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Out of the Blue
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MPAA RATING: Not Rated
Starring Matthew Sunderland, Karl Urban, Lois Lawn, Simon Ferry, Tandi Wright, Paul Glover, William Kircher, and Georgia Fabish
On November 13th, 1990, in the small New Zealand seaside town of Aramoana, local man David Gray took a high-powered automatic weapon and shot dead 13 people. It remains the worst mass murder in New Zealand's history. As emergency services scrambled to reach Aramoana, a handful of young and poorly armed local policemen risked their lives trying to find the gunman. Terrified and confused residents were trapped in their homes for 24 hours, not knowing where David Gray was--or if they would become his next victim. There were great feats of bravery on that terrible day from ordinary people in the most extraordinary of situations. (New Zealand Film Commission)
| GENRE(S): | Drama |
| WRITTEN BY: |
Bill O'Brien (book "Aramoana: Twenty Two Hours of Terror")
Robert Sarkies Graeme Tetley |
| DIRECTED BY: | Robert Sarkies |
| RELEASE DATE: | Theatrical: October 19, 2007 |
| RUNNING TIME: | 103 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: | New Zealand |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The average user rating for this movie is 7.3 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Jay H. gave it a7:
Solid story, very well directed and acted. It's always interesting and it's simplicity is an asset. Great pace, fine character development. Wonderfully done.
James Penwell gave it an8:
Whilst mass-shootings may be common in the USA, in New Zealand they are so rare that the events depicted with brutal realism in Out of the Blue were so shocking that even 17 years on the country still feels the pain of that day. This is not a blockbuster, it is not entertainment. Director Sarkies' Out of the Blue most closely resembles Paul Greengrass's United 93, being a faithful rendition of the facts of the event as far as they are known. What starts of as a normal day in a virtually unknown (even in NZ) settlement suddenly erupts into confusion and then terror as a gunman lets loose on his neighbours. Sarkies intelligently chooses to focus not on the killer who remains largely hidden, but on those villagers caught in his murderous rampage, highlighting individual acts of heroism as well as the tragedy of those including children simply caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is never voyeuristic but is intensely painful to watch at times. Out of the Blue is likely to have limited appeal in the US where the Aramoana massacre of 1990 will be unknown to most, but as a study of such events it is peerless. Its images will stay with the viewer for long afterwards, as will its depiction of the courage of ordinary people.
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