Joe Maguire I have mixed feelings about this one. It gives a real taste of the harshness of outback farm life in Australia, and it is certainly well directed and produced. The acting performances are convincing, though the character of Toni seems a little over the top, or even unnecessary to the story. Speaking of which; the story is the weakness here. What could have been a psychological drama tracing taboo desires and their roots is instead allowed to develop into a father vs son struggle that we've seen too many times before.Overall: dark, fascinating, challenging, but let down in the end by a plot without the depth to really carry it over the line. Worth watching though.

billcr12 Rachel Ward directs her husband, Bryan Brown, as a cantankerous man who is dying without any regrets. Bruce's(Brown) son, Ned and his finance, Toni, visit to say goodbye to him. His sister Sally also lives there. He keeps a journal detailing an incestuous relationship with a twin sister, Kate, who has died mysteriously. A flashback shows his sister seducing him when they were both drunk and the sexual encounter filling him with guilt. Kate has no regrets and demands a repeat performance which Ned turns down. She turns their other brother, Cliff against him by lying, and saying that Ned attacked her. Bruce forces Ned to take Kate to a Christmas dance. He leaves her, and later finds her dead as the result of a car accident. That same night, he finds his brother Cliff hanging in a barn; this is not the Waltons; goodnight John Boy. More family secrets are revealed and even with some fine acting from everyone involved, Beautiful Kate is a depressing downer.

Replicant_76 I found this film started out as an "Australiana-ploitation" however, once through the awkward opening 10 minutes, opened up into a fascinating yet challenging film. The production values are amazing, especially the cinematography, editing and score (Tex Perkins Et el).Ben Mendelson and Brian Brown are excellent as the bitter and twisted Son/Father. The film reveals itself through a series of memory flashbacks juxtaposed against the present day and works really well.The film will challenge you and may repulse viewers to the point of disengaging from the film. Doing this would really be a disservice, as untimely it subtly deals with the secrets and lies around dysfunctional family units with themes of denial, guilt and absolution.Like any great film, you'll be thinking about this one long after the credits role. Recommended, especially for lovers of raw Australian cinema.

Tim Johnson Beautiful Kate is a beautiful movie albeit a difficult, challenging movie but one that will remain with you long after leaving the theatre. Diane and I saw this film yesterday at SX Luna and as we waited to enter a lady exited and said she did not like anything in the film and we thought she had seen another film. Now I realise what she meant although I would vehemently disagree with her. Beautiful Kate takes place in a 30s house on a small farm with South Australia's Flinders Ranges as a backdrop: it is kind of dilapidated, very dry and probably hugely depressing to people coming from more salubrious surrounds. Bryan Brown who plays a pivotal role has been made-up perfectly to fit his part as the father of his family that must live out the mental re-enactment of long past deeds. I mention Brown because his appearance (a wonderful tribute to the makeup artist's skill) is, to me at least a metaphor for the lives of the children gathered at their families' farm. This film is raw; the title may have given the woman who so disliked it the wrong idea of its substance because the movie is exactly opposite of beautiful. Personally I thought Rachel Ward, director and writer, examined the emotions of the players brilliantly. I cannot speak highly enough about this film. We have developed a movie genre that is unique to Australia and conveys ranges of nuanced emotion that can only be dreamed about in other countries. Hollywood came close with The Last Picture Show but that was almost 50 years ago and they seem not to want to return to the genre. Make every attempt to see this movie but be aware when you walk in that the vehicle is not fancy.