Oyster Farmer (2004) User Reviews

Quirky but Quite Good

[-628 · 7/10 · 7 November 2005]

Oyster Farmer is a curious Australian movie in that its production values are more impressive than the story itself. First and foremost, the music throughout the movie is brilliant in that it suits the movie perfectly. The cinematography is likewise first class - the aerial scenes of the Hawkesbury River in particular are stunning. Also, the editing is tight and keeps the movie from bogging down - the editor and director deserve commendation for keeping the movie flowing.

The story itself is quirky and sometimes makes quantum leaps in credibility but, hey, what interesting movie doesn't? The acting is believable and allows you to understand the characters in most cases.

As a simple tale of life in a remote river community, the movie works quite well and deserves its reputation as a significant Australian film. Not great, but quite good.

The true star of this movie was the Hawkesbury River

[butterfly24 · 7/10 · 7 July 2005]

There was a certain degree of anticipation for this movie for me, since I live in the area where most of the movie is set. And after being part of the experience - drinking at the pub with some of the stars, and watching the film crew in action, it certainly didn't disappoint!!

It's not every day that you watch a movie on the big screen set in your own suburb, recognize the faces of locals who have bit parts, and feel a great sense of pride in the beautiful scenery that you have come to know so well... it's a bit surreal....

I'm not sure if I would have enjoyed the movie quite so much if it wasn't set in my home town, but nevertheless, the story was pleasant enough, the characters were likable... some may find it a little slow and tame, and the plot was a little disjointed, with not a great deal of drama or suspense or even character development.

The general consensus of my neighbours who have seen the film is that the true star of the movie was the Hawkesbury River.

Gentle

[theCodmate · 6/10 · 19 May 2005]

This is a very gentle movie that, while being quite relaxing offers little real dramatic content.

The characters are endearing enough and there are some nice comedic touches. Cinematography is reasonable, although one feels at the end of the movie that not quite enough was made of the wonderful location. Most of the movie seems to take place in mid-shot, making it seem a little soap-opera for my tastes.

There is one too many sub-plot in the movie, and along with some confusing chronological chopping up of the narrative, this spoils an otherwise decent film.

By all means go and see it, or rent it - it's enjoyable enough.

Just don't expect anything terribly stimulating.

One swallow and its gone.

[Philby-3 · 7/10 · 10 July 2005]

I had a schoolmate who was nicknamed "Oyster", but I never understood how he got the name until I saw this movie. The oyster is very hard to get anything out of. It is susceptible to viruses and pollution, a shy breeder, changes its sex and doesn't like loud noises. Here, oyster farming provides a suitably off-beat background to a pleasant romantic comedy. Young, hunky, tattooed and not terribly bright city boy Jack Flange ("it's not a joke") comes to the beautiful Hawkesbury estuary to be close to his sister Nikki who is slowly recovering from a serious car accident in an expensive private hospital nearby. Short on readies to pay the hospital Jack carries out a robbery at the Sydney Fish Markets, posting the money to himself. But the money never arrives and Jack starts to suspect one or more of the locals has filched it.

There are plenty of suspects. There's his boss Brownie, grumpily separated from his wife Trish who is working on the lease next door, and Brownie's Irish father Mumbles (actually the most articulate character in the picture). There's Slug, the not very sanitary septic tank cleaner whose beautiful daughter Pearl (what else) Jack takes a fancy to, the entire staff of the local post office and Skippy (no, really) the Vietnam veteran who lives up the river at Utmost Mangrove with a few crazy mates, all deranged by Agent Orange. For a while I thought we were in for an Aussie version of "Deliverance" or perhaps a re-make of the closing scenes from "Apocalypse Now". We know of course the money thing doesn't matter very much; the real questions are will Pearl and Jack get it on and will Trish and Brownie get back together. When Pearl and Jack do get it on we actually get a genuine bucolic, nay, erotic moment.

