Blueback

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Blueback

PG

2023

1h 42m

Kids & Family

Drama

Adventure

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

71%

Tomatometer

41 Reviews

69%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

While researching Australia's deteriorating coral reefs, marine biologist Abby receives word of her elderly mother Dora's stroke. As she rushes to her seaside hometown to care for Dora, Abby recalls her childhood years spent living in concert with the ocean, and her mother's efforts to protect the bay from greedy developers and invasive fishermen alike, often to the detriment of their own relationship. Among the coral gardens, Abby befriends a rare fish, the blue groper -- affectionately named Blueback -- a tether to her environmentalism, and the key to reminding Abby and Dora of their love for each another and the vulnerable waters they call home. Based on Tim Winton's 1997 novella of the same name, Blueback is a complex and emotional film about a mother and daughter's passion for the ocean and each other. Mia Wasikowska, Radha Mitchell, and Eric Bana star in this poignant, visually stunning film that serves as a beautiful reminder of the power within all of us to make a difference.

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Critics Consensus

While it may be narratively slight and somewhat preachy, Blueback is a beautifully filmed family drama with an ecologically conscious message.

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Tim Cogshell

FilmWeek (LAist)

03/15/2023

A lovely, sweet family film.

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Amy Nicholson

New York Times

03/03/2023

C+

You can feel barnacles on the dialogue, like when a corporate bully (Erik Thomson) growls, “You and your mom really think you can stop this, don’t you?”

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Stephanie Zacharek

TIME Magazine

03/03/2023

Manages to be pensive and breezy at once, a reflection on the way those who raise us sometimes impart their most noble values to us even as they’re driving us crazy—and their little ways of annoying us are often the things we miss most when they’re gone.

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

04/17/2023

B

Dazzles with brilliant underwater photography.

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Yip Wai Yee

The Straits Times (Singapore)

03/31/2023

3/5

It is a universal all-ages call to environmental activism, because the passion of just one girl does make a difference.

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Whang Yee Ling

The Straits Times (Singapore)

03/29/2023

3/5

This slight but engaging eco-family film needs to impress upon you that the marine ecosystem is dying from climate change and destructive commerce.

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Jas 1

@RT83637613 Jul 12

Whilst I thought the CGI was nice and the picture quality was too, the pacing of the story felt somewhat uneven.

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Vicky V

@RT97619634 Apr 4

The book is about a boy called Abel. It’s been read by thousands of Western Australian school children for years. Why take away another male role model? Girls have plenty. We’ve been pushing for females in the sciences for decades now. They dominate the biological sciences. As a mother of two boys I’m disgusted that once again, the film industry has marginalised males and removed a beautiful portrayal of a mother son relationship.

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Susan J.

@spj88 Jan 19

Don’t waste your time

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Nunya B

@RT18881238 Nov 23

This is an appalling movie. Do not watch ever.

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Nutsa M

@WillJohnston 07/15/2025

Great adaption, should have been a blockbuster.

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Lacie H

@RT25714416 03/31/2025

Abel Jackson is supposed to be a boy!

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Robert Connolly

Director

Mia Wasikowska

Abby

Radha Mitchell

Dora

Ilsa Fogg

Teen Abby

Ariel Donoghue

Young Abby

Liz Alexander

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Synopsis

While researching Australia's deteriorating coral reefs, marine biologist Abby receives word of her elderly mother Dora's stroke. As she rushes to her seaside hometown to care for Dora, Abby recalls her childhood years spent living in concert with the ocean, and her mother's efforts to protect the bay from greedy developers and invasive fishermen alike, often to the detriment of their own relationship. Among the coral gardens, Abby befriends a rare fish, the blue groper -- affectionately named Blueback -- a tether to her environmentalism, and the key to reminding Abby and Dora of their love for each another and the vulnerable waters they call home. Based on Tim Winton's 1997 novella of the same name, Blueback is a complex and emotional film about a mother and daughter's passion for the ocean and each other. Mia Wasikowska, Radha Mitchell, and Eric Bana star in this poignant, visually stunning film that serves as a beautiful reminder of the power within all of us to make a difference.

Director: Robert Connolly
Producer: Robert Connolly, James Grandison, Liz Kearney
Screenwriter: Robert Connolly, Robert Connolly
Distributor: Amor Media
Production Co: Arenamedia
Rating: PG
Genre: Kids & Family, Drama, Adventure
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 3, 2023, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 21, 2023
Runtime: 1h 42m