True History of the Kelly Gang (2019)

 

What made me watch "True History of the Kelly Gang" were some positive reviews and that I wanted to move out a bit from the old movies zone where it seems I'm more or less stuck in this period. I should have known better...

Short background info: Ned Kelly was an Australian bushranger at the end of the 19th century. The movie is not a true history as the title says, but some sort of minimalist approach that gives a flavor of low budget (despite the cast), aiming probably for being considered some artistic innovation. Actually, it's a failed copy of Terrence Malick, or... well, maybe it's a successful copy depending on which Malick movie you pick to compare with. We have the same painfully slow development that contrasts heavily with chaotic sequences full of "hidden meanings", which should make you wonder of the "director's genius" (doesn't matter that the meanings stay hidden - as long as the director will be labeled as genius by the critics we're fine). The first part of it, somehow more coherent, looked a bit like "Plunkett & Macleane", especially given that the topic is on the same page, but comparing these doesn't make justice in the end. It's been ages since I watched "Plunkett & Macleane", but I still remember that the chaos has some limits, and besides that the soundtrack of Craig Armstrong made history there. Here, the only part that deserves some praise is the camera work, but that too becomes repetitive + it also breaks any safety norm for epilepsy by torturing you with a continuous flashing scene that's probably longer than 2 minutes.

The coincidence makes that "True History of the Kelly Gang" to star as first name of the cast the same actor as "1917", the latest movie that seemed to me to worth a 5 out 5. That's the only common point between the two. 

Rating: 1 out of 5

It doesn't deserve a trailer, instead of it...