Very few Australian films convey the harsh realities of settler life - let alone travesties of reality TV such as "The Colony" or "Outback House". So when the stark brutality of The Proposition whacks you in the face, as an Australian, youre not prepared. Some critics have mistaken this shocking impact for "violence", but that is (a) because they've a limited vocabulary in film and words, or (b) because they're idiots. Great beauty and insight are to be had here, and most of the "violence" so decried is either implied (not shown, but suggested) or very short-lived onscreen.

This outstanding film (2005 IF Awards: Best Film) sees Charlie Burns (Pearce) fight the outback, his self-doubt and the range of human behaviour and misery in an attempt to redeem himself and save his younger brother (Wenham) from the cruel vagaries of colonial justice. To do so, he must find and capture his elder brother, who, by all accounts, is a sociopath with a six-shooter. The landscape is a major character, as are the sixteen billion flies and the patient, forgiving sunsets across a bleak desert. Emily Watson shines (as always) as the lonely police captain's wife, cementing an outstanding ensemble cast of strong male leads into a touching story of "right, wrong, and shades of grey". And you must sit through the closing credits...

The 1988 Australian prison film, Ghosts... of the Civil Dead, by John Hillcoat and Evan English, enjoys both cult status and huge respect amongst the film literate across the world."Masterpiece on the order of Goya" (Time Out, UK), was one amongst a string of glowing accolades from debut at Venice through its theatrical release across all major western territories, for its stunning power and rare daring. Set in a startling New Generation' prison in the middle of the desert, the film's based on events that occurred at United States Penitentiary Marion, Illinois in 1983 (at that time the highest security federal prison in the USA). In which the omnipotent, unseen 'authorities' deliberately provoke inmates and guards alike in order to create violence (murder), in order to exploit it.

It is a film of the most searing intensity, as visceral and spine chilling an experience as you're ever likely to have in the cinema. But one that also astounds and thrills with its bold political stance, its chilling dissection of modern methods of social control. Today, the 'science fiction' of the film's prison, the chilling 'paranoia' of its message is proving all too horribly true, as 'the State' increasingly resembles the functioning of a prison. It's important too, to understand that Ghosts was made on the precipice of a law and order avalanche. The neoliberal era (Reagan/ Thatcher/ Keating/ Kennett/ Howard - privatisation, slashing state spending, dominance of 'the market', etc) is characterised by two features: redistribution of wealth upward and the incarceration of the poor.

This has resulted in a riot of prison construction and incarceration worldwide. In the U.S. (the 'inspiration' for the film) this saw in the 20 years since 1981, a 900% increase in Department of Justice budget and a 350% increase in incarceration rates. The issues of the film are more urgent today than when it was made.