best movie i've ever seen.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

about war. and pain, and sufferance and hope. about people. and about the ideals. a film who reminds more than presents. because it is a simple story. not different but other stories of hate and idealism. but , impressive for the remarkable performances and for the atmosphere. for its message . and for the science to give a deeper image about a tragedy near us . to redefine the image and purpose of media. and to present the right portrait of the need to help against risks and against fear.

I wish I knew the names of every single person whose unwarranted death is represented by this film. To honor them. To remember. Instead, we do have this version of a story, which in itself is a stark reminder of the horror of the Indonesian invasion of East Timor. Intelligent viewers are usually fully aware that any film cannot possibly contain all the details, nuances and even accuracies of a great story. The film does more than merely insinuate the negligence of Australia, the US, and so forth, though some could miss this altogether.Those of us who were the same age as the journalists around which the story focuses have been well-trained to read between the lines, or view between the frames as it were. So, you can view this as a suspenseful tale half-told, or whatever you wish. All war is atrocious. Here, one seemingly small story resonates through the decades, enough to make us want to know more. Hopefully stories like this will help prevent the world sitting idly by as similar atrocities continue elsewhere. Peace. (Would it could occur everywhere.) Mr. LaPaglia brings a wealth of understanding and compassion to his role as the lone Australian who embarks on a search to learn the truth about five missing Australian journalists. Told through the eyes of a little girl, now an adult, who witnessed the massacre of innocents, this film is indeed riveting. Kudos to the director Robert Connolly and all the cast and crew of this remarkable, though gut-wrenching, film - Balibo.Search online for the article titled East Timor Questions & Answers by Stephen R. Shalom, Noam Chomsky, & Michael Albert, Oct 99. It will fill in some gaps.

This is a very objective and intelligent film about the Indonesian invasion of East Timor AND five Australian journalists efforts to try and tell the story. It is beautifully filmed and bravo to the amateur local actors used in the film.No answers are given why foreign help was not forthcoming and why Indonesia invaded at all.Balibo is a place in East Timor where terrible tortures of locals happened and where the five journalists went in search of the story.this is a war film in the cast of Tunnels Rats and Killing Fields, produced on a budget quite clearly. I live in Indonesia and I found it enlightening if not completely informative.the film needed to be careful not to focus on the ultimate death of the journalists balanced against the death of the many local timorese.Nothing bad about this film, though those in the know yes will criticise the technical issues of the film such as wrong guns etc but remember again budget movie!

Born a decade on from the events depicted in this film I new little of the story of the occupation and take over of then Portuguese Timor , even though I was avid History student in school. By the end of this film my eyes were well an truly open. This movie left with so many conflicting emotions. Angered with brutality and senselessness of human violence and cold cruelty towards other beings, mixed with the marvel of a truly well told film. Brilliant acting, with a pace that never seems to linger despite the seriousness of the topic.Truly worth the price of admissionJustice for the Balibo 5.