Excellent but underrated film

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

This movie was actually a pretty good watch. The pacing of the plot was a little bit off for my taste, but it fit the plot of the movie quite well. The movie starts off a bit slow, but it picks up about halfway through. I was a bit shocked by the end of the movie and how quickly it was over, though. The end felt a little rushed, but other than that, the movie was perfect and the plot was completely original and felt 100% new and fresh. The characters were lively and interesting, especially Youssif Al-Samer and Sergeant O'Shane, who I thought were the most interesting and entertaining characters, respectively. I felt the portrayal of the characters was spot on perfect. They played their roles as if they were in the actual character, facing the challenges the movie presented them.Overall, the movie is a definitely a worthwhile watch, especially if you're looking for a good, home grown movie that's fresh and interesting.

Sometimes, ugly times produce beautiful art, and Lucky Miles is a beautiful film.I've lost count of the times a smirking politician has described how shockingly, insufferably bad things are in some of them nasty foreign places. They should be thankful we're carpet-bombing them, to restore some civility. Or so we're constantly told.At the same time it's argued that if some of the locals ever wanted to flee from the above-mentioned insufferably-bad places then there must be something suspicious about them.Politicians depict refugees as a kind of blood-sucking mix of sacrilege and explosives and use this kind of message to win elections. In one infamous Australian election campaign, the incumbent Liberal government headed by John Howard explained to a horrified electorate that refugees showed their true colors by throwing healthy babies into the ocean to drown. And they had photos to prove it. The electorate was stunned and offered sufficient votes to return the government for another term. It was only after the election that the whole story came out: the kids in the photos (and adults too) were in the water because their boat was sinking.Refugees are a fact of life, and with climate change set to inundate some of the most heavily populated coastal regions with salty water, the smart money says the issue is not going to fade away. There's no such thing as a country without borders and in a place like Australia, which is an island-continent the size of mainland USA, I think it's preferable being better informed about refugees rather than lied to.And so it is with an approach of casting a gentle and honest light on a mixed batch of refugees, dumped on a remote stretch of Australian coastline, that Lucky Miles begins its story. The refugees are not saints, and they're not villains either. In fact they seem to be remarkably human. Excited, frightened, insecure, and totally unfamiliar with their new surroundings, but at all times, human. There's one memorable scene where a group encounters an 'unexploded' tin can. The film doesn't mock their response. It just deals with it and moves on. And I love that.One aspect of the film which I've never seen used before, was the use of text translations positioned right alongside the speakers instead of always running on the bottom of the screen as subtitles. I hate thinking of all the foreign-language footage I've never seen over the years because I was tied up scanning only the bottom one-tenth of a screen reading the text. Placing the translations alongside the character not only allowed me to watch the film, but also made it crystal clear which character was talking - a feature which enhanced the long-distance scenes immeasurably. That subtle difference alone made me feel like spontaneously applauding.And that's what it's like to watch this film. You can peel away the 'spin' filters, canned laughter and smoke machines, and make up your own mind about the issues as the story develops. And it is a good story too, with real human drama. It is told with refreshing simplicity. It feels believable. Director Michael James Rowland truly shines in his role.I thoroughly recommend this film.

This film is for thinkers. The contrast and interaction between the 2 main characters alone, is priceless! Kind of a cowboy story where everyone is on their own selfish little trip, all a little lost in one way or another.Just when we think something terrible is going to happen, WHAM, a clever, witty remark or something unexpected happens. What a hilarious send-up of the Australian army.As The Sydney Morning Herald puts it, it's a bit like The Wizard of Oz minus Dorothy and the dog.The dessert, is so beautiful, and the music, well, I sure hope the soundtrack is available soon.Yes, the 'birds aren't very musical in Australia'. ;-D Lisa McIntosh

Few films today dare to treat our border control issues with situational humor. Even fewer rely on a largely unknown cast, to carry a story that has very little to do with saving the western world or pointing any fingers. But almost none consider that coming to the western world could be worse than 'where ever it is they came from' for an asylum seeker. Lucky Miles is such a film. It takes the politics out of culture clashes and anchors conflict in the need for survival. It challenges stereotypes both international and indigenous without tippy-toeing or apologizing. Films like this one are long, long over due, and call the need for a shift in our attitudes to generating new Australian filmmakers. Lucky Miles is a leap forward in old fashioned cinema, and a beacon for commercial free stories.