Once in a while, a film comes along that is inspiring and an example of fine story telling. All Dirt Roads Taste Of Salt is not one of them. While it runs a tad over 90 minutes it seems a lot longer. I saw it at the Melbourne International Film Festival where we were invited by the emcee to 'let it wash over you'. Goodness me. I had to work hard to not drown in the many, many shots that seemed to last forever, and which were in semi darkness. Largely unhampered by a coherent script or storyline, this movie had a lovely soundscape of bugs chirruping, raIn and storms, but for me that was it. Once your mind is overcome with trying to figure out what is happening and switches to 'How long has this to go?' mode, all is lost. A number of people left, some quite early, and many more didn't wait for the director's talk at the end. Needless to say I was one of them. A movie should be able to stand on its own legs and not need explanation. Life's too short.