While the recent "Peaches" choked on its own earnestness, writer-director Anna Reeves succeeds here in a modest way by keeping things simple. At times I found myself muttering "nice scenery and fey characters does not a romantic comedy make" and Alex O'Laghlan (at 28 almost too old for Jack), though a great looker, is no Russell Crowe. Diana Glen as Pearl is just all right but there is some great acting from the old pros, David Field as Brownie, Kerry Armstrong as Trish, Jack Thompson as Skippy and above all Jim Norton who as Mumbles makes an incredible character quite believable. Kerry has a scene in which she tends to Jack's wounds in a way the late Anne Bancroft would have admired.

One amusing minor detail is that the postal service portrayed is not the corporatised but very public service Australia Post but an organisation called Allied Post with even ruder and more unfriendly operatives. I guess the producers either asked Australia Post to help and were knocked back when the PR people saw the script ("Australia Post does not lose mail") or they decided it wasn't worth asking. New Zealand actress Sarah Smuts-Kennedy who contributes a very believable rude postal clerk is inexplicably not in the credits as shown in IMDb.

The Australian Film Finance Corporation handed out $3 million for this film and in contrast with most of its recent investments might get a reasonable proportion back. But I can't help thinking it's all a make-work scheme. Serious commercial films are made in Australia because there is a pool of talent here and it's cheap – hence "Moulin Rouge" and "The Matrix" series. As moviegoers do we really need these nice small inoffensive derivative pictures funded by the taxpayer which hardly anyone goes to see? Like Oyster, it's very hard to get anything out of them. It must be admitted there is the occasional pearl ("Three Dollars" wasn't bad), and this film is well made. I still can't help feeling my tax dollars could be better spent.

A tale beautifully showed

[JimCarmichael · 7/10 · 29 August 2006]

Anna Reeves' feature debut, Oyster Farmer, is an Australian film with a strong sense of place and an elusive sense of identity: it sets up a series of expectations about what kind of film it will be, then regularly sidesteps them.

Its setting is the Hawkesbury River, on Sydney's outskirts, and a small community of oyster farmers: at its centre is a young man, Jack (Alex O'Lachlan), a stranger to the district who keeps to himself his reasons for relocating to this idyllic location. We see him, in the early stages of the film, committing a crime in an inventive fashion, and using some novel props. At first it appears the film might be heading in the caper movie direction, but it soon shifts gear.

Jack works for an elderly man, Mumbles (Jim Norton), and his son Brownie (David Field). Brownie's wife Trish (Kerry Armstrong) has left the marriage, but stays committed to oyster farming, an occupation that runs in the family: "I could shuck before I could walk," she tells an intrigued Jack.

Trish, working another oyster farmer's lease, has a more mystical approach to the management of molluscs - she sings to them. Brownie, cranky and competitive, treats this suggestion with contempt. Yet, since her departure, he seems to have lost his touch: his oysters are spawning prematurely.

Meanwhile, Jack has met a beautiful, young, local girl with a weakness for expensive shoes, Pearl (Diana Glenn), to whom he is immediately attracted. But he becomes suspicious of her - he has his doubts about almost every new person he meets on the river, for reasons connected to the proceeds of his crime.

Jack encounters a number of characters: Trish, with whom he shares a scene fraught with sexual tension; Slug (Alan Cinis), the local sewage collector, with whom he has a simmering, hostile relationship; Skippy (Jack Thompson), a volatile yet meditative Vietnam vet who lives in seclusion; the testy Brownie; and the philosophical Mumbles.

Writer-director Reeves uses the setting of river and bushland in a consistently lyrical fashion, as she moves from one eccentric character to the next, building up moments of drama, comedy or tension, then letting them subside as stories drift. To some extent, its shifts in tone and sense of incompleteness can be seen as a function of Jack's imperfect understanding of the community: things are never as they first seem to him, and his expectations are regularly confounded. But the film seems a little cautious and underdeveloped; there's something intriguing but also frustrating about its quietly episodic, insistently understated approach.

Clever script, brilliant characterization

[roukee · 7/10 · 6 September 2010]

Jack (Alex McLoughlin) makes an ingenious plan to steal the money from the Armagaurd, but doesn't quite work out how he is going to explain the extra money.He even mails it to himself. Sweet. Totally like a young bloke in desperate need of cash. You laugh initially at his naivety only to be gutted to see the real reason. The craziness and innocence of Jack is beautifully characterized.

