I enjoyed this movie a great deal. Kodi's performance is at least worth 9 out of 10 stars. The cast is magnificent, Eric Bana is mature and rock solid as Romulus Gaita, a hard working man who (if I remember correctly) originally comes from Romania. He left Europe some time ago with his German wife Christina (Franka Potente) and settled in Australia with two Romanian brothers, obviously his best friends from back home, to establish a new life. Then things just go wrong, Christina has a thing for a other men and eventually falls for one of the two brothers, Mitru, and moves in with him. She occasionally returns to see Rai (Kodi Smit-McPhee). Hora, the other brother, is a central figure for me, a character who is always there when Rai needs him. He takes care of him after Romulus has an accident, he introduces him to philosophy, he is a wise and loyal friend to Romulus and in the end, as it turns out, the only person who never lets Rai down. The main story is about the family falling completely apart. I won't go into details here, but it is real tragedy that ensues, and everything is seen through the boy's eyes. He is a natural charmer, a smart kid with one endearing smile and character. The father-son bond is the strongest theme in the movie, because it is central in almost every moment. There are heart-breaking moments, never too melodramatic to spoil the gritty realism of the story. You get a wonderful Australian countryside, a setting in the early 60s, and an almost classic family story about coming to terms with love, courage and the enduring promise of hope. I found all performances to be extremely honest and mature, and with Kodi's character guiding you through the various tragic events with heart-breaking innocence, boyish opportunism and with complete devotion to his mother and father, the story attains a fine level of quality and a huge emotional undertone, where depression and inspiration are never far apart.

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I was on the verge of giving it a 9 too, and I'll probably upgrade it in a few days if it stays so present in my thoughts.