One Eyed Girl (2014)

That was an excellent one.

How sad is this?

Boring

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Here is one film, I finally got around to watching on Netflix, thanks to my friend, and I'm glad I did. Here is one film, thanks to it's originality and story, that completely enraptured and mesmerized me. Small admittance: I was an extra in this Adelaide film, and I was glad I was fu..in' part of it. Another thing I liked about this movie is how dark it is, visually too. The story involves a psychiatrist, haunted and mentally tortured by a former patient who took her own life, in a scene familiar to that in the starting of Color Of Night, one film, this film is a long way from. When receiving a flyer, to a mind minding group, a facade for a cult, run by a deceptive host, father Jay (Steve Le Marquand), at first against it, he becomes one of them, where coming to realize soon, things aren't what they seem amongst this manipulated many. Funnily enough I was expecting much more violence, one suicide scene, seemed very implicit, I for one, was kind of thrown, as I remember the director saying, prefore to shooting, it was gonna be quite graphic. But OEG is just such a different and totally absorbing riveting movie experience with very good, if real performances to boot. But none, are better than it's lead, Winter, who I actually met. He displays so many levels of emotion, making him one hell of a character/actor to watch, a likable one too, but all of this is so authentic, not overdone in anymore. A true blue, fine crafted performance, that makes you realize, there's some really great up and coming talent out there. Taking second dibs, was Le Marquand, who I also really liked, a good actor and real larrikin character, off set, who I also met. He was the other memorable performance, and there were others. Everyone pulls their weight here and delivers, even ones in little parts, or b.g. shots, but what I liked about the acting of the mains in this film, was the believability and realism of their performances, to their situations and predicaments, of course none finer than Winter. The opening overhead shot, that kind of had you debating if that was Adelaide, as some of it was shot in Sydney from what I believed, which heralded this Indie masterpiece, was an impressive start for this low budget winner. A winner that warrants "must see viewing" from anyone who hasn't seen it, but if disturbed or affected by cults, this film is not for you. The music scores are hauntingly great, the end movie score fittingly is sadly beautiful. Of course, the end one on the train, I had a few qualms, but the tragic outcome of for one hits hard, as does the film. On the whole, One Eyed Girl, a one eyed masterpiece, is one encapsulating and well received movie experience, just probably not on IMDb.

some reviews were to me only negative, due the the lack of understanding, how in some respects the cult was showing true and brutal honest insight toward the main character..a man who was living his world only able to face all that surrounded him through abuse of prescription drugs and alcohol.. he hated himself had no respect or worth of his life and was disgusted with his selfish behavior that led to his wife's suicide..it got to the point not even the drugs were enough to face the truth about who had become..he took an overdose then made a call to the cult that he had tried to understanding by attending a meeting but saw nothing but flawed actions and left..but the people of the cult when he phoned to say he was dying from an overdose they came and saved his life ...took him to the "farm" and treated him with no respect show dislike toward him and forced him to suffer in every way while his body went through withdrawal from the drugs and alcohol addiction he chosen in his world of hell..it was the only way to show that why should anyone show him everything he hated and disrespected his whole life he chosen why show nothing but disgust to some that disgusted themselves and it was away to make him see through it all the only true path to take to really see his mistake and judgments on a world he felt no place to exist in and when his body was clean from addiction he then had to face the demons that had caused his life to be an existence of suffering and self inflicted pain from circumstances beyond his control..and the cult did guide him to release the pain and anger inside and finally let go of the darkness that held its grip upon his soul.....it all seemed too good to be true to be watching a movie that you really had to concentrate on and pay attention to to be able to see it held profound depth ....but as in all walks of life...nothing is for free...there are consequences and there are cults that show good on the outside..but all leaders of such groups seem always to get a high from the control and power they have over their flock..and an ugly and dark side of what seemed a leader of exception to the norm..wasn't so..he too was a person who creates these groups for control and power ...and all the healing he had helped the main character through was soon destroyed when his dark side imposed upon a young boy to which the main character was witness to..sickened him and all he felt was betrayal lies and cruel secrets.. it was indeed on of the profound movies that portray typical cult story lines..and this film held itself until the end, which sad and unacceptable conclusion but a destiny which had just been hindered through its journey to the end...

