CACTUS (Australia 2008) ***
Directed by Jasmine Yuen Carrucan

A man, Eli (David Lyons) is kidnapped by John (Travis McMahon) and taken on a road trip in the Australian outback to an unknown destination.  The reason for the kidnapping is revealed only after half the film has elapsed. 

CACTUS feels really odd at times (not always a bad thing though) - probably due to this film being the director’s first film and for a number of other reasons.  The most obvious is the uncomfortable shift in focus of protagonist from John to Eli at the end.  The second is that the film changes mood so often, for example from odd hilarity (at the film’s start) to dead seriousness.  But director Carrucan is always one step ahead of her viewers in terms of revealing the film’s plot.  She also shows certain freshness in his directing, especially in the edginess and quirkiness departments.

Veteran actor Bryan Brown steals the show with his portrayal of Roscoe, an outback patrolman who carries out his justice his own way.  CACTUS is worth a look.