''Badland'' is a 2007 German-American drama film written and directed by Francesco Lucente and starring

Jamie Draven Jamie Draven (born Jamie Donnelly on 14 May 1978) is an English actor whose career in films and television began in 1998. One of his early notable parts was as Billy's bullying older brother, Tony, in the hit 2000 film ''Billy Elliot'' and as J ...

, Grace Fulton, Vinessa Shaw,

Chandra West Chandra K. West (born December 31, 1970) is a Canadian actress. Early life and education West was born in Edmonton, Alberta, the youngest of eight children. The family moved to Oak Bay, British Columbia, where she attended Monterey Elementary ...

and Joe Morton.

Plot summary

Cast

as Jerry Rice * Grace Fulton as Celina Rice * Vinessa Shaw as Nora Rice *

as Oli Danilou * Joe Morton as Max Astin * Tom Carey as Louie * Patrick Richards as Alex * Jake Church as Stevie * Louie Campbell as Ray

Release

The film had a limited theatrical release on November 30, 2007.

Reception

The film has a 16% rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

based on 19 reviews. Marjorie Baumgarten of ''

The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...

'' awarded the film one star out of five. Rob Humanick of ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

'' awarded the film one and a half stars out of four and wrote, "Until the mess in the Middle East has found its way to a resolution, we can continue to expect films like ''Badland'' as part of the collateral damage in the War on Terror." Robert Koehler of '' Variety'' gave the film a negative review and wrote, "The raw material would seem to be in place for a strong, moving contemporary tragedy, but scene after endless scene fails to come to life." The

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

also gave the film a negative review: "When the picture gets around to its calculated socko ending, the viewer has long been pummeled into a state of numbness." Eric Monder of '' Film Journal International'' gave the film a positive review and wrote, "''Badland'' takes a step in the right direction by attempting to understand the aftermath of war."

Matt Zoller Seitz Matt Zoller Seitz (born December 26, 1968) is an American film and television critic, author and film-maker. Career Matt Zoller Seitz is editor-at-large at RogerEbert.com, and the television critic for '' New York'' magazine and Vulture.com, as ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' also gave the film a positive review, calling it "mawkish yet weirdly mesmerizing." Kevin Thomas of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' also gave the film a positive review and wrote, "Expertly constructed and beautifully photographed, ''Badland'' easily sustains its 160-minute running time, and the portrayals of Draven, a British actor, and 9-year-old Fulton can stand alongside the year’s best."

References

External links

* * * * * {{Rotten Tomatoes, 10008856-badland German drama films American drama films 2007 drama films 2000s English-language films