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Tomorrow when the war began - Rachel Hurd-Wood, Chris Pang, Deniz Akdeniz, Stuart Beattie

Threat advisory: Elevated - Significant risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

Tomorrow when the war began follows the journey of eight high school friends in a remote country town whose lives are suddenly and violently upended by a war that no-one saw coming. Cut off from their families and their friends, these eight extraordinary teenagers must somehow learn to escape, survive and fight back.

Theatrical propaganda posters

Tomorrow when the war began theatrical one sheet image

Target demographic movie keyword propaganda

Film action Australia war teen farm country Asian invasion bush resistance fight series Australian soldier

Persons of interest

Rachel Hurd-Wood .... Corrie Mackenzie
Phoebe Tonkin .... Fiona Maxwell
Caitlin Stasey .... Ellie Linton
Lincoln Lewis .... Kevin Holmes
Masa Yamaguchi .... Sergeant
Deniz Akdeniz .... Homer Yannos
Matthew Dale .... Mr Coles
Ashleigh Cummings .... Robyn Mathers
Andy Minh Trieu .... Tanker soldier
Andrew Ryan .... Chris Lang
Chris Pang .... Lee Takkam
Andrew Liam Pringle .... Nolan Baumson
John Marsden .... Author
Stuart Beattie .... Screenwriter
Stuart Beattie .... Director

Cinematic intelligence sources

Tomorrow when the war began official movie sites:

Tomorrow when the war began film production notes
Tomorrow when the war began movie trailers:

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YouTube

Awards and film festivals:

Australian Film Institute (AFI) 2010: Won: Best adapted screenplay (Stuart Beattie), Best sound (Andrew Plain, David Lee, Gethin Creagh, Robert Sullivan); Nominated: Best film (Andrew Mason, Michael Boughen), Young actor award (Ashleigh Cummings), Readers choice award (Andrew Mason, Michael Boughen), Members' choice award (Andrew Mason, Michael Boughen), Best editing (Marcus D'Arcy), Best production design (Robert Webb, Michelle McGahey, Damien Drew, Bev Dunn), Visual effects award (Chris Godfrey, Sigi Eimutis, Dave Morely, Tony Cole)
if Awards: Nominated: Best script (Stuart Beattie), Best music (Johnny Klimek, Reinhold Heil), Best actor (Deniz Akdeniz), Best actress (Caitlin Stasey), Best feature film

Studios and distributors:

Paramount Pictures

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

The books of this series are awesome. I've read them all, even the ones that John Marsden wrote after he finished writing the series. This movie lives up to the books but has two big flaws. The first is the score, a standard, lush symphonic thing that undercuts the gritty reality of the situation. This is the outback; no clever music can live up to it. It's too pretty. The Australian bush is never pretty. Life in the country is not pretty. Forming a resistance group against foreign invaders is not pretty. The pre-existing songs fit in well because they're rock & roll. Rock & roll is not pretty and so fits right in. The second flaw is the Hollywoodisation of it all, especially the special effects. The look of it all is very slick and glossy, rather than dry and dusty and a little bit dingy. People have been working on too many Hollywood films made here in Australia (Aussiewood) and have picked up some bad habits. This is an Australian story, people behave badly, people get shot, people die, winning isn't always an option. Go hard or go home.

On the plus side, the casting of the main characters is excellent. When I first saw Deniz Akdeniz in the early publicity shots he didn't match my image of Homer, but having watched the film, my image of Homer is now forever Deniz. Homer is such a rat-bag, a rebel without a cause, until he's given the biggest cause of them all. Deniz delivers all that. Caitlin Stasey is Ellie Linton to a T: a hard-working country chick with a gun and a broadband connection. The entire ensemble looks right, sounds right and acts right, right down to the bits where they don't get along at all. Hey, people are people. Then there's the scenery. If you've never loved the Australian bush, look away now. It's hard, it's rugged, it's dry, it's surprising, it's dangerous and it's beautiful. This ain't no English county garden. Tailor's Stitch is perfect. Hell is not so much Hell as Heaven, however, and that's Hollywood sneaking its memes into our movies again. The Tomorrow series is set in New South Wales, not Queensland.

As for realism, the question to ask is whether a bunch of moderately popular teenagers from the bush could go to war with a semi-professional force and win. I reckon that the answer is yes. Country kids (I am one) are a lot more independent than city kids, and take danger in their stride because they're exposed to it more frequently. It's why they can drive before they have pubic hair. It's why they can shoot guns. It's why they can kill animals. It's why they laugh at Townies (don't even get them started on city slickers).

I liked this movie. Hopefully someone will dirty down the sequels, although it's all good, but.

The action, Australia, war movie Tomorrow when the war began is directed by Stuart Beattie and stars Rachel Hurd-Wood, Chris Pang, Deniz Akdeniz.