Van Diemen's Land (2009 film)

Category: Semi-violent historical psychological drama

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If you love slow-burn films, this one will be right up your alley.

Tasmania has been the setting and/or filming location for a number of pretty hard-hitting horror/suspense films such as The Nightingale or Dying Breed. Partly because Tasmania's brutal colonial history makes for compelling and horrifying stories with more than a kernel of truth to them, but also because the seclusion and sparseness of Tasmania affords plenty of opportunity to play out stories that require a natural isolation. And with both of those elements, the scene is set for Van Diemen's Land.

Van Diemen's Land (the name for the state now known as Tasmania prior to 1856) is loosely based on the true story of a group of British convicts (led by the Irishman Alexander Pearce) who in 1822 attempted to escape from both the harsh terrain of western Tasmania as well as the harsh treatment dished out by the English colonial masters, thus they hatch a plan involving crossing the island state to get to Launceston in order to get to the mainland. However, they soon find traversing the Tasmanian wilderness is no walk in the park, and if they can't catch food, they will have to resort to desperate measures to keep themselves going.

And if you didn't know already, that desperate measure turns out to be cannibalism. Even though you know what they are going to do, the first time you seem them do it is horrifying.

The eight men eventually whittle themselves down - either by sheer bloody-minded murder, or by walking into their own death in the wilderess - so that in the end, one man is left standing. However, we don't see him make it to his destination - once he despatches his last fellow convict to give him the sustenance to keep going, the movie ends.

Now, I say this movie is a slow-burn, because there are VERY long stretches where not one word is said - for example, when the group is walking along a stream, or when they are sleeping, and the only sound is of the wildlife or of a campfire - but instead, the tension etched on the faces of the survivors as they battle both their starvation and their mutual mistrust speaks volumes.

In keeping with the historical narrative this movie portrays, there are times when Irish Gaelic is spoken instead of English, which adds a very nice historical touch.

Definitely not a date night movie, but my thoughts on Van Diemen's Land are generally positive - the movie is about Australia's brutal colonial history, it was filmed in Australia, and it is a well-crafted film. The only criticism I have is that I think it is a bit too long. I get that slow pacing can build up the tension in a film, but there comes a point where it can be a bit too much, especially if the general plot hasn't advanced that much at times.

Final star rating: 4/5.