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      The New Boy

      2023 1 hr. 56 min. History Drama List
      71% 42 Reviews Tomatometer 43% Fewer than 50 Ratings Audience Score In the 1940s, during the dead of night, a nine-year-old Aboriginal orphan arrives at a remote monastery run by a renegade nun. Read More Read Less
      The New Boy

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      Critics Consensus

      The New Boy bites off more than it can comfortably chew, but this heady exploration of faith and cultural tensions has an ethereal allure.

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      Audience Reviews

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      Georgina E I LOVED this movie. Exquisite in every way. The animated Christ statue seen through the eyes of the new boy, seen through the eyes of an ancient culture unconstrained by dogma is, becomes a lifeless effigy when he submits. His magic gone. Heartbreaking testimony to the dislocation spiritually and geographically of the desert boy such a long way from home. A masterpiece. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/20/24 Full Review Wayne M The New Boy is an enigmatic and at times puzzling film. It's impressive in parts but often lacks momentum. Warwick Thornton is a great Australian film maker and his first two films are genuine classics. His new one though whilst worthy I don't believe lives up to those first two. Set in the 1940s whilst WW2 rages on we find a young Indigenous boy being chased and caught by police. He is taken to a nearby orphanage run by two nuns in the South Australian outback. He doesn't speak and can't be identified but is roughly adopted into his new surroundings. The other orphans find him puzzling as the 'new boy' struggles to fit in. He is though intrigued by the religious imagery around him and he seems to have his own magical powers. I guess deep down this film is about the clash between strict Catholic doctrines and the more mystical elements of the Indigenous population. It moves slowly and not a lot happens but it looks wonderful and the score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis ads much weight. Cate Blanchett is expectedly great as Sister Eileen but the real scene stealer is newcomer Aswan Reid as the wayward boy. This is certainly a film worth seeking out but I felt it doesn't quite fulfill the hope I had that it would be great. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/19/24 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Critics Reviews

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      Mark Kermode Kermode and Mayo's Take (YouTube) It's not the film you think it's going to be. It's far more transcendent than that. Mar 19, 2024 Full Review Wendy Ide Observer (UK) The pacing is languid to a fault and it all gets rather bogged down in allegory. Rated: 3/5 Mar 17, 2024 Full Review John Nugent Empire Magazine A gentle, odd little Australian fable. Warwick Thornton’s film has a lot of thoughts to process, and while they don’t always cohere, the performances from Blanchett and Reid keep it interesting. Rated: 3/5 Mar 14, 2024 Full Review Adam Sweeting The Arts Desk ... Viewers may find themselves having to ponder long and hard to figure out The New Boy’s layers of meaning. Rated: 3/5 Mar 19, 2024 Full Review Rich Cline Shadows on the Wall Where this story goes is fascinating and provocative, continually challenging the audience to consider the underlying ideas swirling around within the narrative. Rated: 4/5 Mar 19, 2024 Full Review Tom Shone Sunday Times (UK) Cate Blanchett gives her first boring performance in Warwick Thornton’s The New Boy... Rated: 2/5 Mar 18, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis In the 1940s, during the dead of night, a nine-year-old Aboriginal orphan arrives at a remote monastery run by a renegade nun.
      Director
      Warwick Thornton
      Executive Producer
      Lorenzo De Maio, Coco Francini
      Screenwriter
      Warwick Thornton, Warwick Thornton
      Production Co
      First National Pictures, Dirty Films
      Genre
      History, Drama
      Original Language
      English