Jim Norton as Old man Mumbles is hilarious and unstoppable.The plot seemed a little stretched in places.Pearl (Diana Glenn) seemed to be bought into the script for no apparent reason and then unceremoniously dumped.

A marriage ending on a bath seems unnecessary. The initial hook although gripping loosened as the story unfolded.

On the plus side, brilliant and quirky characters with some excellent acting (David Field). A really good script kept the story interesting. Beautiful locales on the south coast of Sydney.

The Hawkesbury River in motion picture

[stylized · 7/10 · 7 July 2008]

Living local to the Hawkesbury River and often riding the train journey through it, the mind would often drift and create many worlds inspired by this place. It is perhaps one of the more surreal places i have journeyed through in Australia.

To see these world come to life in this film was a real joy. In my opinion the director did a fantastic job in taking the audience of this film into another world, a true journey. The projection of the Ausralian way of life was captured in a much more true and realistic light than many Ausralian films have to date. if anyone has made the train journey through the Hawkesbury River and looked out the window in wonder, i cant recommend this film strongly enough, enjoy

Authentic shellfish industry - lovely Hawksbury river scenery

[markb-40 · 9/10 · 29 June 2005]

I think this is a lovely movie, which portrays the shellfish industry in an 'as it is' warts and all manner, more usually attributed to documentaries than to movies. The location is great and beautiful in a run down, natural, kind of way. You can tell that the film makers just used the natural fabric of the place rather than tried to build a set. The river is shown in all its glory and the love story itself is very well done.

Having worked in the shellfish industry in the UK I could easily relate to the roughish characters portrayed here.

Well Done.

mark

A very small film that doesn't get too big for its boots.

[Tommo-22 · 7/10 · 4 April 2006]

Although the plot has been done before many times - stranger in a strange land - TOF handles it with charm and restraint.

Jack is a blow-in from Sydney to the close-knit oyster-farming region of the Hawkesbury River, just north of Sydney. He snares a job with rough diamond Brownie, who is smarting under the embarrassment of his estranged wife farming a lease next to his and doing much better at it. Brownie has a gabby old Irish father who beneath his verbosity is shrewd and wise to the nature of Jack's unsettled presence in the oyster farming community. Naturally, there's a pretty young thing Pearl strutting her stuff and Jack takes a shine to her and she to him. Just to complicate Jack's life, he has a financially-draining sister in tow who is apparently recovering from a serious car accident but who appears to be healthier than just about everyone else on the river. I don't think her part, or situation, is well written of delineated.

There are one or two pivotal events but nothing that manages to get out of hand or spoil the viewer's congeniality with the film. The Hawkesbury looks stunning and the actors look at home in its confines and do a good job with a script that is hardly demanding. Veteran Australian actor Jack Thompson plays Skippy, a Vietanam vet who lives in a camp on the river with fellow vets and who gives Jack the benefit of his reflections on life. Thompson is quite good, although I got the feeling his part was the eccentric that every writer is looking for to complete the full range of characters.

A nice, undemanding piece of entertainment. 7/10

Nothing to recommend this film

[go-smileyriley · 1/10 · 14 April 2007]

My partner and I were just sitting around discussing some of the worst films we'd ever seen. The Oyster Farmer came up, being a really pathetic film, and so we looked on the IMDD website to read the user comments, and were shocked to see such a high score. I can only think that the comments were by other Australians who like to talk up their own country's products, like the way people vote on Eurovision Song Contest night. Or perhaps they liked the look of the river (although cinematically, so much more could have been made of that) so I guess they were just fondly remembering some childhood holidays there. So what's wrong with this film, you ask? Firstly, it's plot is incredibly contrived it is almost twisted around the location. Also, the acting is awful; very amateurish, and they've had little help from the Dirctor. Thirdly, the actors had so little to work with in terms of script; there are no characters in this film, only caricatures. Stylistically it is akin to the Australian soap opera Home and Away, only with worse acting and less character development. There is some comedy in the film; it takes the form of some dumb characters being dumb. The sex scene near the end is so out of place and seems completely arbitrary; I think it's there actually to provide a climax of sorts. So, for all those users who voted this empty little film-making exercise up the ranks, try watching it again, but more objectively this time. I'm sure you'll come to see that it's actually very lowbrow indeed.

