Jindabyne

Jindabyne (2006)

Genres - Drama, Mystery, Thriller  |   Sub-Genres - Psychological Drama, Melodrama  |   Release Date - Apr 27, 2007 (USA - Limited), Apr 27, 2007 (USA)  |   Run Time - 123 min.  |   Countries - Australia  |   MPAA Rating - R
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Synopsis by Mark Deming

A family is touched by the shadows of hatred and violence in this Australian drama adapted from a short story by Raymond Carver. Stewart (Gabriel Byrne) and Claire (Laura Linney) are a married couple in their early fourties; Stewart runs a gas station while Claire looks after their son, Tom (Sean Rees-Wemyss). Tom has been grounded for the weekend after killing a small animal with his friend Caylin (Eva Lazzaro), and Claire keeps an eye on him while Stewart goes off on a fishing trip with his pals Carl (John Howard), Rocco (Stelios Yiakmis), and Billy (Simon Stone). After arriving at their favorite fishing spot, Stewart finds the naked body of a woman floating down the river; unbeknownst to him, Gregory (Chris Haywood), an elderly man riddled with racial hatred, killed Susan (Tatea Reilly), a young woman of Aboriginal heritage, and dumped her body in the water. Believing they wouldn't be able to drive to town to report finding the body and get back to make camp before nightfall, Stewart decides to wait until morning to contact the police, and ties a line to the corpse so it won't float away. The next morning, Stewart and his friends decide not to spoil their trip and spend the day fishing; they don't contact the police until after they return home on Monday. Stewart's callous actions cast an ugly light on himself, his friends, and his family, and Claire finds herself implicated in the crime through Stewart's poor judgment. Named for an Aboriginal word for a valley, Jindabyne received its world premiere at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.

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Keywords

corpse, family, gas-station, grounded [punishment], racism, trip