This film comes oh so very close to being a genuine attempt at Australian urban drama but its let down by absolutely awful acting on behalf of one or two actors that really distracts from some amazing acting and genuinely menacing Zeus and some hugely over choreographed fight scenes that belong in a Hollywood shot em up action flick not in a realistic urban drama. the other problem is that Australia has many different types of youth gang from the traditional American/English types to biker and surfer gangs the main reason why these youths are involved in gangs and thug lifestyle is not to do with poverty and horrible circumstances (although I'm sure that is the case some of the time) the vast majority of it seems to be bored teens replicating what they see on TV and hear in rap music in fact most of the people in this movie come from beautiful suburban neighbourhoods drive nice cars and have expensive clothes they come across as obnoxious posers who have no sense of national identity which is of course the point of the film anyway but you just cant help feel thats its pointless to point a camera at a group of rich kids who live in paradise and say "look their pretending to ghetto kids" because everyone accept them can see it anyway and one day their going to look back and cringe at how they used to behave if they're mature enough and mange to survive the little world they've created. thankfully there is more to the story than that, there's racial tension which oddly isn't usually a component of an urban drama so in itself could of been ground braking but its weighed down too heavily by the main clichéd urban drama story of big brother former hood sees little brother going down same route which lead him to jail and must delve in to save his brother (bullet boy, green street, American history X) in short this wants to stand up next to the big boys of the genre (Boyz N The Hood, Menace 2 Society, Babylon, Bullet Boy, La Haine, City Of God, Tribu) but in the end is overly choreographed badly acted and in the end doesn't really have a lot to say about what is probably the most civilised western nations problems of young suburban Asian Australian men imitating black American/British men whilst using race as a subplot (which in itself seems like a total hypocrisy) still worth a look to see a real side of Australia that is scarcely represented on screen and does leave you hoping the Australian film makers realise there are story's to be told in the suburbs with real people in real circumstances and despite what Australia thinks the rest of the English speaking world have no problem understanding their accents and dialects we watch neighbours, home and away, prisoner cell block H, chopper, mad max and much more just as much as we do home grown material and frankly its an insult to our intelligence and to Australians themselves to think otherwise.
20 Reviews
Enjoyable watch
gillmurphydogg13 January 2023
As someone who grew up in the suburbs of Sydney, this film rang true to me. I witnessed my share of bullying back in the day and gang warfare in schools. The depiction of these young men was reasonably accurate, albeit a bit over-done and overacted buy some novice actors.
For its time I think this film was pretty novel. The harsh realities play out when youths make terrible choices in fits of rage, fueled by greed and lack of education. The tragedy of the film is palpable till the end, even despite the script waning at times. I feel local and international viewers will enjoy this classic. 7/10.
For its time I think this film was pretty novel. The harsh realities play out when youths make terrible choices in fits of rage, fueled by greed and lack of education. The tragedy of the film is palpable till the end, even despite the script waning at times. I feel local and international viewers will enjoy this classic. 7/10.
The Combination: Testosterone Rules
kevin-rennie16 March 2009
Warning: Spoilers
After all the conflict at the opening sessions in Sydney, only one other person was in the St Kilda cinema at lunchtime on Saturday to see The Combination. A pity, because this is an Aussie film with attitude. It's a good story, competently told. Actor and now director, David Field's first effort is tight and straightforward.
George Basha wrote and stars in this Lebanese/Australian tale of star-crossed lovers. It's more like West Side Story than Romeo and Juliet, a clash of cultures in the modern city. George, as the street toughened John Morkos, does tough guy very well but his delivery of love scene dialogue is a bit flat. Firass Dirani as brother Charlie is a rising star. He handles a difficult part without slipping into melodrama. Doris Younane's performance as their widowed mother Mary is a very professional one.
Testosterone rules: school "gangs"; youth, drugs and crime; the boxing gym; knives and even guns. The background noise includes the 2005 riots in the Sydney beach suburb of Cronulla between Lebanese and so-called "old" Australian youths.
Don't expect a clash of religions as well. Ironically the only openly Christian group are the Lebanese. The stereotypes just won't fit. The messages of this film are not subtle. John's girlfriend Sydney (Clare Bowen) gets the standard assimilation lecture from her father.
