The Correspondent – Film Review

Janet and I ventured up to Luna Leederville last Saturday to watch The Correspondent, at the kind invitation of Luna for the debut screening.

A hot, harsh kind of day perfect for the film we were about to see, directed by Kriv Stenders.

Surely we all remember seeing it unfold over the news years ago.

Peter Greste, Australian award winning journalist of Al Jazeera, is wrongfully imprisoned on terrorism charges in Egypt in December 2013 during the Arab Spring.

In the beginning, Greste interviews and comments on the uprisings in Egypt over two weeks while covering a Christmas shift on behalf of another colleague.

All this during a crackdown by the Egyptian government over free speech, including journalism and protest.

He, and his colleagues, are sentenced to seven years in prison. A potential death sentence in that nation where judicial processes are arguably lacking.

The Last Correspondent stars Richard Roxburgh (leading star of excellent tv series “Rake”) as Peter Greste. This powerful film features rich colour, soft contrast, and enduring messages about the peril journalists still face every day.

During his incarceration, he questions the decisions that led him there and the toll this profession takes. Not just on him, but on family, friends, and current and former journalists.

We are protected as viewers from the absolute worst that must have occurred behind those bars. Perhaps the film makers didn’t want a R rating to detract viewers from the key messages.

Instead, we focus on Greste’s strength of character and admirable integrity.

The film has a beautiful look to it, solid acting if albeit sometimes wooden scripts, and plenty of tense then intimately moving scenes.

As soon as the screening concluded, we popped straight into the recently opened Boundless Books shop (at last, Oxford Street has a book store once more!) and learned Greste’s biography is being reprinted for release soon. Must seize a copy as soon as that’s out. What a story.

The Last Correspondent is out soon in Luna Cinemas

6.5 stars

By Gayle O’Leary. If you’d like to catch up on more by Gayle here on Fremantle Shipping News, look right here!

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