Leigh Paatsch review: Cargo an Aussie zombie movie that never dies

CARGO is an eerily effective hybrid of zombie thriller and apocalyptic odyssey that deserves to be seen and appreciated by as wide an audience as possible.

IT has already been a strong year for Australian cinema after the release of two world-class dramas in Sweet Country and Breath.

While Cargo is not quite in the same refined league as those works, this eerily effective hybrid of zombie thriller and apocalyptic odyssey deserves to be seen and appreciated by as wide an audience as possible.

It is interesting to note that in the short term, Cargo is likely to be reach more viewers worldwide than Sweet Country and Breath combined, by virtue of a prominent Netflix release outside Australia commencing this weekend.

DEADPOOL SEQUEL DOESN’T DISAPPOINT

WHAT TO STREAM THIS WEEK

Martin Freeman with baby Rosie in a scene from Australian film Cargo

The story takes place in a near-future where Australia has been inexplicably ravaged by a viral pestilence that has reduced the “clean” population to a mere handful.

British actor Martin Freeman stars as Andy, a man who has just 48 hours to deliver his infant daughter Rosie to safety before the irreversible infection strips him of his humanity forever.

Andy contracted this very Antipodean strain of the zombie plague (carriers of which all too literally bury their head in the sand when unable to feed) while trying to save his late wife Kay (Susie Porter) from the same condition.

While the two-day race-against-time structure guarantees that an air of desperate urgency is perpetually hanging over Cargo, the movie’s stately pacing invites a deeper level of involvement in this situation than many will first suspect.

MORE LEIGH PAATSCH REVIEWS

Martin Freeman and Susie Porter with baby Rosie. Picture: Supplied

Baby Rosie with Simone Landers and Natasha Wanganeen in Cargo. Picture: Supplied

Much of Andy’s solitary, almost funereal journey across the South Australian outback is conducted on foot, while his chirpy little cherub remains perched in a backpack, oblivious to the fact she is actually hanging on for dear life.

The film’s singular command of mood — always floating somewhere between the desolate and the delicate — is assuredly deployed by first-time directors Yolanda Ramke and Ben Howling.

This very talented filmmaking duo first came to prominence at Tropfest in 2013, when an acclaimed short-film version of Cargo went on to become a massive online hit (viewed almost 14 million times).

The expansion of the original short’s bare-bone premise has been handled very carefully and effectively, particularly when it comes to the entrances and exits of fellow survivors encountered by Andy and Rosie (many of them indigenous tribe members who sensed the viral threat well ahead of time).

CARGO (MA15+)

Rating: *** 1/2

Directors: Yolanda Ramke, Ben Howling

Starring: Martin Freeman, Susie Porter, Anthony Hayes, Caren Pistorius, Simone Landers, Kris McQuade, David Gulipilil.

Carried off in fine style