We don't learn much about the inner lives of the characters. We are left to wonder why school student Zeus (Ali Haidar) has the heart of a murderer. Their seemingly irrational behaviour is easy to understand using the usual social stereotypes. Until John confronts his mother when she blames him for Charlie's criminality. John asserts personal responsibility, his own and Charlie's. He challenges the web of multi-cultural and economic determinism that has been set up so far in the film. We all live with choices we make.
Tony Ryan plays Wesley, the owner of the gym where John works and trains. His aboriginality gives an added racial dimension. There is further irony when he offers John a way up through boxing.
First-timer Clare Bowen, fresh from the south coast of New South Wales, gets the rookie award. She has that relaxing Toni Collette quality that makes you think you know her from somewhere. You can't help feeling at home with her character. However, apart from her family, we are left without any history for Sydney or real explanation for why she can withstand all the pressure to walk away. Perhaps this is essentially just a love story after all. And a story about families.
This is another Australian film that deserves a bigger audience. Catch it while you can.
Film review for "Cinema Takes" http://cinematakes.blogspot.com/
George Basha wrote and stars in this Lebanese/Australian tale of star-crossed lovers. It's more like West Side Story than Romeo and Juliet, a clash of cultures in the modern city. George, as the street toughened John Morkos, does tough guy very well but his delivery of love scene dialogue is a bit flat. Firass Dirani as brother Charlie is a rising star. He handles a difficult part without slipping into melodrama. Doris Younane's performance as their widowed mother Mary is a very professional one.
Testosterone rules: school "gangs"; youth, drugs and crime; the boxing gym; knives and even guns. The background noise includes the 2005 riots in the Sydney beach suburb of Cronulla between Lebanese and so-called "old" Australian youths.
Don't expect a clash of religions as well. Ironically the only openly Christian group are the Lebanese. The stereotypes just won't fit. The messages of this film are not subtle. John's girlfriend Sydney (Clare Bowen) gets the standard assimilation lecture from her father.
We don't learn much about the inner lives of the characters. We are left to wonder why school student Zeus (Ali Haidar) has the heart of a murderer. Their seemingly irrational behaviour is easy to understand using the usual social stereotypes. Until John confronts his mother when she blames him for Charlie's criminality. John asserts personal responsibility, his own and Charlie's. He challenges the web of multi-cultural and economic determinism that has been set up so far in the film. We all live with choices we make.
Tony Ryan plays Wesley, the owner of the gym where John works and trains. His aboriginality gives an added racial dimension. There is further irony when he offers John a way up through boxing.
First-timer Clare Bowen, fresh from the south coast of New South Wales, gets the rookie award. She has that relaxing Toni Collette quality that makes you think you know her from somewhere. You can't help feeling at home with her character. However, apart from her family, we are left without any history for Sydney or real explanation for why she can withstand all the pressure to walk away. Perhaps this is essentially just a love story after all. And a story about families.
This is another Australian film that deserves a bigger audience. Catch it while you can.
Film review for "Cinema Takes" http://cinematakes.blogspot.com/
The Combination - Unsuccessful combination. Please try again.
RedSouls2 August 2010
Warning: Spoilers
It's obvious the producers and director of the film were inspired by American History X, Boyz In the Hood, and other American movies which deal with multiculturalism, racism, and family. Unfortunately, inspiration alone does not meet the requirements when trying to produce a quality film. This film is a shining example of directors trying too hard to implement ideas from other movies into their films without building character structure, emotional investment, and atmosphere. The result of which is this film. The movie had so much more potential. The movie stars George Basha and Firass Dirani with supporting performances from Doris Younane and Clare Brown. The inexperience of the cast is made more obvious with each scene by director, David Field and this is not more obvious than in the melodramatic final scenes. The story revolves around Basha who plays John Markos, a Lebanese-Australian who has just been released from prison (we never know the reason or how long he has been in jail). On Johns return home, his mother, Mary, played by Doris Younane, greets him with open arms and is glad her son is home. He is also welcomed into his home by younger brother, Charlie, played by Firass Dirani (some Australians might remember him from the latest edition to the Underbelly series), who seems to have acquired some new friends since his brothers absence. The lack of a strong male presence in the household (their father died – don't know how, or when) seems to have had a dramatic effect on Charlie and John tries to steer his younger brother away from his new friends, guiding him, sometimes with brute force (not much of an example) towards a better future. Charlie has become more like his older brother and tries to make easy money because he doesn't want to work for a lousy three hundred dollars a week to clean toilets, especially if the owner of the place is Aboriginal. So, Charlie starts dealing drugs and is introduced to drug king pin Ibo, played by Michael Denkha who hires Charlie and his friend to run drugs for him. While this is going on, John tries to get his life in order by getting a job at the local gym and forming a relationship with Sydney, played by the beautiful Clare Brown. In spite of his older brother's best efforts, Charlie continues his path of self destruction. The rest of the movie deals with the consequences of being involved in gang activity and the growing relationship between John and Clare.