A taste of the real Australia!!

[dhincks · 10/10 · 20 July 2005]

Oyster Farmer is a very enjoyable romantic comedy, one of the best I've seen for a while.

Why is it so good? The plot is entertaining, well thought out and moves at a rapid pace - I didn't detect any real lulls. The characters are what you'd expect of a working class rural Australian community - warts and all. I didn't recognise any of the actors from other films but I think they did a great job of getting the viewer into the story. In addition I laughed out loud a number of times - not something that happens too often!!

I really enjoyed the aerial shots of the Hawkesbury River, very relaxing and reminding me of a holiday I once spent in the region.

Overall Oyster Farmer is a real gem.

Empty, empty, empty

[dean-schneider · 3/10 · 28 August 2005]

A debut film from an AFTRS student. A typical, empty, superficial piece of work that displays no effort at trying to get inside the minds of these characters, indeed, it rather pretends to know and is so convinced that these are 'good blokes and Sheila's' it doesn't even bother to try any harder. The story lumbered from point to point with holes in between the size of the Hawkesbury River, and the acting does no more than try and cover over these. In the end, none of it comes together in any sensible way, and there is no attempt to show what the hell this whole mess of a film is about anyway. Is it about oyster farming, or is it about life of a Sydney sider living in the country?Or is it neither? A confusion. (Spoiler) It ends with the main male and female characters in a bath together, having somehow successfully fallen in love, with no attempt on the part of the filmmaker to convincingly portray the two falling in love. It's almost as if we are expected to believe this relationship based on the mythology or formula seen in other films, a concession that this is poorly written but telling us at the same time we should go along with it for the sake of pleasing the ego of some filmmaker far far away with nothing to say and all the power to say nothing. Another film from our abysmal industry, and why? Just ask where the filmmakers learned their craft.

A Leisurely Ride Along A Beautul River with Colorful, Lusty Characters

[noralee · 8/10 · 4 August 2005]

"Oyster Farmer" is a warm, refreshing, Australian take on the old-fashioned genre of the secretive, hunky stranger with a murky past shaking up a small community.

Alex O'Lachlan in his notable debut as "Jack Flange" is very much like William Holden in "Picnic" and Paul Newman in "The Long Hot Summer." While debut writer/director Anna Reeves certainly appreciates his visual and visceral assets, his character's mysteriously tattooed masculinity is a Sensitive New Age Guy metrosexual compared to the hard-working blokes along the mangroves of the isolated Hawkesbury River north of Sydney, which looks a lot like the bayou country of Louisiana that has been similarly used for sultry effect in movies like "The Big Easy."

While it's a bit confusing at first to sort out the relationships (let alone the basics of oyster farming), partly due to the accents, in this tight and quirky Brooklyn where everyone knows generations of everybody's paternity, marital disputes, personal business, and, particularly for the plot, their mail, the gradual revelations add to our enjoyment of the comfortable repartee as we are thrust into the ongoing squabbles along with the outsider and learn to appreciate this fading lifestyle as it becomes his home despite his suspicions and other plans.

Jim Norton as a Granddad with an Irish gift of gab is particularly entertaining as he goads his stubborn wirey son, an appealing David Field, to make up with his wife, who has the more successful touch as an oyster farmer.

Women in this macho environment have to not only be tough, but resilient as they find ways to still assert their femininity. Diana Glenn's "Pearl" seems perfectly adapted to the local way of life-- her hitchhiking up the river is a wonderful detail even as she has "Sex and the City" proclivities --though her flirtation with "Jack" is only frankly lusty. Kerry Armstrong is a marvelous matriarch, but her character's level-headedness reduces opportunities for jealousy, as the script opts for humor over tension.

