Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

It's always tricky to make a movie that might blindly be perceived as a black vs white melodrama when here it's not really the case. For me this movie is a simple told story of lost souls. Two young people, one in search of an almost fanciful re-connection with her wayward father and the other, desperate to see his mother before she dies. The two young lead actors do a fine job of portraying their characters. Although the dialogue is a bit twee at times, it still manages to get the message across to the viewer. The cinematography is great, utilizing the sometimes stark, but beautiful Western Plains district of New South Wales to full advantage. I did think that the scenes involving the pair's interactions with the police were, at times, a bit over the top. Other than that, this is a good movie. It is sad to note, that Damian Pitt, who played Vaughn, was killed in a car accident near Grafton NSW in 2009

Lena is blonde-haired and blue-eyed. Most see her as white at first glance. She has an Aboriginal mother and an Irish father. When her mother gets her brother arrested, she decides to leave. She fails to get back on the bus at a stop. She starts walking and is joined by Vaughn. He escaped from low security prison work detail to go home to see his sick mother. The two struggle over views as they sometimes hitch rides.There is a quiet sincerity personified by Lena. It is slow at times with its quietness. However, there is also a magnetism about the two leads. The young actors possess a dignity and power within them. It's an intriguing theatrical debut for filmmaker Ivan Sen.

I have little to add to the excellent reviews above. Tarkovsky? Tykwer? No wonder I loved it. I shall go away and have a good think about those connections. My contribution is a bit of information about Australian aboriginals that may help non-Australians appreciate this exquisite movie.1. It is normal for Australian aboriginals to take a while to speak to each other (or anyone) if they are strangers. When thinking about this I compared the film to Eric Rohmer and to Iranian films about young people. Iranians and Rohmer characters chatter endlessly about trivia but the powerful effect of the movie creeps up on you in the same way.2. It is easy to miss the moment in which Vaughan discovers that Lena is Aboriginal. This is an important turning point in the film. To avoid spoiling I'll only give you a tip. An older person is involved and there is no discussion. If you watch for it you will see it.

I thoroughly enjoyed Beneath Clouds, and thought it was a fantastic film all round...especially since it is part of the rise of Aussie films dealing with Aborigines (both historical and contemporary). The main thing that struck me with the film, however, was the similarities it had with Tom Tykwer's work (specifically The Princess And The Warrior, and to a lesser extent Heaven). I thought the mood, depth of emotion and the manner in which the story was told was almost identical to Tykwer's work. I mainly am writing this to see if anyone else shared my thoughts on this. Considering that Tykwer is one of my favourite directors I guess this was the only aspect of the film that disappointed me (there's nothing wrong with either mimicking or coincidentally sharing stylistic aspects, it's just that I couldn't stop thinking 'this is a Tykwer film' when watching it).