The producer does not lack passion but rather direction and suffers from lack of subtlety. The writing is amateurish and this is can be seen in the outcome of the film, making the central performance of the piece somewhat insignificant and lacklustre. 2 stars of out 5.
The producer does not lack passion but rather direction and suffers from lack of subtlety. The writing is amateurish and this is can be seen in the outcome of the film, making the central performance of the piece somewhat insignificant and lacklustre. 2 stars of out 5.
This Combination works all right!
ptb-819 February 2009
I urge you to see THE COMBINATION on a big screen in a good cinema with great sound! That is how i saw it last night and I was astonished at almost every part of this very slick crime thriller set in the teen world of Arab/Lebanese Western Sydney. Directed by Aussie actor David Field and with a stellar performance by Firass Dirani THE COMBINATION is right on target to identify a serious racial topic alive and festering in Australia: the idiotic crime aspirations of teen gangsters who learn from irresponsible 'gangsta' movies and music and then act them out in real life thus assigning themselves and their families to funerals and social distress. What a sharp movie! Made on a low budget and with it's social target well in sight, THE COMBINATION identifies the numerous factors in this suburban crime scene, from alienation by racial prejudice, fighting for no reason other than to be seen to be 'tough', the vicious stupidity of street fights, the catastrophe of the legacy of TuPac Shakur and the American gangsta image, and just plain teen anger amped into crime by media imagery. Finally a film that really identifies the root cause of teen boys killing each other in the suburbs... and the effect it has on their mothers, brothers, and friends. THE COMBINATION is seriously good cinema and George Basha whose book and lead role along with David Fields' direction makes this and Aussie/Lebanese film of major standout importance.
High hopes.
Mozjoukine4 March 2009
THE COMBINATION is the first Australian film to be shown in it's country of origin this year and it's already become a news story - not for it's quality but because there have been incidents between what we are told are Lebanese gang members and theatre staff.
It would be nice if the film were to prove something substantial. What it is however is a passable gang warfare subject, made without undue sensationalism (it is particularly timid with sex) and preaching anti violence. The inclusion of recent race riot TV actuality tells us they want to be taken seriously.
The film takes a predictable multicultural line with old Australia dismissed as football, beer and meat pies, as against the leather lounges and sumptuous Arab meals with music to which hard man writer-star Basha introduces so blonde object of his affections Bowen, who comes from a family where scotch on the rocks seems to be the main food item. The Lebanese gang has one Asian kid, though he does back off when it's time to face off with the so mean (white) drug pushers. Basha gets a job in a gym run by stand up aborigines. The white kids spit and mug solitary members of the other gang.
The dynamic of school yard gangs is better, though we can't but wonder when the kids get to do any study, even though younger brother Dirani does once make it as far as the library.
One note performances are strong and the Western Sydney setting is effective and still unfamiliar. Particularly choice are the pusher's neighbors urging Basha to blow the low life away in the film's most inventive scene.
It would be nice to say this independently financed item was a break away from the blandness of funded filming here. However it is formula and lacks the dynamism of US films that covered this area - the work of Phil Karlson or young Scorsese and particularly American HISTORY X which appears to have inspired plot elements.
Those involved attack with a determination that it would be nice to see rewarded with worthwhile careers but they have the dis-spiriting history of Astralian production against them.
It would be nice if the film were to prove something substantial. What it is however is a passable gang warfare subject, made without undue sensationalism (it is particularly timid with sex) and preaching anti violence. The inclusion of recent race riot TV actuality tells us they want to be taken seriously.
The film takes a predictable multicultural line with old Australia dismissed as football, beer and meat pies, as against the leather lounges and sumptuous Arab meals with music to which hard man writer-star Basha introduces so blonde object of his affections Bowen, who comes from a family where scotch on the rocks seems to be the main food item. The Lebanese gang has one Asian kid, though he does back off when it's time to face off with the so mean (white) drug pushers. Basha gets a job in a gym run by stand up aborigines. The white kids spit and mug solitary members of the other gang.
