''Heaven's Burning'' is a 1997 Australian

crime film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

starring

Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor and film director. Russell Crowe filmography, His work on screen has earned him List of awards and nominations received by Russell Crowe, various accolades, including an Academy Award, two Gold ...

and directed by

Craig Lahiff Craig Lahiff (23 April 1947 – 2 February 2014) was an Australian film director. He grew up in the Adelaide suburb of Somerton Park, South Australia, Somerton Park and studied science at the University of Adelaide, then trained as a systems co ...

. The film was released in Australia on 6 November 1997. It follows the adventures of an Australian

getaway driver A crime scene getaway is the act of departing from the location where one has committed a crime. It is an act that the offender(s) may or may not have planned in detail, resulting in a variety of outcomes. A :crime scene is the "location of a c ...

(Crowe) and a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

runaway bride (Youki Kudoh) on a road trip as they are pursued by both criminals and the police. This was Russell Crowe's last Australian film until 2014's ''

The Water Diviner ''The Water Diviner'' is a 2014 drama film starring and directed by Russell Crowe, in his directorial debut, and written by Andrew Anastasios and Andrew Knight. The film follows an Australian farmer, Joshua Connor (Crowe), who travels to Turkey ...

''.

Plot

Japanese bride Midori Takada (Youki Kudoh) arrives in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

with her new husband Yukio (Kenji Isomura). She believes her marriage is a mistake and uses the honeymoon as a means to escape. Colin O'Brien (Russell Crowe) is an experienced

. He is hired by an Australian-

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

family to help rob a bank. During the robbery one member is killed. Midori is in the bank at the same time and they grab her as a hostage. After escaping, the two Afghan brothers decide to get rid of her. Colin will not allow this. He kills one of the brothers and threatens to shoot the other, Mahood (Robert Mammone). He and Midori escape. Colin wishes to travel to see his father, Cam, at his ranch because he has not seen him in years. Midori chooses to stay with Colin. The duo rob a bank to fund their trip. Mahood and his father, Boorjan (Petru Gheorghiu), swear revenge and set out to catch Colin. The police, aware of the Afghan family's illegal activities, are also in pursuit. Yukio is told of his wife's involvement and he is aware that she left him by choice. His honor injured, he goes to find her. Colin and Midori venture across

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. The Afghans catch up with Colin and begin to torture him, but Colin manages to kill the patriarch and remaining son. Yukio searches for Midori, killing people along the way. Colin and Midori eventually reach the ranch owned by his father, Cam (Ray Barrett). The duo stays for a short while and officially become lovers. They then leave to visit the seashore. Yukio reaches the ranch soon after and threatens Cam with death if he does not tell him where Midori has gone. Cam responds that he believes in

karma Karma (, from , ; ) is an ancient Indian concept that refers to an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively called ...

and Yukio will soon pay for his evil ways. Enraged, Yukio does not simply shoot Cam; he drowns him. After some setbacks, Yukio catches up with the lovers and shoots Colin in the torso. Midori retrieves a gun from their car and shoots Yukio, who then shoots her in the side. He tells her that he still loves her, but she counters that he does not know what love is and then kills him. The police hear about the shootout and chase the lovers. Midori drives while Colin is slowly dying in the passenger's seat. They reach the shore, but their car rolls over and catches fire. She shoots herself and the car explodes. The police watch as the car burns.

Cast

as Colin O'Brien *

Youki Kudoh is a Japanese actress and singer. She won the award for best newcomer at the 6th Yokohama Film Festival for ''The Crazy Family (1984 film), The Crazy Family''. She also won the awards for best actress at the 16th Hochi Film Award and at the 199 ...

as Midori Takada *Kenji Isomura as Yukio Takada *

Ray Barrett Raymond Charles Barrett (2 May 19278 September 2009) was an Australian actor. During the 1960s, he was a leading actor on British television, where he was best known for his appearances in '' The Troubleshooters'' (1965–1971). From the 1970s, ...

as Cam O'Brien *

Robert Mammone Robert Mammone (born 1969) is an Australian actor. He is known for his role as AK in ''The Matrix'' movies, as Sid Walker in the soap opera ''Home and Away'', and as Tim Palmer in '' Sons and Daughters''. Mammone played the main villain oppos ...

as Mahood *Petru Gheorghiu as Boorjan *

Colin Hay Colin James Hay (born 29 June 1953) is a Scottish-Australian musician. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and the sole continuous member of the band Men at Work, and later as a solo artist. Hay is a member of the band Ringo Starr & His ...

as Jonah (cameo) *

Salvatore Coco Salvatore Coco (born 22 April 1975) is an Australian film and television actor of Italian descent. Early life Coco was born in Sydney and is of Sicilian (from Italy) descent. He performed with the Australian Theatre for Young People, where h ...

as Gulbuddin *

Matthew Dyktynski Matthew Dyktynski is an Australian actor and comedian, graduating from Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1992. Career Television Dyktinski has played lead roles on television series ''Shock Jock'' and '' Raw FM'', and has appea ...

as Moffat *Gina Zoia as Bank Teller * Mark Hembrow as Truck Driver * Don Barker as Drinker *

Susan Prior Susan Prior is an Australian actress. Early life and education Susan Prior graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney. Career Prior has worked extensively with the Sydney Theatre Company, including '' Riflemind'', as we ...

as Sharon * Norman Kaye as Store Owner

Reception

The film earned $55,780 from its limited release in Australian theatres. The film received mixed reviews.

David Stratton David James Stratton (born 1939) is an English-Australian film critic and historian. He has also worked as a journalist, interviewer, educator, television personality, and producer. His career as a film critic, writer, and educator in Austral ...

from ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' gave a favourable review, calling the film "an energetic road movie that keeps careening off in unexpected directions". ''Movie-vault.com'' gave the film 5 out of 10, commenting that for an 'action/drama' film, the film had little action and did not perform well as a drama. '' Time Out's'' review stated the film took a while to take off, and had some criticism of the plot and acting, but noted the director "manages to balance the action and human interest".

DVD release

The film was released on DVD on 7 November 2000. It was presented in 2.35:1 widescreen. Reviewers complained of the amount of

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and ...

in the footage, also not impressed by marks and spots on the film. It featured Dolby Stereo 2.0 sound however the sound was criticised for being mixed in too low, and being difficult to understand at times. The DVD did receive praise for the number of extras it included.

Umbrella Entertainment Umbrella Entertainment is a privately-held Australian film production and distribution company that began operating in 2001. It is based in Kew, Victoria. Umbrella Entertainment manages the theatrical, physical, and digital releases of Australia ...

released the film on Blu-ray and DVD in 2018; only the former contains extra features.

References

External links