Jack Thompson has a small local color role, but key as he becomes an anchoring father figure for the restless "Jack" as we see him grow new roots.

The national park scenery and Alun Bollinger's cinematography are breathtakingly beautiful and that waterfront train looks like a delightful ride, though a bit more geographical context would have been helpful.

All Aussie......

[lejay77 · 8/10 · 21 November 2005]

A great Australian romantic comedy about life and love on the Hawksbury River. The scenes in this film are all very beautiful and captivating, with mention of popular tourist destinations such as Gosford.

New to the big screen, actor Alex O'Lachlan shines as the clumsy thief with the unfortunate name, Jack Flange who robs the local fish markets in order to pay for his sisters hospital bills after a car accident. Jack then posts the money to himself but it suspiciously never arrives and he begins to suspect everyone around him of taking it.

Jack Thompson makes an appearance and Dianna Glenn is charming as the lovable Pearl.

If you like Australian films, you'll love The Oyster Farmer.

A real insight into typical characters in the Australian True Blue ilk

[waynelfo · 10/10 · 11 July 2005]

"Oyster Farmer" is a refreshing story that gives an insight into a few of the many characters scattered throughout the country. Though the story line is far from spectacular, it in engrossing with the ordinariness of people trying to eke out a living in a cut throat business. The interplay between the characters enriches the plot as one couple oppose each other, a wanderer carries robs an armoured car to pay off a debt and a group of Vietnam veterans make a life away from a world that has rejected. There are other interesting characters who also intertwine the plot with their affairs and dealings. Really, this film has no pretenses. The scenery is just so typical of a great waterway as are depictions of the life style of its people.

The best movie to come out of Australia in years, perhaps ever.

[pokertrain · 10/10 · 31 July 2005]

Saw this movie over the weekend in New York at the Quad Cinema.

One if the best movies to come out of Australia, period. I highly recommend seeing this film. Visually stunning, without being overwhelming, or detracting from the storyline. With the gorgeous Hawkesbury River as her backdrop, Reeves weaves characters vividly to life with the pithy little concerns and subtleties that are so crucial in a movie so delicate. The script is tight and beautifully executed. Compared to other feature directorial debuts this is an incredible piece. As a stand alone work, I think this movie will be looked back on as the beginning of an Australian legacy. Bravo. I hope to see much more from this very talented director.

A movie to remember!

[diane-34 · 10/10 · 21 August 2005]

I hope Anna Reevs, the director as well as the writer, takes justified pride in this amazingly wonderful first effort. Because of its class I was surprised to see that it was her debut film-how many others would dream of writing and directing such a superb first effort.

I saw this film several days ago in Fremantle and although I had heard from electronic media outlets that it was a very good film, I had no idea, other than the obvious title what I was going to see. The beauty of the Hawksbury was breathtaking and the juxtaposition of that beauty with the basic everyday existence of the oyster farmers presented a compelling contradiction throughout the film.

Maybe it's the technical strides that have taken place during the recent past but I am swallowed by the beauty of the cinematography; I am sure Bollinger whose camera work captured every nuance of the natural beauty of this region would tell me that it was his and Reeves' direction that captured the setting and that it had nothing to do with improvements in equipment. Be that as it may, the camera images were beautiful.

The actors were on the whole unknown to me but the work they did made a life unknown to me real and more importantly, eminently worth watching. An absolute gem of a movie not to be missed.

Shucks, YES

[ptb-8 · 8/10 · 7 July 2005]

