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The Plains

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The Plains

2022

3h 0m

Documentary

Drama

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Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

13 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Every evening a man in his late 50s commutes home at the end of the working day in the outer suburbs of Melbourne. As the seasons pass in gentle rhythm we observe dramatic events of his life as well as mundane quotidian details, and learn more about the man, his inner conflicts and the relationships in his life -- with his wife, his mother, deceased sister, and a younger co-worker whom he occasionally drives home. Within the microcosm of the car the film ultimately becomes a meditation on the passage of time, memory, work, and how love and the relationships in our life sustain us.

Craig Mathieson

The Age (Australia)

It’s structurally audacious -- deliberately removing the extraneous so that you closely examine what remains: voices, beliefs, and the clogged arterials of peak hour.

Jul 6, 2023

Full Review

Ben Kenigsberg

New York Times

Fans of structural film, “Jeanne Dielman” and Google Maps will find much to treasure, even if the narrative elements — and occasional cutaways to imagery shot in a more remote area in western Victoria — upset the movie’s rigor and purposeful tedium.

Apr 12, 2023

Full Review

Luke Buckmaster

Guardian

This extraordinarily mundane film – a combination of words I’m fairly certain I’ve never used before – is a tremendous achievement and, in a subtle way, an amazing work of art.

Rated: 5/5

Jun 9, 2022

Full Review

Stephen Silver

The SS Ben Hecht

Kind of hypnotizing, as the two men talk about life. There are various plot lines, but it’s mostly about the atmosphere overall.

Rated: 4.5/5

Jan 1, 2024

Full Review

Soham Gadre

Film Inquiry

The Plains, in its supposed mundanity and ritual, gives us the gift of time to really take in the cinematic image and make our own inferences as to what it’s showing us.

May 20, 2023

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Mark Cutler

In Review Online

Despite its highly limited setting and subject, the film feels surprisingly expansive... its format and structure also show real consideration, which make this otherwise daunting, three-hour proposition a surprisingly relaxed and engrossing experience.

Apr 17, 2023

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David Easteal

Director

Andrew Rakowski

Andrew

David Easteal

David

Cheri LeCornu

Cheri

Inga Rakowski

Inga

Jon Faine

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Synopsis

Every evening a man in his late 50s commutes home at the end of the working day in the outer suburbs of Melbourne. As the seasons pass in gentle rhythm we observe dramatic events of his life as well as mundane quotidian details, and learn more about the man, his inner conflicts and the relationships in his life -- with his wife, his mother, deceased sister, and a younger co-worker whom he occasionally drives home. Within the microcosm of the car the film ultimately becomes a meditation on the passage of time, memory, work, and how love and the relationships in our life sustain us.

Director: David Easteal
Producer: David Easteal
Screenwriter: David Easteal
Distributor: OVID
Production Co: David Easteal Film
Genre: Documentary, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 28, 2025
Runtime: 3h 0m