The dynamic of school yard gangs is better, though we can't but wonder when the kids get to do any study, even though younger brother Dirani does once make it as far as the library.
One note performances are strong and the Western Sydney setting is effective and still unfamiliar. Particularly choice are the pusher's neighbors urging Basha to blow the low life away in the film's most inventive scene.
It would be nice to say this independently financed item was a break away from the blandness of funded filming here. However it is formula and lacks the dynamism of US films that covered this area - the work of Phil Karlson or young Scorsese and particularly American HISTORY X which appears to have inspired plot elements.
Those involved attack with a determination that it would be nice to see rewarded with worthwhile careers but they have the dis-spiriting history of Astralian production against them.
Terrible flick
dba900011 June 2009
Warning: Spoilers
This is a horrible film made to glorify Lebanese gangsters as hero's. Not to mention the acting is just stupid most of the time. Most of this film contains young Lebanese men purporting that their way of life is somehow more meaningful then those who obey laws and regulation of a country.
Before a film showing Lebanese youth as hardcore gangsters, I think the creator should consider perhaps making a film based on a Australian-Lebanese people in a love story, its a better start to a Australian film industry in the eyes of the rest of the world.
My advice is to rent a Bollywood musical instead, you'll feel better about life at the end of it.
Before a film showing Lebanese youth as hardcore gangsters, I think the creator should consider perhaps making a film based on a Australian-Lebanese people in a love story, its a better start to a Australian film industry in the eyes of the rest of the world.
My advice is to rent a Bollywood musical instead, you'll feel better about life at the end of it.
Honest ethnic drama
Philby-321 March 2009
This is a little Aussie movie that packs a punch. With a not particularly original storyline (older brother gets out of jail and tries to stop younger brother from going down the gangs - drugs crime jail path, a la "American History X"), the film puts the story in a Lebanese-Australian context. These Lebanese have a Christian background yet are still treated as aliens by the Anglos. Not surprisingly gangs form and are exploited by local criminals (the police, by the way, are pretty well on the sidelines).
What gives the story its power is the mapping out of the relationship of the older brother, former pro boxer John (George Basha) with his errant sibling Charlie (Firasss Dirani), and the effect of external pressures on their bond. John also develops an emotional relationship with a beautiful Anglo girl, Sydney, (Clare Bowen) but this is mild compared for the feelings he has for his family. There is plenty of headline stuff here, knifings in the street, drive-by shootings, teenage drug-dealing (cocaine seems to be the drug of choice these days) set against TV footage of our very own race riots at Cronulla in 2005.The ending, however, is not quite the disaster one might have expected.
One interesting question raised is: just what are Aussie values anyway? John as a migrant kid finds that his Lebanese relatives see him as an Australian, while fellow pupils see him as Lebanese. His Anglo girlfriend's father spouts the assimilationist line, but by the end Sydney seems to have gone over to the Lebanese side. Charlies' school is an ethnic battleground and relationships between the ethnic groups do not seem to be improving. John, however, shows every sign of climbing out of the mire and the film ends on a hopeful note.
David Field, a veteran character actor who specializes in downtrodden ocker types, has as a first time director come up with the aid of George Basha's script with a colorful, noisy dramatic, and yet authentic, story. He is aided by some standout performances from his leads and from a goodly number of not well-known but talented and experienced actors in some of the key supporting roles roles,. Doris Younane as John and Charlies' widowed mum Mary, John Brumpton as Sydney's dad and Michael Denkha as the local crime boss are particularly good, and the cinema photography and editing are first rate, though as I saw it screened there was a peculiar flicker.
The script is pretty crisp, but some of the characters could have done with a little more of their back story. How did Zeus the gang leader (the burly Ali Haidler, very convincing) get to be such a menace, for instance? What happened to John and Charlie's dad? There was also a surprising gap in the storyline when, about a third of the way through the gang is involved in the knifing of another student. They flee the scene but are arrested by the cops at gunpoint. In the next scene Charlie is free as if nothing has happened, and there is no further reference to the incident.
Even so, this is a bright start to Aussie movies for 2009, and the kerfuffle over it being withdrawn from some cinemas will have given it some much-needed publicity. Compared with "Underbelly", for example, this is a very honest piece of work.