Finally, after the Oz film production industry of the past 18 months being all at sea and in the doldrums, comes a trip up the river instead that produces a film akin to a welcome breath of cinematic fresh air. OYSTER FARMER is a visually spectacular and humorously wry drama of intermingling relationships among local eccentrics and family dissent throughout the muddy mangrove oyster lease businesses on the Hawkesbury River on Sydney's northern fringe. It is a great setting for an easily enjoyable tangle of wants yearnings - and some survival - in a closed community gingerly accepting one 24 year old man finding his place in the world. As with many genuinely warm and often quite funny successful Australian films, we are presented with beautiful locations, dry humor, some hilarious sight gags, an undercurrent of mistrust and begrudging affection, and ultimately, common sense to be happy with one's lot. Previously unseen actor Alex O'Lachlan is the handsome main focus (in a Ramon Novarro way) and it is his journey we enjoy, visually and romantically as he meanders through a community of antsy couples and family jousting, hermit men and railway line-riverbank oldies all living in grubby slap-board shanties on stilts. It has a languid pace, a lot like the river itself but all the deep-water undercurrents of this type of drama also are relevant. Produced by master craftsman of Australian cinema Anthony Buckley, his films are often identifiable by their breathtaking location photography and family dramas set around a tough but troubled industry. See 70s box office champions like THE IRISHMAN, or CADDIE, or classic TV epics like POOR MANS ORANGE or HARP IN THE SOUTH or recently, THE POTATO FACTORY. His celebrated 1960s career in editing Michael Powell classics like the recently restored AGE OF CONSENT are a testament to his success in that if you see his name on an Australian film it is of a consistent standard and a uniquely heartfelt theme. New director Anna Reeves who also wrote the OYSTER FARMER script is to be applauded in that her story and inventive direction allows the pace, characters and scene to be completely satisfying experiences for the viewer. OYSTER FARMER is the film that in 2005 has reinvented the independent film industry in Australia and now in its second week of release is proving to be a major success. A character story rather than an action drama, OYSTER FARMER reminds us of Brit pix like LOCAL HERO or quiet bayou dramas of the deep south in the US. Well known acting faces like Kerrie Armstrong (see LANTANA), regular nugget David Field (not unlike England's Robert Carlyle) and veteran Jack Thompson (see BREAKER MORANT or Sunday TOO FAR AWAY) add the acting strength necessary to keep the characters and interaction interesting. Armstrong's on-board first aid to O'Lachlan provides startling personal physical closeups appreciated by the gasping crowd at the session I attended. New big screen actor Diana Glenn is the film's other main focus. She was previously seen briefly in SOMERSAULT and on TV in the angst series SECRET LIFE OF US. The widescreen photography and dreamy locations suit her quite compelling blue eyed beauty as a riverbank muse with an character-bending shoe fetish. The sight gags involving Smokey, her delinquent dog are genuinely hilarious. She is extraordinarily good looking and perfectly cast. The sex scene on a shady jetty with Alex O'Lachlan is a widescreen zinger. Some perplexing editing in the first couple of reels still puzzle me but I have a sneaking suspicion reels 2/3 at Cinema Paris at Fox Studios in Sydney were in the wrong order. Typical of that cinema. Good facility and hopeless presentation.. It is a testament to this well crafted film that even if I did see some of it in the wrong order, it did not mar the overall experience.OYSTER FARMER is a type of quiet humorous Australian drama we make well in this country and is it a relief to see this film lead the way out of the flat box office run of 2004/5. Interestingly it has taken newcomer writer director teaming with a statesman producer to achieve this success. Much like the casting too. Of particular note is Brit old timer Jim Norton whose hilarious turn as Dad almost steals the film. Local critics have welcomed this film and you should too, especially if you are an International audience.

A beautiful film

[jfcousin2001 · 8/10 · 25 May 2006]

Australia. The story of a young man who chooses to work on an oyster farm. The work is tough, the hero is penniless. He is desperate to pay for the recovery of his sister injured in a car accident. A very pleasant film to watch. It's about human relationships including two love stories of course. But it's very well played, subtle and... shot in the magnificent wilderness of Australia. Just one thing that you won't find in the movie is native Australians. There's a hint about pollution in the rivers however. The photography is very well executed. Let me give a special mention to the main actor. Watch out for his name in the future. Go and see the movie if you have the possibility. Just don't be fooled by its title. You won't regret it.

Great dialogue, great writing

[martinpersson97 · 10/10 · 31 August 2023]

When a promising and very competent director such as this sits at the helm, the film is bound for greatness.

And safe to say, it is a very well made piece indeed. Showcasing some incredible acting from very good and favourite names overall - and some very clever, sometimes funny but very authentic dialogue. It falls right in line with the director's great works.

