Van Diemen's Land (film)

Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land
Directed by	Jonathan auf der Heide
Written by	Jonathan auf der Heide; Oscar Redding;
Produced by	Maggie Miles
Starring	Oscar Redding; Greg Stone;
Cinematography	Ellery Ryan
Edited by	Cindy Clarkson
Music by	Jethro Woodward
Release date	24 September 2009;
Running time	104 minutes
Country	Australia
Languages	English; Irish;
Box office	$289,858

Van Diemen's Land is a 2009 Australian thriller set in 1822 in colonial Tasmania.^[1] It follows the story of the infamous Irish convict, Alexander Pearce, played by Oscar Redding^[2] and his escape with seven other convicts. The voice-over and some of the dialogue is in Irish.

Plot

The film takes place in 1822 in Tasmania and is loosely based on a true story. A group of transported convicts, suffering brutal treatment at the Sarah Island penal settlement on Van Diemens Land, as Tasmania was then known (until 1856) escape into the wilderness in hopes of reaching the settlements to the east.^[3] Their enthusiasm and bravado soon give way to hunger, which saps their strength and causes them to despair.^[4] Former urban dwellers, the English, Irish and Scottish convicts realize that not only are they lost,^[5] but they do not even know how to hunt or fish. Hunger and despair forces the group to switch to cannibalism, and the band is separated by a difference in opinion on this. Some of the group members separate from the group and walk to their imminent death. The men do all in their power to keep moving, watch their back and avoid sleep, lest they be the next meal.^[6]^[7]

Convicts

^[8]

Alexander Pearce – Aged 32, Irish, thief
Robert Greenhill – 32, English, sailor
Matthew Travers – 27, Irish, farmer
Alexander Dalton – 25, Irish, ex-soldier
John Mather – 24, Scottish, bread baker
Thomas Bodenham – 22, English, thief
William Kennerly – 44, Irish, thief
Edward 'Little' Brown – 48, English, profession unknown

Cast

Oscar Redding as Alexander Pearce
Arthur Angel as Robert Greenhill
Paul Ashcroft as Matthew Travers
Mark Leonard Winter as Alexander Dalton
Torquil Neilson as John Mather
Thomas Wright as Thomas Bodenham
Greg Stone as William Kennerly
John Francis Howard as Edward 'Little' Brown

Release and reception

Van Diemen's Land was released in Australian cinemas on 24 September 2009, and was rated MA15+ for "strong violence and coarse language".^[9] It received mostly positive reviews, and earned an 80% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 10 reviews with an average 6.6/10 rating.^[10] During the opening weekend, the film grossed $39,939 at the 9 theatres it played ($4,438 average).^[11] The film won 2 awards in 2009: Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival(New Visions Award - Special Mention) and Torino Film Festival award for Best Script - Special Mention.

Box office

Van Diemen's Land grossed $289,858 at the box office in Australia.^[12]

References

^ Stratton, David (19 September 2009). "Escape into a different hell". The Australian. Archived from the original on 4 October 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
^ "FFF. FILM". Archived from the original on 26 July 2009. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
^ Fantastic Fest Review: Van Diemen's Land – Film School Rejects
^ Byrnes, Paul (28 September 2009). "Van Diemen's Land". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
^ Morris, Anthony (22 September 2009). "Van Diemen's Land – review". TheVine. Archived from the original on 2 October 2009. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
^ Van Diemen's Land (2009) – Fantasy FilmFest Archiv
^ "Home". vandiemensland-themovie.com. Archived from the original on 10 October 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
^ Characters Archived 9 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 1 November 2010.
^ "Van Diemen's Land". Australian Classification Board. 24 August 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2010. ^{[dead link‍]}
^ "Van Diemen's Land (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
^ "Urban Cinefile - Box Office". www.urbancinefile.com.au. ^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ "Film Victoria – Australian Films at the Australian Box Office" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2010.

External links

Van Diemen's Land at IMDb
Van Diemen's Land at Rotten Tomatoes
Official Site Archived 10 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine

[1] Stratton, David (19 September 2009). "Escape into a different hell". The Australian. Archived from the original on 4 October 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2010.

[2] "FFF. FILM". Archived from the original on 26 July 2009. Retrieved 4 October 2009.

[3] Fantastic Fest Review: Van Diemen's Land – Film School Rejects

[4] Byrnes, Paul (28 September 2009). "Van Diemen's Land". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 May 2010.

[5] Morris, Anthony (22 September 2009). "Van Diemen's Land – review". TheVine. Archived from the original on 2 October 2009. Retrieved 4 October 2009.

[6] Van Diemen's Land (2009) – Fantasy FilmFest Archiv

[7] "Home". vandiemensland-themovie.com. Archived from the original on 10 October 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2010.

[8] Characters Archived 9 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 1 November 2010.

[9] "Van Diemen's Land". Australian Classification Board. 24 August 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2010. ^{[dead link‍]}

[10] "Van Diemen's Land (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 28 June 2018.

[11] "Urban Cinefile - Box Office". www.urbancinefile.com.au. ^{[permanent dead link‍]}

[12] "Film Victoria – Australian Films at the Australian Box Office" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2010.

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