Sweet Country

Sweet Country is a 2017 Australian drama film, directed by Warwick Thornton. Set in 1929 in the sparsely populated outback of the Northern Territory and based on a series of true events, it tells a harsh story against the backdrop of a divided society (between the British settlers and Aboriginal Australians) in the interwar period in Australia. It was first screened in the main competition section of the 74th Venice International Film Festival in September 2017 and after winning the Special Jury Prize award there, went on to win several awards internationally. Plot Sam Kelly is a middle-aged Aboriginal farm worker in the outback of Australia's Northern Territory some time after the end of the First World War. His employer, Fred Smith, a kindly preacher, agrees to lend Sam, his wife, Lizzie, and his niece, Lucy, to a bitter, abusive, and alcoholic veteran of World War I named Harry March on a neighbouring farm to renovate the latter's paddock fences. After sending Sam out to round up some cattle, Harry rapes Lizzie, and threatens to skin her and Sam and rape Lucy if Lizzie tells Sam. Sam's relationship with Harry quickly deteriorates. Later, Harry visits the farm on which Sam works looking for a runaway Aboriginal youth named Philomac, who had escaped after Harry had chained him up to stop him from stealing. Harry fires rifle shots into the house then kicks in the door, leading Sam (who is inside with Lizzie) to pick up a gun and kill Harry in self-defence.