One refreshing thing about this film ((ndash)) which also contributes to the kind of leisurely, countryside pace which some call "slow" and which you either like or you don't ((ndash)) is that it is not a coming-of-age story. It's the story of a young boy growing up. There's no defining moment in which the (excellently played, but rather unpleasant) small child we see at the start becomes an adult: no initiation ceremony. Young Rai (Smit-McPhee) lives on a struggling farm in rural Victoria with his loving, deeply moral father (Bana), and his depressive, not-always-there mother (Potente). He must make the best of it, and he often doesn't, yet by the end of the film ((ndash)) somehow ((ndash)) he's grown ((ndash)) somewhat.

The film is based on controversial moral philosopher Raimond Gaita's memoir of his childhood, and if I hadn't already known this was a real-life childhood memoir I ought to have been able to guess. We see only as much as an adult looking 40 years back would be able to reconstruct: fragments of narrative, initially recorded in memory by a child who isn't really part of the story, who doesn't yet understand what the story is or why it's important.

Am I complimenting the film? Yes and no; the truth is, I haven't yet made my own mind up. But I'm certainly recommending the film.

Spicy Shanghai Surprise

Ingredients: Take Rose, a glamourous, ex-Shanghai night club singer (Chen) whose charms are slowly fading. Introduce Rose's young son and daughter who need more opportunities than she is able to provide for them in Hong Kong. Add a transient but devoted Australian Naval officer (Vidler) who she meets and marries to give the trio a new start in Australia.

Method: Drop the migrants in a boring 1960s suburb with a cranky hostile mother-in-law. Remove the husband frequently for work, then unpack suitcases of gloriously decorated Qipao and find the local restaurant where the trio can speak their mother tongue, enjoy Cantonese cuisine and flirt with ex-patriots. Season the mixture with infidelity, cultural isolation, frustration, and a pinch of jealousy. Later add mental illness, abandonment and frequent house moves while the children struggle to gain an education. Cook over a strong heat. Garnish with shallots and a splash of chilli sauce.

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film maker Tony Ayres based this film on his family's migration story with the narrative through the eyes of the young boy. Many of Ayres's memories are culinary, enjoy the evocative scenes of Rose cooking which contrast with the unskilled work she takes because she can not read or write. Like Clubland and Romulus, My Father this multiple 2007 AFI award winning film skilfully explores the difficulties faced by migrant parents and the many pieces of mental baggage that arrive along with the crammed suitcases.