This thriller/romance is set in Indonesia (though filmed in the Philippines) in 1965, just before the fall of the Sukarno regime.
Civil war is breaking out everywhere, and there is endless talk about Communist guerrillas, military coups, and the death of colonialism.
Mel Gibson is Guy Hamilton, an ambitious but naive Australian radio correspondent who has an affair with beautiful British attaché Jill Bryant, played by Sigourney Weaver.
But the film is stolen by diminutive Linda Hunt who plays Billy Kwan, a half oriental/half Australian (male) dwarf photographer. Hunt won an Oscar for this, her first film appearance.
There’s plenty of humidity and plenty of atmosphere but ultimately none of it adds up to anything substantial, and the film drags along aimlessly.
Guy Hamilton
Mel Gibson Jill Bryant
Sigourney Weaver Billy Kwan
Linda Hunt Kumar
Bembol Roco Hortono
Domingo Landicho Pete Curtis
Michael Murphy Wally O’Sullivan
Noel Ferrier Kevin Condon
Paul Sonkkila Colonel Henderson
Bill Kerr Tiger Lily
Kuh Ledesma
Director
Peter Weir
Video
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