A psychological western set during Australia’s formative years, Lucky Country explores the brutality of man when lured by the temptation of greed.     

While recent Australian films have taken advantage of the sprawling landscapes which make the outback, director Kriv Stenders stays away from picturesque scenery and opts for the dense bushland as his backdrop: uncompromising, large and consuming, swallowing its inhabitants whole. It is there where we find a family torn apart and living only on the faith that God will deliver them from their affliction.

It is 1902, the Federation of Australia is a year old, and single father Nat (Aden Young) struggles to provide for his children, restless Sarah (Hanna Mangan-Lawrence) and impressionable Tom (Toby Wallace).

Originally an educator by trade and dreamer by heart, Nat’s constant failure at making the bush life work erodes at the trust placed in him, as he slowly crumbles to the pressures placed upon his shoulders, actor Aden Young portraying the character as a wounded body of nerves and on his last legs.  

One night a group of strangers -former soldiers partaking in the gold rush that has gripped the nation- ask for shelter for their sickly friend. The group is led by Henry (Pip Miller), a world weary, battle scarred and charismatic man, who young Tom immediately takes a shining to since Henry is everything his father is not.    

Immediately Nat’s manhood is tested as Henry and his men prove that living in the bush is an acquired skill that Nat does not possess. This creates even more of a detachment between Nat and his children, as he watches his authority erode as madness consumes him even further.    

Stalkingly building up the tension to a fever pitch, Stenders unleashes hell when a closely guarded secret is uncovered, pitting child against parent; friend against friend. And just as Paul Thomas Anderson promised that There Will Be Blood, so too does Stenders deliver on the bloodshed as the dread of murder and rape haunts every dimly lit frame, proving that the depths mankind will succumb to for the attainment of wealth is the most tragic sin of all.