Actually I am trying to find out where I can buy the USA format of this movie - I have not been able to see it yet but based on the reviews I have read and the video clips I have seen of the movie I would really like to purchase the movie. I am a great fan of Alex O'Lachlan (O'Loughlin) and so far have watched Moonlight, Three Rivers, The Back Up PLan and of course Hawaii 5-0 and plan on watching more of his work. If anyone knows how I can obtain The Oyster Farmer please let me know. I have tried Amazon, Overstock, Best Buy, Netflix, and other websites with no luck. I even tried overseas but they come with the warning that the DVD may not work with USA machines.

This film is set on the beautiful Hawkesbury River near Sydney in Australia. It is about a young city bred man who takes a job at an Oyster Farm so he can be close to his sister who is in rehab. in a local private hospital after an awful car accident. He goes to work for a man who runs a family inherited oyster farm with his crazy Irish father. The son is estranged from his independent wife who is believed to be an "oyster whisperer" by her crazy father-in-law. The young man falls in love with a local girl who is full of secrets and surprises. Her father is the man who cleans the septic tanks ensuring that the river is clean, but he falls under suspicion when he buys a brand new motor for his runabout boat. He makes friend with a group of local ex Vietman vetran soldiers who drink beer and play poker up the river from the local village. I enjoyed this film a lot.

Although the plot has been done before many times - stranger in a strange land - TOF handles it with charm and restraint.Jack is a blow-in from Sydney to the close-knit oyster-farming region of the Hawkesbury River, just north of Sydney. He snares a job with rough diamond Brownie, who is smarting under the embarrassment of his estranged wife farming a lease next to his and doing much better at it. Brownie has a gabby old Irish father who beneath his verbosity is shrewd and wise to the nature of Jack's unsettled presence in the oyster farming community. Naturally, there's a pretty young thing Pearl strutting her stuff and Jack takes a shine to her and she to him. Just to complicate Jack's life, he has a financially-draining sister in tow who is apparently recovering from a serious car accident but who appears to be healthier than just about everyone else on the river. I don't think her part, or situation, is well written of delineated. There are one or two pivotal events but nothing that manages to get out of hand or spoil the viewer's congeniality with the film. The Hawkesbury looks stunning and the actors look at home in its confines and do a good job with a script that is hardly demanding. Veteran Australian actor Jack Thompson plays Skippy, a Vietanam vet who lives in a camp on the river with fellow vets and who gives Jack the benefit of his reflections on life. Thompson is quite good, although I got the feeling his part was the eccentric that every writer is looking for to complete the full range of characters. A nice, undemanding piece of entertainment. 7/10

Saw this movie over the weekend in New York at the Quad Cinema.One if the best movies to come out of Australia, period. I highly recommend seeing this film. Visually stunning, without being overwhelming, or detracting from the storyline. With the gorgeous Hawkesbury River as her backdrop, Reeves weaves characters vividly to life with the pithy little concerns and subtleties that are so crucial in a movie so delicate. The script is tight and beautifully executed. Compared to other feature directorial debuts this is an incredible piece. As a stand alone work, I think this movie will be looked back on as the beginning of an Australian legacy. Bravo. I hope to see much more from this very talented director.