mads leonard holvik I really liked this movie. I never felt it was too long or boring. In fact, the movie gave me space to reflect and to do my own soul searching as I watched the main character trying to find a way, trying to find himself. Is he the hopeless man who ruined it for his family and brought shame on and abandoned his son? Or is he something more, something he can only find by being given a new chance by an understanding prison warden and by connecting with these birds of prey who also need help? More than anything I liked this movie for the glimps it gave into how humans can be good to each other even though it is difficult. There is a way if we are willing to try.

hdebmark Why in the world do Australian audiences fail to turn out for first rate drama and settle for comic book remakes or simplistic American dreck? This movie is simply stunning and should have had a much larger audience here in its home country. The scenery certainly sums up the sparse beauty of Victoria. And Hany and Weaving both give wonderfully rich and subtle performances.The subject matter is fascinating. This is NOT some grubby prison movie -- it's a story of an innovative rehabilitation methodology. Well done!!!

Spikeopath Right from the very first scene I knew this was going to be a special type of prison film. Mother nature in all her glory, a bird of prey elegantly gliding through the air in pursuit of its target, then bam! Trapped in a fence, cut to a prison van, a prisoner menacingly staring down a frightened young man, himself trapped, but a wise old bird of years and years of incarceration experience sidles up alongside the youngster, about to take him under his protective wing. The healing of the title begins, for man, boy and creatures, a metaphor heavy narrative that thankfully is beautifully written and portrayed.Directed by Craig Monahan, who also co-writes the screenplay with Alison Nisselle, this Australian film stars Hugo Weaving, Don Hany, Xavier Samuel and Mark Leonard Winter. Music is by David Hirschfelder and cinematography by Andrew Lesnie. Story follows a small group of prisoners working in a penal system approved rehabilitation of injured birds of prey programme. But outside of this harmonious circle lay differing problems, bully boy cons trying to muscle in with their poison, and then there is serrated family ties outside the prison gates that seem impossible to be healed...Throughout the pic there are broken beings, inmates, creatures and wardens, all in need of redemption or a restart in life. There's a lot going in the story as such, but it all makes for a gratifying whole because the makers have taken their time to build the characters. Tech credits are excellent, with the performances of the lead actors leading from the front. Weaving giving high end professionalism as the emotionally troubled main guard is something of a given, while Samuel (The Loved Ones) looks like he is about to build himself a worthwhile career.The film, however, in human form belongs to Hany, who gets the plum role of Iranian Viktor Khadem, the old lag who is the centre of the story. His accent sometimes sounds more South African than Iranian, but his ability to say so much with pained visual ticks and a becalmed delivery of crucial dialogue really cements the heart of the story's worth.Elsewhere, Lesnie's wide angled photography does justice to the surroundings when the story goes outside of the prison walls into the outback, and of course the grace of the birds is given appropriate splendour. Which leads to bird trainer Andrew Payne, who along with editor Suresh Ayya, deserves a mighty pat on the back for ensuring that Healing is beating a true heart from all standpoints. This is a lovely film waiting to be discovered by grown ups who are able to get involved with the thematic beats of the story and accept its deliberate pacing in the process. 8/10

Virginia M Don't miss this sublime experience!For a lover of good cinema, great story & acting, awe-inspiring and perfectly chosen music, in addition to the uniquely beautiful Australian bush, ecological elements of humans interconnectedness with nature and the ability to heal from extreme adversity.Each frame of this movie, each eagle-eye aerial view, each close-up has been so beautifully crafted it had me in tears.Please treat yourself and family, as well as all your friends.This wonderful cinematic experience can only leave you feeling fundamentally changed and the World a better place.