Hearts and Bones

The movie does well to portray the problematic role of a war photographer in recording atrocities and the moral and emotional struggles inherent in the job. Weaving is fittingly grizzled and broken, but clings to his work to avoid questioning his own problems. Luri is powerful in his debut role, expressing the hope and aspiration of life in a new country, alongside the reality of working two jobs and trying to move on from the horrors he has witnessed in Sudan. The emotional connection is strong thanks to grounded performances all round -- including Hayley McElhinney as Dan's concerned but quick to judge partner, and Sebastian's own wife Aniska (Bolude Watson) as her husband's empathetic but exhausted reality check.

The short war scenes are impactful, and the way in which the fear stays with the characters -- such as Sebastian's unease around a war relief organization, even once he's living in Australia -- is subtly but powerfully portrayed. Real-life images of the plight of refugees are shown at the end of the movie, as a further reminder that these stories mostly go unseen without documentation, but also that they continue to go on and have a lasting effect on people all over the world.