The Plains (2022) User Reviews

Surprisingly engaging for a 3hr documentary of a person in a car

[gricey_sandgrounder · 7/10 · 14 December 2022]

It's not often with documentaries. But I remember first hearing about this film since last year.

I believe it was initially going to be released in 2021. But it got pushed back.

It's also not common for a documentary film to be 3hrs. That's the situation we're in with this one.

If you're aware of the structure going into the film, you'll naturally think how are they going to make this engaging for that long if at all.

Turns out, with ease.

Seeing this type of film keeps me believing that any content can work when done right. It seems a 3hr documentary that mainly shows an Australian businessman's home commute can be surprisingly entertaining.

The conversations you hear give you interesting stories that develop and you care about. The odd moments of going elsewhere is a nice of change of pace and adds more useful info to the central topic as well as understanding more about that part of the world.

I think humans naturally like hearing in on conversations. It's not just from a nosey perspective. But we like hearing people's stories and lives. That's what makes this work.

I was shocked at how much I liked this. Yes it could be seen as a gimmick. But the content is there for it to work . The duration flew by and there are enough situations developing to keep you interested. I cannot see it working on a small screen though. So I appreciated seeing this at a cinema.

Boring but better

[ongoam · 6/10 · 10 April 2024]

David Easteal serves as writer, director, producer, editor and actor on the project. A Melbourne-based barrister and film maker, Easteal would give Rakowski a lift to and from work, their commute conversations served as the basis for the film, which were then scripted and filmed. Drone shots in Horsham, Victoria are also used as well as commuter traffic in Melbourne. And Richard Kuipers in Variety described it as "thematically rich and quietly compelling". Ben Kenisberg in The New York Times said that "fans of structural film, Jeanne Dielman and Google Maps will find much to treasure. Luke Buckmaster in The Guardian described it as a "tremendous achievement and, in a subtle way, an amazing work of art" and that it demonstrates that "drama can exist without the dramatic and that engaging narratives are everywhere around us, observable with the right eyes."He later included it as number one in his list of the top ten Australian films of the year.

This 3hr doc could be tightened up a lot

[drjacobgrayson · 5/10 · 26 April 2023]

So it's about 40 minutes of content for a 3-hour documentary. That's not a lot of value for your time frankly. Much of the 3 hours is spent in silence watching a guy drive through traffic. Some of the time is spent in the parking lot just waiting for the guy to come get in the car. So this is the type of excitement you can expect. It reminded me of the days before cell phones when all you could do in the car was just look out the window and wonder how long it was going to take to get home. Having said all that, this documentary is kind of a real life exploration of everyday life, and from that perspective I could appreciate it. I just wish it hadn't taken so long.

I cannot recommend this film, but I couldn't stop watching it

[andy742 · 5/10 · 30 April 2023]

I don't know, I don't know why I stuck it out, I don't know how I made it through 3 hours of really not much happening at all.

I would find it hard to recommend this film to friends because you basically sit in the backseat of multiple car rides for 95% of the film. I can't possibly suggest that it would be interesting. But then again I kept watching and didn't walk out on it.

I felt it was quite brave for someone to release a film like this and that deserves merit.

It was real, but it wasn't real exciting - it almost felt unscripted, partially at least, maybe that's just a credit to the few actors involved.

Go into this understanding what it is and what it is not...