Director Peter Weir catches all the tension and turmoil of an impoverished and oppressed country (in this case 1965 Indonesia under Sukarno) as it overheats and boils over into revolution. The atmosphere and seething background to this is captured down to the last bead of sweat; but what Weir has largely failed to do is tell an exciting story to go with it. Mel Gibson is too cool and dispassionate here as the Australian correspondent coming to prominence in the last days of Sukarno's regime. Other casting is weird but more successful, especially Linda Hunt as the native photographer Billy. A woman playing a man, her gender adds to the enigmatic qualities of the character, and the performance won her an Oscar. The music score, based partly on native themes, is most effective. Even so, the richness of all the film's teeming detail pales after a while and you long for something more: involvement.

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