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Blaze

Play trailer 1:38 Poster for Blaze Released Jan 20, 2023 1h 41m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
88% Tomatometer 17 Reviews 48% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
After accidentally witnessing a violent crime, a young girl is left catatonic with shock, and struggles to make sense of what she saw, ultimately finding renewal in the inestimable world of her own imagination.
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Blaze

Critics Reviews

View All (17) Critics Reviews
David Stratton The Australian Blaze is worth seeing, partly as it’s the first foray into the world of feature films by an original artist, but perhaps more importantly for the performance of its young actor. Rated: 3/5 Sep 2, 2022 Full Review Sandra Hall Sydney Morning Herald It’s strong stuff, underpinned by Savage’s remarkable work in the leading role. Rated: 3.5/5 Aug 25, 2022 Full Review Stephen A. Russell Time Out Like Barton’s startling artistic vision, Blaze is a masterpiece. Rated: 5 Jun 20, 2022 Full Review Jeffrey M. Anderson Common Sense Media Tackling its tough subject matter delicately and honestly, this poetic drama deftly uses its wobbly line between reality and imagination to explore rage and grief with compassion and humanity. Rated: 4/5 Sep 16, 2023 Full Review Andy Klein FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles) Mostly, it seemed like an excuse to have some visually sumptuous fantasy sequences... But in the end, there's not much there. Feb 11, 2023 Full Review Paddy Mulholland Spectrum Culture A solid, sometimes startling directorial debut. Touches of beauty and emotional potency can’t mask some technical and stylistic flaws, but this is a worthwhile watch nonetheless. Jan 23, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (12) audience reviews
Steven W Pretentious bloated pile of rubbish. Spends too much time sexualising a child which I am sure the director will just fob off as ‘art’. The pacing and flow of the film was terrible. Made by someone who seems to have no idea how to make a film. Skip this one, it absolutely sucks Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 05/26/24 Full Review Darrin D Definitely a one-off film, combining serious topics (rape, murder, trauma, mental health) woven together with surreal and vivid visual sequences. These were very inventive, but overly long - - I kept fast-forwarding through them to return to the story. A good effort but I wouldn't rewatch it. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 12/02/23 Full Review dave d At the end of the day this is a very dificult topic handled in a way that kids could watch, but this isn't a kids movie. Del Kathryn Barton's film has a fine premise: a child who witnesses a sexual assault. The way the mental illness is illustrated with CGI and a dragon takes away the coming of age drama and the performance of Julia Savage, who portrays the 13 year old is really good. There isn't a lot of meat on the bone, but it's colorful. Final Score: 5/10 Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 10/27/23 Full Review Jan V Pretentious bullsh*t masquerading as a movie about the terrible things we men do to women. Visually nice, but ultimately empty inside. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 09/20/23 Full Review Ken R Blaze – Delivers a Mild Scorch It seems Australian moviemakers mistakenly believe they have to be controversially grim to be taken seriously. Back in the 70s and 80s, the world was singing the praises of Australia as being amongst the only countries producing quality entertainment for all-aged audiences. We were riding the crest of the wave in this field. Now we often tend to struggle to make ends meet with wall to wall social horror stories. Blaze, while having moments of empathy, continually roller coasters its audience with either the super ‘arty' or the super grim. When modern artists turn to making movies it's inevitable it will be drowning in numerous forms of ‘art'. The filmmaker, Del Kathryn Barton claims this story of a traumatised pre-teen following witnessing a rape/murder is not her personal biography but examines a similar thread of instances in her own life. She doesn't want to tell us just what happened to her and maybe we don't need to know. Some of the ‘dream like‘sequences using stop-motion puppets are intriguing while others sequences more resemble a school kids installation in a gallery. Many of these are overlong, over-done, and heavy-handed, most involve a creation that's half Luck Dragon and a glitter studded Mardi-grass float decoration. Performances are fine-tuned, and the cinematography is stylish, but for a 99 minute movie, this felt like over 2 Hrs. Those with a love of intense re-enacted studies of kids in trauma situations may appreciate this one, others may be reaching for the double speed remote. A little less art and more heart might have helped. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 08/14/23 Full Review Phoebe B A highly powerful watch. Displaying the full range of human emotion experienced after enduring a trauma, what an amazing performance by the young lead. This film doesn't pull punches, particularly in the real-world scenes, and the cinematic and soundtrack element are just beautiful and incredibly moving. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/26/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Blaze

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Movie Info

Synopsis After accidentally witnessing a violent crime, a young girl is left catatonic with shock, and struggles to make sense of what she saw, ultimately finding renewal in the inestimable world of her own imagination.
Director
Del Kathryn Barton
Producer
Samantha Jennings
Screenwriter
Huna Amweero, Del Kathryn Barton, Del Kathryn Barton
Distributor
Gravitas Ventures
Production Co
WeirAnderson.com, Screen NSW, Causeway Films, Screen Australia, Fin Design & Effects, Spectrum Films
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
Australian English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 20, 2023, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 20, 2023
Runtime
1h 41m
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