Blaze

I loved it. It is different but so very subtle and yet so different, the nuances can be missed. This is little girl making sense of what she witnessed whilst having her own personal issues and dealing with the onset of puberty. She may be little but she is fierce. Don't overthink, enjoy the fantasy aspects and just sit back for the ride. Beautifully acted and directed.

Pretentious bloated pile of rubbish. Spends too much time sexualising a child which I am sure the director will just fob off as ‘art’. The pacing and flow of the film was terrible. Made by someone who seems to have no idea how to make a film. Skip this one, it absolutely sucks

Definitely a one-off film, combining serious topics (rape, murder, trauma, mental health) woven together with surreal and vivid visual sequences. These were very inventive, but overly long - - I kept fast-forwarding through them to return to the story. A good effort but I wouldn't rewatch it.

At the end of the day this is a very dificult topic handled in a way that kids could watch, but this isn't a kids movie. Del Kathryn Barton's film has a fine premise: a child who witnesses a sexual assault. The way the mental illness is illustrated with CGI and a dragon takes away the coming of age drama and the performance of Julia Savage, who portrays the 13 year old is really good. There isn't a lot of meat on the bone, but it's colorful. Final Score: 5/10

Pretentious bullsh*t masquerading as a movie about the terrible things we men do to women. Visually nice, but ultimately empty inside.

Blaze – Delivers a Mild Scorch It seems Australian moviemakers mistakenly believe they have to be controversially grim to be taken seriously. Back in the 70s and 80s, the world was singing the praises of Australia as being amongst the only countries producing quality entertainment for all-aged audiences. We were riding the crest of the wave in this field. Now we often tend to struggle to make ends meet with wall to wall social horror stories. Blaze, while having moments of empathy, continually roller coasters its audience with either the super ‘arty' or the super grim. When modern artists turn to making movies it's inevitable it will be drowning in numerous forms of ‘art'. The filmmaker, Del Kathryn Barton claims this story of a traumatised pre-teen following witnessing a rape/murder is not her personal biography but examines a similar thread of instances in her own life. She doesn't want to tell us just what happened to her and maybe we don't need to know. Some of the ‘dream like‘sequences using stop-motion puppets are intriguing while others sequences more resemble a school kids installation in a gallery. Many of these are overlong, over-done, and heavy-handed, most involve a creation that's half Luck Dragon and a glitter studded Mardi-grass float decoration. Performances are fine-tuned, and the cinematography is stylish, but for a 99 minute movie, this felt like over 2 Hrs. Those with a love of intense re-enacted studies of kids in trauma situations may appreciate this one, others may be reaching for the double speed remote. A little less art and more heart might have helped.

A highly powerful watch. Displaying the full range of human emotion experienced after enduring a trauma, what an amazing performance by the young lead. This film doesn't pull punches, particularly in the real-world scenes, and the cinematic and soundtrack element are just beautiful and incredibly moving.

30 Minutes was all I could take. While I deeply sympathize with the child character and crime victim (this was well told). the movie was just too boring. There should have been more life in the presentation and a little less melancholy.

An incredible, unique and deeply affecting art film. 13-year old Julia Savage's performance resonates with a subtle emotional power which leaves most adult actors for dead. Her star will rise.

Blaze is a heartbreaking and visually stunning exploration of trauma that stays with you long after the credits are over.