The cinematography, cutting and editing is great, and very authentic to her work as well.

Overall, truly an incredible, well acted and beautifully put together film that I would of course highly recommend to any lover of film, give it a watch for sure!

Great Ozzie Movie, Cast & Scenery

[bj_optus_64 · 10/10 · 25 April 2006]

Just watched this again on Aunty ABC HD tonight - this time around on the Plasma (first time was a DVD through a standard telly).

Still a stunning film, and the widescreen Plasma brings out the breath-taking swoops of the mighty Hawkesbury to perfection.

Films like this are unique and very rare indeed.

How easy it is to forget the depth of talent we have here in Oz. And it was great to see Jack again - a genuine 'feel good' actor and vastly under-rated.

Absolutely loved it - again.

And I can *still* smell the water... Fab :)

2006 Review:

This movie is a real pearler (no pun intended). Stark scenery shows the Hawkesbury river in its natural beauty. You wouldn't believe it's only a stones-throw out of Sydney. Camera work and optical detail are superb. The acting along with the cast and scenery are pure Australian - gritty, witty, and funny. A spade is a spade - no, wait... it's a f'n shovel, right? Hard as leather on the outside, but soft as soap on the inside. We might need to translate this movie into 'American' so that the Yanks can understand it (like we did with Mad Max) but the whole thing comes across as genuine, believable and straight down to earth. It's as much a love story as it is a documentary and a statement of how many of us Aussie 'battlers' have gone about our lives. We're all 'boaties' after all. Casting covers more seasoned actors as well as some fresh faces. Down to earth yet larger than life - dish it out and get it back. Life's like that. From the ramshackle dwellings to the crunch of the oyster-bed sands, I can just smell and taste the surroundings. Well done!

A young outsider moves in on an old family tradition.....

[aquamum · 10/10 · 14 April 2006]

This film is set on the beautiful Hawkesbury River near Sydney in Australia. It is about a young city bred man who takes a job at an Oyster Farm so he can be close to his sister who is in rehab. in a local private hospital after an awful car accident. He goes to work for a man who runs a family inherited oyster farm with his crazy Irish father. The son is estranged from his independent wife who is believed to be an "oyster whisperer" by her crazy father-in-law. The young man falls in love with a local girl who is full of secrets and surprises. Her father is the man who cleans the septic tanks ensuring that the river is clean, but he falls under suspicion when he buys a brand new motor for his runabout boat. He makes friend with a group of local ex Vietman vetran soldiers who drink beer and play poker up the river from the local village. I enjoyed this film a lot.

Excellent Movie, but Not a Romantic Comedy

[ppllkk · 5 August 2010]

Some other reviewers have described Oyster Farmer as a romantic comedy, and I believe that the film is ill served by this description. If you expect a romantic comedy, you are likely to be be disappointed, and your expectations may interfere with taking this excellent film on its own terms.

It is hard to say what the genre is. "Humorous, wry drama" and "comedy drama" are good attempts by other reviewers. Basically, it is just a story. A gentle story. It is not a caper film. It is not going to turn into a slapstick chase for the missing money. It is not going to turn into Deliverance. The director is playing with these expectations, and they very much contribute to the overall effect of the film, but for me, they were also a distraction the first time that I saw the film.

Oyster Farmer plays around with situations that could suddenly turn very bad, and in some movies they would. But not here.

I have not seen the movie yet

[dbrooks-80525 · 25 May 2015]

Actually I am trying to find out where I can buy the USA format of this movie - I have not been able to see it yet but based on the reviews I have read and the video clips I have seen of the movie I would really like to purchase the movie. I am a great fan of Alex O'Lachlan (O'Loughlin) and so far have watched Moonlight, Three Rivers, The Back Up PLan and of course Hawaii 5-0 and plan on watching more of his work. If anyone knows how I can obtain The Oyster Farmer please let me know. I have tried Amazon, Overstock, Best Buy, Netflix, and other websites with no luck. I even tried overseas but they come with the warning that the DVD may not work with USA machines.