a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

The film is a compelling story of a fascinating man but packs in lots of the atmosphere of the 1930s and 40s in Australia. This film shows what you can do with a clever mixture of modern recreations and archival footage that has come to light from digital archives. The director Alec Morgan and his cinematographer have done a great job bringing the people and photographs to life. One of the great effects was adding wings to the film business angels. It is really inspiring for other documentary makers who want to tackle historical issues. Ben Mendelsohn was the stand out performer but was supported well by the women who played his wife and lover.

Hunt Angels opens in a really thrilling and imaginative way and continues with the same audacity, wit and visual cleverness throughout. Its about the attempts of two emerging filmmakers to well, make films. Lack of finances, state censorship and cultural cringe all create obstacles for the intrepid duo, as do their own inner psychological flaws. Great drama or romance? Not quite, more like a lively humorous and real life farce. And a fantastic insight into Australian cultural history, or lack of. Although set in the 30's and 40's in Australia the film shows how really nothing much has changed, with Australian artists facing the same issues now, of trying to tell independent local stories in the face of globalisation (read Americanisation) of culture. Its actually enlivening though, rather than depressing, and confirms and affirms your own creative aspirations. Only one shortcoming; in classic Australian masculinist style, the abandoned wife is completely silent, and the woman partner's lips seem bigger than Angelina's!

For anyone who's passionate about films and film making. This is creative storytelling at its best. The compositing of dramatic actors with archive, blended with the memorable film epics of Rupe, takes this into new realm. It's a difficult line to tread, between authentic history and creative licence. Director/writer Alec Morgan tiptoes along that line without a net, and he does it fearlessly. Ben Mendelsohn is great in the lead. No surprises there. This is a fitting tribute to one of film history's unsung heroes. There's a street named after Rupe Kathner in Canberra. He was a footnote, not elevated to the status of legends by Morgan and co. In fact,,this is a better story and film than that other celebrated legend Ed Wood. By the closing credits I just wanted to get out and get involved. Let's make a movie!

The film is based on the true story of two Sydney filmmakers Rupe Kathner and Alma Brooks who in the late 1930s took on the Hollywood barons, a corrupt police commissioner and hostile press in their wild spree to make their movies. This was during a dark time when Hollywood ruthlessly dominated the Australian film industry. Its kind of an Aussie Bonnie and Clyde meet Ed Wood. Many of their actual films have survived and are also in the film. There is something crazy and exhilarating about their attempts to make their movies and the passion with which they would stop at almost nothing to get them finished and on the screen.Now their story is told using digital innovations that incorporate real actors into photographs and archival footage of the times, all in stunning black and white.