Customer Reviews

Broken Hill

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Academy award winner Timothy Hutton headed down under and portrayed a very convincing grumpy passionate Aussie sheep farmer at odds with his musically gifted son. The way father and son came back together, separated and then reunited through music is heartwarming and realistic. The music is brilliant. The outback scenes are stunning. The drama that turns to romance between Luke Arnold (Tommy) and Spy Kids star Alexa Vega (Kat) is a treat. The plot moves steadily to a wonderful climax with plenty of subplots and subtle themes to keep you thinking and enjoying at the same time. Thumbs up to the writer, director, producer and cast. (What's with the horse on the DVD cover???? Tommy rides a motor bike not a horse. Whatever!?!?)

This film was utterly entertaining and a feel good movie as well. You will be rooting for the likeable and adorable main character Tommy who has big dreams that seem impossible to achieve given his circumstances. I promise that the ending will leave you smiling and feeling insprired.

I loved this film. The music, the scenary, the filming was beautiful. It's a movie we enjoy watching over and over. Teens especially will relate but there is a message for everyone who has a family - which is all of us. Timothy Hutton is always worth the price of admission. Definately a winner!

Length:: 1:33 Mins

Well crafted story with a different twist. The typical boy enamord with girl, then misbehaves and gets sentenced with community service. The twist is, he desparately wants to compose music and is quite competent at it. He and the girl decide to go to the state pen and create a choir with the convict population. The convicts are rather scary characters; there are no white collar convicts here. We do get a dose of good lessons about taking responsibility. The scene of the imagined orchestra in the outback captures you and lets you know immediately that the boy has other aspirations besides cruising through school and getting by. Great production values. Good and believable dialogue, sequence and pace.

Here's what our KIDS FIRST! kids had to say about it: Broken Hill is a wonderful movie. The first few minutes of the movie instantly capture my attention! It tells the story of a teenage boy named Tommy (played by Luke Arnold) who dreams of starting a band to get into music school, but is distracted from his goal because he likes a girl in his class named Kat (played by Alexa Vega), and he is also discouraged by his father. Tommy and Kat end up doing community service at a jail after they pull a juvenile prank and get caught by the police. The two do not get along initially, but they gradually become friends and form an original band with the prison inmates. Is Tommy's band good enough to get him into the Sydney Conservatory music school? You have to watch this movie for yourself!

I love this movie become it is very creative. I never heard someone play "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" so authentically until I heard Tommy and the inmates improvise with the song and make it sound so awesome by using all kinds of instruments- from buckets to violins. The final piece Tommy's band plays is also excellent. I think the original music by Christopher Brady and the orchestrator David Long are fantastic! I also like how director Dagen Merrill shows how Tommy hears music everywhere. Just by listening to things in nature such as grasshoppers, the wind, and rivers, in the middle of the Australian desert, Tommy can replace these normal noises with the sounds of instruments to compose a beautiful symphony in his mind. I am impressed at the way the director made this comparison.

It is difficult for me to hear everything the actors are saying because most of them have an Australian accent. Other than that, I think this is a great movie. I would recommend it to children ages 11 and up because the movie contains some deep messages that may be hard for younger kids to understand such as music can be found everywhere, and music can lift anyone's spirits. This movie will suit most viewers, especially those who are interested in music.

Credit: Gabriella Chu, age 14, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic

I'd recommend this movie to my friends and family. Beautifully done. Music is wonderful in this movie, sort of like in August Rush but with a totally different kind of story. I'd watch it again.

A good video. I really enjoyed the music part of the video. Also pleased with the service. Would recommend this to anyone, especially to young people.

This video isn't about horses and the aussie outback, it's about a boy who wants to be a composer and he trains a band of prison inmates. Well done, the music is quite fun.

It's sort of out there but the story and relationships of father and son are real. Good inspiring story and the scenery was great.

I am originally from Broken Hill, now living in the USA. Imagine my joy when I actually saw a movie named after the town I was born and raised in, and lived there until I was 25 when I then moved to the USA. When we went to the theater there were only two other people there, first night of the movie at this theater! To say I was shocked is an understatement. I watched the movie and I enjoyed it. That was not the problem I had. The problem I had was with the title. Who but those who have been or were raised there, would even know what Broken Hill was. When I tried to encourage people to go the first question usually was, why do I want to see a movie about a broken hill. I would explain to them that was not what it was about, but an actual town in the Outback where I was born and raised. I wrote to the company who produced and directed the movie and told them I thought it could be an incredible hit if it was released under a different name. I never did hear a word back. So not sure if that was even forwarded onto the right people. So to say I was disappointed in the movie would be incorrect. To say it needed a different title definitely would be correct. I still encourage people to rent it and draw their own conclusions. Just last week someone emailed me and told me they and their children had rented the movie and loved it. So hopefully word of mouth will help. I love Broken Hill but with a husband, 5 sons and daughters, 5 son and daughter in laws and 13 grandchildren it is not in the cards to move back. Just take my trips as I can. In the meantime have to be satisfied with watching the movies, Australia, Broken Hill and The Rabbit Proof Fence for starters to help with my home sickness - or give me more - not quite sure.

I think this movie cost a little more than I've payed for better written movies.This might be a made for TV movie but I've even seen better one on TV. I will probably sell it on ebay.