What gives the story its power is the mapping out of the relationship of the older brother, former pro boxer John (George Basha) with his errant sibling Charlie (Firasss Dirani), and the effect of external pressures on their bond. John also develops an emotional relationship with a beautiful Anglo girl, Sydney, (Clare Bowen) but this is mild compared for the feelings he has for his family. There is plenty of headline stuff here, knifings in the street, drive-by shootings, teenage drug-dealing (cocaine seems to be the drug of choice these days) set against TV footage of our very own race riots at Cronulla in 2005.The ending, however, is not quite the disaster one might have expected.
One interesting question raised is: just what are Aussie values anyway? John as a migrant kid finds that his Lebanese relatives see him as an Australian, while fellow pupils see him as Lebanese. His Anglo girlfriend's father spouts the assimilationist line, but by the end Sydney seems to have gone over to the Lebanese side. Charlies' school is an ethnic battleground and relationships between the ethnic groups do not seem to be improving. John, however, shows every sign of climbing out of the mire and the film ends on a hopeful note.
David Field, a veteran character actor who specializes in downtrodden ocker types, has as a first time director come up with the aid of George Basha's script with a colorful, noisy dramatic, and yet authentic, story. He is aided by some standout performances from his leads and from a goodly number of not well-known but talented and experienced actors in some of the key supporting roles roles,. Doris Younane as John and Charlies' widowed mum Mary, John Brumpton as Sydney's dad and Michael Denkha as the local crime boss are particularly good, and the cinema photography and editing are first rate, though as I saw it screened there was a peculiar flicker.
The script is pretty crisp, but some of the characters could have done with a little more of their back story. How did Zeus the gang leader (the burly Ali Haidler, very convincing) get to be such a menace, for instance? What happened to John and Charlie's dad? There was also a surprising gap in the storyline when, about a third of the way through the gang is involved in the knifing of another student. They flee the scene but are arrested by the cops at gunpoint. In the next scene Charlie is free as if nothing has happened, and there is no further reference to the incident.
Even so, this is a bright start to Aussie movies for 2009, and the kerfuffle over it being withdrawn from some cinemas will have given it some much-needed publicity. Compared with "Underbelly", for example, this is a very honest piece of work.
Poor Man's American History X
Yorb-Davidson421 October 2012
It's basically a re-used plot, featuring more detestable characters lacking any serious depth or development. They perpetrate some very negative stereotypes of cultures in Australia, and glorify violence and bad hairstyles. If Harry tells you otherwise, don't believe him. He is not a level-headed movie critic, and frankly represents the negative attributes displayed by the main protagonist.
The dichotomy of cultures portrayed in the movie is a farcical hyperbole of abuse and violence under the false veil of honour and 'street justice', when in reality it is all about greed and insecurity. The only redeeming element in the film is the accurate portrayal of the fashion sense adopted by the criminal counter-cultures, namely the terrible haircuts and sportswear.
The dichotomy of cultures portrayed in the movie is a farcical hyperbole of abuse and violence under the false veil of honour and 'street justice', when in reality it is all about greed and insecurity. The only redeeming element in the film is the accurate portrayal of the fashion sense adopted by the criminal counter-cultures, namely the terrible haircuts and sportswear.
You came in with plains, and you - in chains
swAppp22 June 2009
I wanted to watch something boring. I chose to watch The Combination. The beginning didn't promise me much, I even had to check if this was an Australian film, and actually it was!
I am neither Australian nor Lebanese, but I have met both cultures for at least a brief moment in my lifetime. So the question when watching a story of Lebanese in Australia was: are the facts just? Is this real? It is. Although people are depicted differently from those I have seen in the real world, parts of them that are true and up to a point are also shown.
Is the material educative? Yes. You can remember your history lessons, fighting skills, and how to be romantic.
Will you be bored? I was not.
I am neither Australian nor Lebanese, but I have met both cultures for at least a brief moment in my lifetime. So the question when watching a story of Lebanese in Australia was: are the facts just? Is this real? It is. Although people are depicted differently from those I have seen in the real world, parts of them that are true and up to a point are also shown.
Is the material educative? Yes. You can remember your history lessons, fighting skills, and how to be romantic.
Will you be bored? I was not.
