The movie provides a safety of anonymity over its characters by never giving away the location of the setting, an isolated dream taking place beyond the pale of society with its own mechanism, but sometimes a lucid dream gives life to what is kept in the deep hollows of the collective consciousness.Alexander, a young boy of sensibility, lives among a community of children and women overseen by just one man, Gregori. The film documents the manipulation that takes place as the group exist to function for a cause of its own and juxtaposes the fanaticism, of a controlled and ultimately an abusive nature, with the open wonder of the innocence of childhood.The mechanisms of Oedipal crisis is at work and Alexander opens his eyes to the world around him, made significant with the arrival of a baby brother. However, the much debated theme, commonly based on the Freudian concept of repressed sexuality, makes its transition much quicker to the stages of puberty and adulthood as the boy begins to realize his actions must now carry the consequences of social responsibility, or the lack thereof. The film ends abruptly to prevent something really serious from happening. Instead, it leaves us on a poignant note of a scene, reminding us of Ezekiel 25:17, with boy Alexander emanating a plea for deliverance through his being as he stares down the only responsible man in his eyes.Dream-like, painstaking and most certainly a unique film experience that's put the young director on my radar.

Vincent Cassel stars in this Australian film as Gregori. He has a harem of women who all have children – mostly it would appear – with him as the father. They live in an isolated community where they seem to lead a happy life with the children learning yet enjoying their childhood. Gregori is the only man. His eldest son is Alexander and at first we see true paternal love and the reflected devotion.However, all is not as it seems as we learn that the outside world is not a nice place and Gregori is training his children to be 'hit men' or hit kids more appropriately. As Alexander learns more of the world forbidden to him he slowly starts to question what his father's motives are and their way of life.Now this is extremely well made being in part made by Animal Kingdom 'It Follows' fame. The actors all seem to be unknowns but all do brilliant jobs of what was a very physical film in terms of what is expected. Cassel is just as good in an English language role as he is in his native French and puts in a stellar performance. The plot was apparently inspired by child soldiers of Colombia. It is a very thoughtful film and despite the violent undertones is actually fairly responsible in avoiding the actual gore but still addressing the issues head on. It has had mixed reviews but I for one found that it stayed with me long after having seen it – which is always a good thing. This is for people who like to think about their films and who appreciate an original film delivered in a realistic way.

This movie makes no sense. We are never told why children are used as assassins. Gregori seems to treat the children well, but on the other hand, he has trained them as baby hit-men. There may indeed be evil people outside the compound — we see that all around us in the world we live in now, so why are the people killed chosen to be executed? What have they done to deserve to be executed?How can Alexander justify killing Gregori? If Alexander kills Gregori what sort of a monster will he be as he grows older?If you like watching meaningless movies posing as deep thinking, this could be for you. If not avoid this one. You'll be left with nothing more than a wasted 98 minutes.

In yet another high quality Australian movie, Vincent Cassell is Gregori, a man who is sheltering people in his compound from a bleak outside world. This isn't really a thriller, it is more of a drama/coming-of-age story as there is not a lot of action, rather the atmosphere is thick, and an overall feeling of dread looms over the entire film. While I feel a bit divided about the film, there is no denying that it is technically sound, with the locations, camera-work and soundtrack all of extremely high quality. Whether you will like this or not will boil down to whether you like this fresh approach to making a film, as it does come close to being too ambiguous for its own good. Personally I liked it, as it is unlike most movies, though it does smell ever so slightly of lazy writing. But the world within the film is so intriguing that it works, as long as the viewer is willing to participate in the experience. I cannot shake the feeling that this is a brilliant concept that is not fully explored, but the film's universe is unforgettable; both the desolate outside world and within the compound, where Gregori's word is law and children are encouraged to be creative, whether it includes face-painting or karaoke. Oh, and Gregori also trains the children to become assassins. The movie begins with Gregori at a hospital, talking to a troubled mother who is nursing her newborn child. Next we suddenly find ourselves in the safety of his compound eleven years later, where we see mothers and their children happy and in safety. They seem to obey Gregori's word because of this. When young Alexander, who I assume was this baby at the beginning, starts to feel differently about what he is doing, what he has been trained to do, I really started wondering how it was going to end, as the relationship that forms between the two characters is much like that of a father and son. Rather than exploring the amazing looking outside world that has been created, the film focuses more on how this world has affected Gregori, Alexander and the rest of the compounds' residents. Most of the film's run-time is spent inside this compound, which at first confused me, as the barren world that is created outside the compound's walls is extremely striking. I wondered why this world wasn't explored further. A world in which Gregori has not only built a compound where his word rules, but also a world where he sends child assassins out to do his dirty work. However, I believe this was the intention, as the focus is on the daily lives of the people inside these walls, and on the way Gregori seems to be a husband to so many woman while also being a father figure to so many children. These children love living in the compound so much that they cannot see the violence that resides in Gregori's heart. He is a flawed and complex man, whose personality is a direct result of the desolate outside world. Or, one could ask, is this only the way he perceives it? Both Gregori and Alexander make for interesting character studies. Alex's journey is a coming-of-age tale of sorts, but one very different to movies normally associated with that tag. He is the only one within the compound who begins to question Gregori and his methods as he matures before our eyes, becoming disobedient and asking questions. The obedience to Gregori by the rest of the residents though is one of many elements in this film that isn't quite explained. It however provides more food for thought. Was Gregori delusional? Did he truly believe he was helping these mothers and newborn babies? Overall, the best way to describe this movie would be an ambiguous character study as well as a coming of age story. Ultimately, the sparse details given is for each viewer to interpret. Ambiguity reigns supreme here as gaps are not filled, events are often not explained. This approach is taken perhaps a little too far, but regardless, the film is gripping and full of emotional depth. Gregori is one of the better characters I've seen in a film for a while, as is Alexander. They both have complex character arcs, as does their father-son type relationship. This is certainly not a Friday night beer film as its ambiguous nature is sure to raise many intriguing questions for the viewer to chew on. Do I think it was lazily written? Yes, to a small extent. The dialogue could have been better and there could have been more action, but ultimately I feel the filmmakers wanted viewers to think, to ponder, to contemplate on what they have just seen. In this regard it succeeds, but with a little more energy in the dialogue and with more meat on the bones of the story, this really could have been quite something. Vincent Cassell also is not at his best, he looks the part but is not as engaging as his character suggests. This could be due to the fact that he stepped in for Oscar Isaac, who pulled out just before shooting. In saying all this though, the entire movie looks and sounds incredible – meaning this is yet another young Aussie director who I shall be keeping my eyes on.