Storyline:

• Follows Abby, a child who befriends a magnificent wild blue grouper while diving. When Abby realizes that the fish is under threat, she takes inspiration from her activist mum, Dora, and takes on poachers to save her friend.

   

  • Director

    • Robert Connolly

  • Writer

    • Robert Connolly 

    • Tim Winton

  • Stars

    • Mia Wasikowska 

    • Albert Mwangi

    • Ariel Donoghue

• Review 

  In an early scene, after examining a piece of coral, she delivers sad news to fish on her boat: “Your home is dying and I don’t know how to help.” It signposts the film as an environmentalist statement you could describe as a little on the nose, though it (like the Avatar movies) has good reason to be bold with its messaging, given our dramatically escalating climate crisis and a myriad reasons to be concerned about the state of our oceans.

  Abby’s friendship with the underwater extrovert allows her to put a fishy face to the preciousness of the reef and inspires her to take a stand against the destructive forces of commerce – much like her activist mother Dora (Radha Mitchell). Mitchell imbues Dora with headstrong warmth, humanity and vividness as she engages in direct action – including chaining herself to a truck in front of a crowd chanting, “Save our bay”. Later, an older Dora – who has suffered a stroke – is played in a smaller and more limited role by Liz Alexander.