Stone	...	Tony Maniaty
Mark Leonard Winter	...	Tony Stewart
Paul Sonkkila	...	McGuire
Bea Viegas
Mark Winter

Runtime:

Australia:111 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

New Zealand:M | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia

Company:

Arenafilm

Update on the Invaders

Justice in East Timor took 24 years, culminating in a referendum in 1999 and a second declaration of independence by the Timorese. Until then, "Timor Lorosa'e" was hidden from the world and dismissed as a "civil war". Canada, the US, UK and Australia all supported Indonesia in trying to keep this story hidden from the world, and I'm hopeful more people will start to pay attention after seeing Balibo.

Very few (outside of Austrlia) know that the same forces of militarized commerce have been plundering another Indonesian "province", West Papua, for 47 years and counting. Many of the same officers and militia leaders who were indicted for crimes against humanity in East Timor have been promoted and are now active in West Papua. This is militarized commerce – where the worst of the corporation is supported by the latest weaponry and intelligence devices and a nasty penchant for torture. The UN, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and many others remain gravely concerned.

At stake for the world is the second-largest tropical rainforest on earth, an area called "the lungs of Asia" and comparable to the Amazon in terms of its ecological and cultural diversity. Tropical rainforests (jungles) are home to over half of the world's known species and hundreds of unique tribal cultures who lived there sustainably for thousands of years. The same fighting force who invaded and occupied East Timor now occupy Aceh, Maluku, Kalimantan and West Papua, persecuting the local people with impunity and forever destroying millions of hectares per year (mostly through illegal logging).

To confuse any attempts at global awareness, Indonesia has officially changed West Papua's name four times since occupying the region in 1963, right after West Papua declared its independence under UN authority. As depicted in Balibo, Indonesia also invaded East Timor only months after it declared independence.

If you are outraged by the atrocities shown in this film, find out more about the current situation by visiting etan.org, tapol.org, or freewestpapua.org.

Tom Benedetti, Canada