Very good drama about minorities fighting to be respected in society
dbborroughs26 August 2009
Warning: Spoilers
A young Australian man of Lebanese descent is released from prison. Looking to start his life over and get back on track he takes a job in a gym and tries to make something happen with a nice young girl he rescues from some street toughs. But complications arise as his high school aged brother begins to drift down the same path that he once was one. Will his younger brother ruin not only his life but the lives of everyone around him? Very good look at family, crime, being an outsider and dealing with the lines that other people draw (much of the film deals with how Australians view minorities). Its a well acted well made movie that speaks volumes about how any minority group must fight to be respected and not be reduced to the stereotypes that society at large creates for it. I like that this is story for everywhere not just Australia . I like that there is a great deal going on, that its not just one thing (say the crime story). The cast is great. I really liked this. Its worth seeing.
Australian History X
movie_bloke13 June 2009
The name says it all. A lesson in life & also the ups & downs of being in a hate group. I mean this movie is a good example of showing that nothing good comes from being racist & thinking your better than everyone else. I personally thought that the acting was excellent & its a true blue Aussie made movie. Racism & hatred will never stop because lets face it cause we're not living in a cartoon. Some people might say that this movie influences Lebanese gangs & makes them proud, but i believe that there's always the other side to a story & this being that treat everyone equally. My rating for this is 8.5 / 10. Should win some awards.
Great Australian cult classic
cynthiakid9 December 2020
I watched the sequel the combination redemption before is as this gem of a film. After speaking to few friends they had told me it's as their fav Australian film of all time . So I had to watch it and I tell you it hard to disagree with them . It takes you right into western Sydney streets and the characters that are portrayed are done so with great success . The story in itself is relatable to anyone that has been in love with a partner from a different cultural background . The film without spoiling it shows us that family , love , honour and choices are very important in life and how our life is shaped . Great Australian film up there with any other film made in Australia .
A winning combination
videorama-759-85939118 September 2014
The Combination was for me, a refreshing surprise of a flick, initially banned, I believe, which would of been such an injustice, as it would deprive movie goers of what is a first rate, independent flick, directed by acting great, Field. This film and it's ferocity, really surprised me, it was that engrossing. It's one film I just couldn't turn off, and finish watching the next day. Not many films focus on the Lebanese community, and here racism still runs high in the inner suburbs of Sydney. An older brother has just got out of the joint. There's much conflict between him and little brother (Firass Dirassi) who's heavily mixed up in crime, where he's heading in the same direction. Not only this, but he's clashing with another student, not Lebanese, at high school over a girl, where a small gang war breaks out. This movie is more take the gloves off high school flick, which can really show what happens with two cultures clash, and the tragic results can culminate. For me, Dirassi's fate was pretty mapped up, where I knew it wasn't gonna end well for him. There's many lessons illustrated in this film, where The Combination is one of the most impressive and searing Aussie films I've seen, and one that must be seen. The same can be said about explosive new talent, Dirassi. Thank you Mr Field, where you've now impressed me as a movie maker.
Amazing movie
irahagerman14 February 2020
This is an incredible movie. It's hard hitting, action packed and very relevant to today's society.
There is an amazing cast with each actor portraying their individual roles so convincing. George Basha and David Field deserve major credit for making and portraying this movie. It is a real eye opener and very entertaining.
A must watch moving, that's why I give it 10/10.
Forget the Leb/Aussie crap. Plainly its a good film.
Lmader458 July 2009
When Australia makes any dramas set in the burbs they generally always have the feel of being written by someone with not only a separation from suburban life but utter contempt for it as well. The characters are flagrant stereotypes, the dialogue has the feel it was written by a 5 year old trying to sound tough and the stories always generally deal with the idea that growing up in the burbs gives you 2 opportunities. Mundane blue collar jobs or pursuing criminal enterprise.
While the combination does include the final element in it's story, it does not offer it as the only choice for the burbs either. And it skillfully shows that each person has a choice and must take responsibility for their actions.
Well written, starring an amazing cast and finally giving a sense of realism to suburban life in Australia, The Combination is a great film.
Being a Sydney 'westie' I can't get over the aspect of dialogue in this film. Finding an Australian film that does not come across as a parody in the way characters interact with each other is nearly impossible. Even within a great film like Two Hands if you watch the movie again note the absence of free flowing dialogue that feels real. This film has it down pat. The characters seem undeniably real. George Basha has done a great job. Let's hope he is not a one trick pony and can use his skills for further great Australian films in the future.
While the combination does include the final element in it's story, it does not offer it as the only choice for the burbs either. And it skillfully shows that each person has a choice and must take responsibility for their actions.
Well written, starring an amazing cast and finally giving a sense of realism to suburban life in Australia, The Combination is a great film.
