After a botched bank job, a gang takes hostage a Japanese girl on the run from an arranged marriage, and escapes. Their wheel man saves the girl from them and the two go on the run with cops, the gang and her psycho husband on their tail. "Heaven's Burning" tells the story of a man and a woman who are inexplicably thrown together, amid violence and chaos. They quickly find themselves on the run from many adversaries, but find time to fall in love along the way. I first saw this movie in a late night slot on a satellite movie channel. The movie has a more than interesting cast of quirky and disturbing characters that appear throughout is length, in some respects quite similar to a Coen brothers film. The two central characters meet in the most unusual of circumstances and have more than one reason to hide themselves from their respective pursuers. The film portrays a different side to Australia, especially with the mixture of cultures presented. There are enough action scenes within film to keep the pace up and is accompanied with a good soundtrack. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and would recommend it. There is quite a lot of talk about 'karma' in this film. I undid the cardboard sleeve of Transit starring Jim Caviezel to watch it… and found Heaven's Burning lurking inside instead. Duty bound to see it, I stuck it on… and was quite simply blown away. I must have done something good somewhere. I can't imagine what, though.<br/><br/>Due to slightly complex circumstances, Russell Crowe and Yuki Kudo are on the run from the police, Italian mobsters and the Japanese girl's estranged husband. Needless to say, there are a LOT of subtitles in this movie. During their road trip, they meet plenty of bizarre characters and find themselves in odd situations, while falling in love. Always being tracked by their unforgiving pursuers, of course…<br/><br/>There's so much to admire here, I don't know where to start. The dialogue is witty, intelligent and all-knowing… especially regarding Australia and Japan relations. The action sequences are minimalist, but expertly shot… who needs a huge budget when you've got a director as talented as this? There is also, thank God, a rich vein of traditional Aussie humour running through which is HILARIOUS unlike say, the shallow stereotypes of something like Red Dog (And I promise NEVER to bring that… thing up in a review ever again).<br/><br/>But most of all, it's the performance of one Yuki Kudo and her sizzling chemistry with Crowe that is the standout here. Don't get me wrong… he gives his all in a solid role, but she is the one who is simultaneously adorable and ruthless in an incredible display of acting. I would ask her to marry me, but 17 years later… Nah, she's probably too old. Shame (for her).<br/><br/>So, an incredible film, and the biggest surprise since Luton Town almost winning promotion. And if you're reading this, you know that's a direct shout out to you… 8/10
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295 weeks ago