Limbo moovie storyline. Detective Travis Hurley arrives in a small town in the Australian outback. The Hotel Limbo, which resembles a rocky grotto, proves to be perfect for his very own particular type of relaxation. But he has come here to investigate a case from 20 years ago for which the only evidence is a number of tape recordings: the unsolved murder of an Aboriginal girl named Charlotte Hayes.
The residents are less than forthcoming regarding the provision of information; this is especially true of the victim’s fractured family. You do not talk to a cop, especially if he is white. But Hurley, in a stoic performance by Simon Baker, knows how to wend his way in his cool car through the labyrinthine landscape of the Opal Mountains and form a bond with the cave and caravan dwellers.
Indigenous Australian film director Ivan Sen is renowned for his depiction of magnificent screen landscapes. In Limbo, he juxtaposes the low sky with the mounds above and holes below ground around the opal-mining capital of Coober Pedy. The result is a serene “desert noir” that is as convincing as a detective story as it is a subtle portrait of the First Nation’s deep-seated experiences of everyday racism. A genre film suffused with bleak nostalgia.
Limbo is a 2023 Australian independent mystery-crime film directed by Ivan Sen and starring Simon Baker, Rob Collins, Natasha Wanganeen and Nicholas Hope. The film had its world premiere in competition at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival, on 23 February 2023, where it competed for Golden Bear.
It premiered in Australian cinemas on 18 May 2023, and had its television premiere on ABC TV on 9 July 2023. It was invited to Horizons section of 57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where it was screened on 30 June 2023. The film was also invited to the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival in centrepiece section.
The film was selected in country focus section ‘Best of Contemporary Australian Cinema’ at the 29th Kolkata International Film Festival and was screened on 6 December 2023. It will be showcased in February 2024 at the 39th Santa Barbara International Film Festival in ‘Non Premiere Feature Films’ section.
Limbo (2024)
Directed by: Ivan Sen
Starring: Simon Baker, Rob Collins, Natasha Wanganeen, Nicholas Hope, Mark Coe, Joshua Warrior, Alexis Lennon, Craig Rossiter, Nick Buckland
Screenplay by: Ivan Sen
Production Design by: Adam Head
Cinematography by: Ivan Sen
Film Editing by: Ivan Sen
Costume Design by: Theo Benton
Art Direction by: Adam Head
Makeup Department: Toni Ffrench
Music by: Ivan Sen
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Music Box Films
Release Date: February 23, 2023 (Berlinale), May 18, 2023 (Australia), February 9, 2024 (United States)
Visits: 39