I saw this movie last year at the ECU film festival in Paris and still to this day, I think about it often. I am not familiar with Australian movies but I am so grateful the organizers of the festival have selected this movie. The concept of healing the soul was really disturbing to me and very powerful. It made me change the way I view negative past experience. The idea I had of Australia was beaches, surf and ice cream but the decor is more like a Scandinavian thriller movie. The music has great beauty and makes the movie really haunting. This is a deep analysis of a man's life into the darkest places in his head. The cast was really well chosen and their performances shows so much courage and intelligence. This is the first movie for this director and I am impatient to see more of his work.

The obvious theme behind this stylishly executed film is there in its tagline, 'what would you do for salvation?'. Or maybe, what could you do if in such a situation? Is it possible to make positive judgements when you are so depressed? Psychiatrist Travis (Mark Leanord Winter) isn't well. Living a city life with a city job, the world of his that we are introduced to is cold and emotionless, captured nicely with aerial views of the city. This is of course in contrast to his patients, who are filled with emotion. But Travis isn't well, and is barely listening to these patients. He wants to help them, but is unable to and in reality needs help himself. But being a psychiatrist, he can't talk to anyone about it, and starts the movie as an unlikeable person, someone who gets annoyed at people who offer him a pamphlet on a bus, a person who doesn't seem to care about his own patients.Apart from the oft-ignored concept of 'debriefing', who are psychiatrist's psychiatrists? This is an interesting rumination as such a concept doesn't really exist, creating a main character who is immediately unlikable, but whose heart is good and transforms as the film progresses. His dwindling state of mental health is clearly the reason for his disinterest in his current patients, but it is made clear that this current state of health is due to the actions of a past patient. Unable to shake these memories from his head, he is essentially rendered useless and unable to do anything. Upon seeing the girl who tried to hand him a pamphlet earlier, this time he eagerly takes it. He attends one of their meetings, but nothing changes as memories of patients past continue to haunt him. Seeing no way out, he tries to take his life, but contacts the number on the pamphlet in a moment of panic. He wakes up in a rural community, and quickly learns what it is all about.Travis is openly hostile when he first arrives, but his opinion begins to waver as the power of the community combined with his own desperation affects him. I have personally been in a very similar position and I must commend the filmmakers for the realistic depiction of these places and the people who reside there. The way the characters all honestly believe they are doing good, the emotionally heavy initiation scenarios… Some research has obviously been done to depict such circumstances with such reality, and crucially, with believable characters, as the farm's community offers up quite the spectrum. Standing out clearly is ex-Iraq War veteran Father Jay (Steve Le Marquand), whose persuasive demeanor and military past make him the perfect enigmatic leader of a cult. While at times fearsome and almost always sly, he can also be kind and empathetic. He is a distorted mirror image of Travis – a broken man who believes he is helping people, but in reality is hurting them.Travis' entrance to the community and his exceptions to some of their actions brings forward characters like Grace (Tilda Cobham-Hervey) and Tom (co-writer Craig Behenna) who each have their own moral line in the sand. These characters are in contrast to Jay's devoted disciples, who seem willing to do anything for him. To be saved. This contrast between characters, and what some of them will do for their beliefs, is what kick starts the third and thrilling act that falls down only in the execution of the final scene. This hardly ruins an amazing film though.I find it hard to believe that there aren't any other Travis' in the world. What does a shrink do when they need help with their mental health? Talk to a colleague? This is a concept that is rarely explored in life, let alone in cinema. Congratulations must go to the team for writing about such a rarely touched on subject with such realism. Cults aren't such a rare subject for cinema, and most films exploring cults in a tasteful way will be probably be good by default. This film though takes it a step further with its deceitful, misguided characters and again its jagged realism that puts you in the farm as a viewer. The situation within the cult can be interpreted in different ways though. The pitfalls of co-dependent relationships, the power of suggestion, misguided attempts to help others, exploiting one's psychological pain for their own benefit are just a few ways of looking at it off the top of my head.This a film that not only has a strong narrative, but one that can also say so much more, depending on the person watching it. I can't say that about many other films.www.epilepticmoondancer.net