Being a Sydney 'westie' I can't get over the aspect of dialogue in this film. Finding an Australian film that does not come across as a parody in the way characters interact with each other is nearly impossible. Even within a great film like Two Hands if you watch the movie again note the absence of free flowing dialogue that feels real. This film has it down pat. The characters seem undeniably real. George Basha has done a great job. Let's hope he is not a one trick pony and can use his skills for further great Australian films in the future.
Lebs and Anglos join together to celebrate the flaws and virtues of Aus culture
raiderhayseed7 March 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Mention that catch phrase, "Australian values" and you will only be taken seriously by the rather unpleasant Nazi types who whipped up the Cronula anti Lebanese riots a couple of years ago (They were referred to briefly in the "Bra Boys" documentary narrated by Russel Crowe and form a back drop to the dramatic culmination of this film). John (George Basha), the hero in "Combination" dismisses Australian values as no more substantial than football and beer drinking.
But the film makes the case for an Australian culture, Australian values that exclude the use of guns and vendettas as a means of settling conflict. The heroine's father tells his daughter, Sydney (Clare Bowen), that he was threatened by a Lebanese worker whom he had to dismiss from his job some years ago. He has no objection against the Lebanese people who have transformed his neighbourhood just the fact that guns are now a commonplace item in the community in which he raised her. That is not a cheap shot by a bigot. It is a reasonable statement of fact. The hero of the film contemplates killing the criminal who has murdered his brother. He is encouraged to do so by the killer's neighbours when he confronts him, gun in hand.
But he rejects the idea and (hopefully) renders his brother's killer impotent by publicly humiliating him. That is an example of Australian values. It is a valid difference between the more unpleasant aspects of the culture in Lebanon and that in Australia and it is worth celebrating. "Combination" does just that in a remarkable and satisfying manner.
There is another really affirming idea embodied in the script, written by the George Basha, the Lebanese-Australian lead actor. It is an aboriginal Australian who councils him against a vendetta and provides the assistance necessary to extricate himself and his brother from the criminal milieu in which they have become mired The one thing that all the people who criticize Baz Lurhman's film, "Australia", fail to perceive is that it demands that all Australians recognize that the Aboriginal inhabitants have had a set of values (culture) for thousands of years that could be held up as instructive for those who have settled on their land. It is a rare thing to see this virtue celebrated in Australian literature. "Combination" seems to reinforce that notion
But all this may make the film sound preachy and sanctimonious. It is anything but that. It contains uniformly fabulous performances, script and direction that give the film narrative momentum and cinematography and sound that transports the viewer into the locales in which it was filmed.
Director David Field, who created that wonderful character Acko in Gregor Jordan's film "Two Hands" some years ago, gives Basha the necessary space to concoct a character whose smouldering, barely restrained, macho authority brings to mind Richard Burton as Jimmy Porter in "Look Back in Anger" or Marlon Brando as Stanley Kowalski in "Streetcar Named Desire". His direction has more of the operatic tone of an Elia Kazan "Streetcar" than the laid back bravura of a Gregor Jordan Brian Brown "Two Hands", but let's put that down to the hot blooded Leb culture he is portraying on the screen.
Clare Bowen's touching portrayal of a fresh faced young Aussie girl is a world away from Vivien Leigh's jaded Blanche or (perhaps more appropriately) Kim Hunter's Stella. But it is none the less powerful for that. Such is the quality of the script she is given to perform, that it does not take much to imagine her parents being seduced by the virtues of the Lebanese culture with which she has been smitten. The exotic cuisine, the foot stomping, hypnotic dance, the loyalty to family. Wed that to the virtues of an Australian culture that embraced and absorbed more Jewish victims of Nazi concentration camps than any other country and turned Melbourne into the second largest Greek city in the world and you have a flawed but none the less worthy place to bring up the child gestating in Sydney's womb. Surely that is worthy of celebration
When a country's film industry can not only document the problems it faces but also suggest ways in which they can be overcome with such a keen eye and in such an entertaining manner, things can't be as bad as the Nazi types would like to have you believe. As Rampaging Roy Slaven, that other Australian prophetic voice would say, "This is a good news story"
Bravo "Combination" You really rock!
