Blaze

Released Jan 20, 2023

1h 41m

Crime

Drama

TRAILER

for Blaze: Trailer 1

List

89%

18 Reviews

Tomatometer

50%

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Audience Score

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.

Read More

Read Less

Peacock

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Watch Blaze with a subscription on Prime Video, rent on Fandango at Home, or buy on Fandango at Home.

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

Joe W

30 Minutes was all I could take. While I deeply sympathize with the child character and crime victim (this was well told). the movie was just too boring. There should have been more life in the presentation and a little less melancholy.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

06/20/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Del Kathryn Barton

Director

Simon Baker

Luke

Yael Stone

Hannah

Josh Lawson

Jake

Julia Savage

Blaze

Sofia Hampson

Actor

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

81%

91%

Miranda's Victim

TRAILER

for Miranda's Victim

67%

61%

Lou

TRAILER

for Lou

23%

64%

Pain Hustlers

TRAILER

for Pain Hustlers

60%

38%

Jumpman

20%

10%

Aileen Wuornos: American Boogeywoman

TRAILER

for Aileen Wuornos: American Boogeywoman

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Blaze: Trailer 1

1:38

View more videos

View more photos

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

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: Kristina Ceyton
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: English (Australia)
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 20, 2023, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 20, 2023
Runtime: 1h 41m

Most Popular at Home Now