Last Cab to Darwin (2015)

[TNGTony]

[CONTAINER][MOVIE1]Title: Last Cab to Darwin

Tagline: It's never too late to start living.

Genre: [GENRE]Drama[/GENRE]

Director: [DIRECTOR]Jeremy Sims[/DIRECTOR]

Cast: [ACTOR]Michael Caton[/ACTOR], [ACTOR]Jacki Weaver[/ACTOR], [ACTOR]Emma Hamilton[/ACTOR], [ACTOR]Ningali Lawford[/ACTOR], [ACTOR]Brian Taylor[/ACTOR]

Release Date: [RELEASE]2015-08-06[/RELEASE]

Runtime: [RUNTIME]124[/RUNTIME]

Plot: [PLOT]Rex is a loner, and when he's told he doesn't have long to live, he embarks on an epic drive through the Australian outback from Broken Hill to Darwin to die on his own terms; but his journey reveals to him that before you can end your life, you have to live it, and to live it, you've got to share it.[/PLOT][/MOVIE1][POSTER1]

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[TNGTony]

I keep looking for movies that tell a different story, or a familiar story in a different way. I found one tonight. "Last Cab to Darwin" is a simple journey movie. All journey stories have more than just the physical movement from one place to another. The true journey is, for the lack of a better word, spiritual. The story is really about the discoveries the character makes along the way about himself and his situation. "Last Cab to Darwin" is a fantastic story of a man coming to grips with his mortality and his life in general as he discovers he will die from stomach cancer in only months. He is living in constant pain, but he is stoic and will not allow anyone to share his experience. This simple cab driver from Broken Hill, NSW comes across a story of how the Northern Territories have legalized euthanasia and sets off in his cab for Darwin where the doctor mentioned in the story is located. ...over 3000 kilometers (~1900 miles), 1/3 of which are dirt roads along the outback through a mostly barren desert dotted with small towns.
The movie shows us his daily life very well without dawdling. His friends and neighbors, a great mix of people all "typically Australian" We even got to meet Rex's dog, named dog because "Rex" was taken. Though Rex, the main character, is headed out to die, he never stops thinking of his acquaintances back home.
I followed Rex's trip on Google maps. The places shown in the movie are real. The order of events and stops makes sense. So I have nothing to nit-pick. I was able to concentrate on the chain of events and sights as he drove through the center of the continent and met several interesting characters. I was able to see his resolve erode. I was able see his thoughts and understand his situation at the end. It was a great story!
Best of all for me, I was not able to predict the next scene, or event he next line. It was all fresh, new in approach. The subject matter was universal. But the landscape and journey was exotic.
It was probably one of the best movies of its kind I have seen. Nothing spectacular happens other than a man's discovery of his own life.