The acting in this movie was very good, and I appreciated the technical aspects of the film. I didn't enjoy the somewhat didactic approach to the audience of the lead characters experiences, nor the over stereotyping of Australia, but perhaps that was director's intent. The most disturbing scene is the final scene of white supremacists kidnapping Ameena. Although this is a fictitious storyline, there were many examples throughout the film that reflect real events and crimes, such as the kidnapping and assaults in Western Sydney in the late 1990's/2000's. It felt like history was being rewritten for the audience. I was saddened to read of Damian Hills passing post production. On a positive, I look forward to following the careers of a new generation of Australian actors.
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IMDbPro486223 October 2019
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lvignes5 July 2020Wanted to turn this off 2 mins in, boring, depressing, gave up after 10 mins. Don't waste your time, rubbish.
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auntymalika20 July 2020Slam is a thought provoking, slow burn film and it builds up to an explosive ending. It tells the story of a young muslim Australian who gets trapped in a cycle of prejudice and Islamophobia of the politicians and media. Rare for an Australian film that talks about minorities. Saw it at the 2019 Sydney Film Festival. A must watch, now available on Foxtel-Binge. Compelling cinema!
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Thanks again Screen Australia and Screen NSW for always prooving that you back the wrong directors and stories. You tick boxes to make sure you include diversity but there is absolutely no substance at here. Its all political and has NO heart or EMOTION. If you want to tell a story to diverse people like myself - make sure you evoke an emotion. The director keeps hitting us over the head every 5-10 min with news, radio rhetoric that''s so overused that it becomes such a weak storytelling tool. This tells me hat there is no drive in the story. Girl goes missing, we dont care because we never met here in the beginning, we barley see her at her poetry reading but there is no character development. The poetry is the best thing about this film, its filmed well but nothing great about this. Don't believe the false reviews, when people say its a slow-burn, just know that means BORING and there is NO motivation, the brother (main character) cares nothing about his sister, no one can act in the film, they are all wooden. Rachel blake - is the most qualified here and Danielle Horvat with the readings.
The police are stereotyped into being racist. Main guy is emotionless, shows no layers at all, Rebecca Breeds tries but doesn't quite get there. This is in no way a film for cultural diversity, this is a pat on the head for a bunch of white people at Screen Australia. And why is it that Muslims always have to be aligned with terrorism, have you run out of stories to tell about Muslim-Aussies? What about showing Christian-Arabs and their stories, why is always that you chose the religions and cultures that seem exotic ? I cant believe how this was funded. Do you actually want to change people thru this film? If so show some emotion, move me, excite me, make me feel angry, or upset, make me laugh - most importantly - make me feel something - your film does non of that, instead its forced from a cultural and religious POV, with stereotyped characters. Bad Acting, bad story, bad motivation, GREAT poetry. That's it. And you wonder why Aussies hate their own films. -
shellcleo26 October 2020Very well acted and a story that keeps you interested right till the end.
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pattirainbow-7729119 January 2023I saw it on Kanopy, and it is absolutely heartbreaking. The actors and brilliant, as is the cinematography. The direction is extremely sensitively done. It's well-paced and realistic. If you like political stories, Slam is the film for you.
I just loved Adam Bakri's measured performance of a foreign-born Australian who tries very hard to assimilate. But despite all, he is ostracised by everybody because they believe that his sister is an ISIS bride.
Rachael Blake as the disturbed cop is amazing. I felt so much for her pain of losing her only son to a war that meant nothing in the end. All those lives were lost for nothing in Afghanistan. Slam is a great anti-racist, anti-war film. Please have the patience to watch it till the explosive end.