Blessed

2009

1 hr. 53 min.

Drama

List

85%

13 Reviews

Tomatometer

69%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

Seven children become lost on the streets at night while their mothers wait for their return.

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Audience Member

Powerful, depressing and hopeful.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

For better and for worse, it exists squarely in the world of the Super Serious Australian Drama, where life is hard, everything is suffering, and levity is verboten. Kokkinos clearly doesn't have the chops to transcend this miserable milieu, but the plot does have a certain grace, and there are some good scenes, so it ended up being much better than it could have been.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

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Audience Member

A slow burning drama that ends with an incredibly moving and emotional last act. Francis O'Connor gives a powerful performance.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/23/23

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Audience Member

<i><b> Kokkinos is never backward in confronting her audience, but she's also a sensitive portrayer of emotions that are basic to us all and with this marvellous film she has created her best work so far. A slow-burning, emotionally haunting film that thrusts the bond between mother and child under a microscope. The acting is amazing - there's no point in singling out anyone because they're all wonderful, adults and children alike. Yes, the film is tough at times, but it's also, in the end, incredibly moving and uplifting and, in a strange way, optimistic. Blessed is uneven and overall not as good as Kokkinos's other films but it nevertheless contains some of her best work to date. Skilfully woven together, the separate tales that eventually intersect portray a touching look at the relationship between mothers and children. Brilliant performances and Kokkinos' assured direction result in another strong local production. <i></b> VERDICT: "Instant Classic" - [Positively Acclaimed Reaction] Usually I give this rating to a movie that I believe is absolutely outstanding and has little to no flaws in it. Audiences, who haven't seen this film, must see it right now! (Films that are rated 4.5 or 5 stars)

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

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wayne m

Rich and rewarding. A multi faceted, multi layered, disturbing and heartbreaking portrayal of the fractured lives of mothers and their children in Melbourne. Each are broken and chaotic, one minute hopeful, the next despairing. Featuring great performances, especially Frances O'Connor, this is strong and essential stuff.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

I have been thinking about Australia since 6am so I though I would watch an Aussie film. This is heartbreaking, gut-wrenching and a brilliant performance from Frances O'Connor.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

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Ana Kokkinos

Director

Frances O'Connor

Rhonda

Miranda Otto

Bianca

Deborra-Lee Furness

Tanya

Victoria Haralabidou

Gina

Monica Maughan

Laurel Parker

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Ana Kokkinos talks Blessed

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Brandon Judell

indieWire

Unforgiving in its shrewd relentlessness, the cast is flawless as is the direction.

Oct 31, 2012

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Ruth Hessey

MovieTime, ABC Radio National

Some fine talent manages to rise above flimsy scenarios in this multi-thread expose of low-rent Melbourne mothering and its bitter legacy. Surely the whole truth would call for some rays of light in these shabby lives?

Sep 11, 2009

Full Review

Philippa Hawker

The Age (Australia)

Blessed is a rich, unsettling vision of the mother-child relationship, By the end, it is clear that things are not always as they seem. Sometimes it's a reversal of expectations, sometimes an unpredictable consequence.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 11, 2009

Full Review

Matthew Pejkovic

Matt's Movie Reviews

A tad bloated and uncompromisingly bleak, Blessed is buoyed by its impressive ensemble cast.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 29, 2011

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Thomas Caldwell

Cinema Autopsy

Blessed is uneven and overall not as good as Kokkinos's other films but it nevertheless contains some of her best work to date.

Rated: 3/5

Mar 21, 2010

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Amber Wilkinson

Eye for Film

A slow-burning, emotionally haunting film that thrusts the bond between mother and child under a microscope.

Rated: 4/5

Oct 25, 2009

Full Review

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Synopsis

Seven children become lost on the streets at night while their mothers wait for their return.

Director: Ana Kokkinos
Executive Producer: Andrena Finlay, Phil Hunt, Ana Kokkinos, Marian Macgowan, Compton Ross
Screenwriter: Andrew Bovell, Melissa Reeves, Patricia Cornelius, Christos Tsiolkas
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 13, 2017