But the film makes the case for an Australian culture, Australian values that exclude the use of guns and vendettas as a means of settling conflict. The heroine's father tells his daughter, Sydney (Clare Bowen), that he was threatened by a Lebanese worker whom he had to dismiss from his job some years ago. He has no objection against the Lebanese people who have transformed his neighbourhood just the fact that guns are now a commonplace item in the community in which he raised her. That is not a cheap shot by a bigot. It is a reasonable statement of fact. The hero of the film contemplates killing the criminal who has murdered his brother. He is encouraged to do so by the killer's neighbours when he confronts him, gun in hand.
But he rejects the idea and (hopefully) renders his brother's killer impotent by publicly humiliating him. That is an example of Australian values. It is a valid difference between the more unpleasant aspects of the culture in Lebanon and that in Australia and it is worth celebrating. "Combination" does just that in a remarkable and satisfying manner.
There is another really affirming idea embodied in the script, written by the George Basha, the Lebanese-Australian lead actor. It is an aboriginal Australian who councils him against a vendetta and provides the assistance necessary to extricate himself and his brother from the criminal milieu in which they have become mired The one thing that all the people who criticize Baz Lurhman's film, "Australia", fail to perceive is that it demands that all Australians recognize that the Aboriginal inhabitants have had a set of values (culture) for thousands of years that could be held up as instructive for those who have settled on their land. It is a rare thing to see this virtue celebrated in Australian literature. "Combination" seems to reinforce that notion
But all this may make the film sound preachy and sanctimonious. It is anything but that. It contains uniformly fabulous performances, script and direction that give the film narrative momentum and cinematography and sound that transports the viewer into the locales in which it was filmed.
Director David Field, who created that wonderful character Acko in Gregor Jordan's film "Two Hands" some years ago, gives Basha the necessary space to concoct a character whose smouldering, barely restrained, macho authority brings to mind Richard Burton as Jimmy Porter in "Look Back in Anger" or Marlon Brando as Stanley Kowalski in "Streetcar Named Desire". His direction has more of the operatic tone of an Elia Kazan "Streetcar" than the laid back bravura of a Gregor Jordan Brian Brown "Two Hands", but let's put that down to the hot blooded Leb culture he is portraying on the screen.
Clare Bowen's touching portrayal of a fresh faced young Aussie girl is a world away from Vivien Leigh's jaded Blanche or (perhaps more appropriately) Kim Hunter's Stella. But it is none the less powerful for that. Such is the quality of the script she is given to perform, that it does not take much to imagine her parents being seduced by the virtues of the Lebanese culture with which she has been smitten. The exotic cuisine, the foot stomping, hypnotic dance, the loyalty to family. Wed that to the virtues of an Australian culture that embraced and absorbed more Jewish victims of Nazi concentration camps than any other country and turned Melbourne into the second largest Greek city in the world and you have a flawed but none the less worthy place to bring up the child gestating in Sydney's womb. Surely that is worthy of celebration
When a country's film industry can not only document the problems it faces but also suggest ways in which they can be overcome with such a keen eye and in such an entertaining manner, things can't be as bad as the Nazi types would like to have you believe. As Rampaging Roy Slaven, that other Australian prophetic voice would say, "This is a good news story"
Bravo "Combination" You really rock!
Authentic, gritty, raw, Australian drama
dimitri-695362 September 2023
Brilliant Aussie drama set in western Sydney. The way the story is developed and shot, the character development, the acting... it is fabulous from start to finish.
One of my favourites, and it's so Australian. The mix of drama, action, racial tension, authenticity violence, misguided optimism and family set in the gritty suburbs of 90's western Sydney make for an endearing, memorable and very engaging tale of family, love, growing up, and payback that just gets better weary time.
A cultural icon of an era and a place and time where lives have been changed, love has come and gone, and the impact is felt for generations. Highly recommended.
One of my favourites, and it's so Australian. The mix of drama, action, racial tension, authenticity violence, misguided optimism and family set in the gritty suburbs of 90's western Sydney make for an endearing, memorable and very engaging tale of family, love, growing up, and payback that just gets better weary time.
A cultural icon of an era and a place and time where lives have been changed, love has come and gone, and the impact is felt for generations. Highly recommended.
Great film a must watch
maryloveschady-4524718 April 2021
Came across this on Netflix and have to say one of the best Australian films I have ever seen. The characters are so real and the message the film delivers is So powerful . Reminded me of the great film once were warriors . Never have I seen an Australian film that delves so well into western Sydney . George Basha is fantastic and the rest of the actors were spot on. This film will make you cry , laugh , cheer. It's a real emotional rollercoaster . Must see.
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