Set in the dusty arid outback of rural Winton, Queensland Australia, in the middle of seemingly nowhere; Mystery Road is a docudrama style movie, telling the story of Jay Swan (Aaron Pedersen), an indigenous cop, attempting to deal with the consequences of tensions between people in this hostile environment. Ivan Sen's direction, like the barren landscape of its setting, is sparse, and allows the impact of each scene to build up in its own time, and at its own pace. His screenplay (perhaps because he Directed, Wrote, and Filmed this), feels beautifully measured, and achieves so much more by saying so much less. The spaces between the words, and the spaces between the sentences, are punctuated by the background noise of the natural surroundings, or the background noise of silence. Both the natural surroundings, and the silence, are strongly present, and speak wordlessly to what it is to inhabit this part of the world, and what it takes to draw breath here. Jay deals with tough people on both sides of the law, and has only his instincts and his skills, to avoid becoming a victim himself. He treads a careful line between enforcing justice, and being a somewhat helpless witness to in-justice, because his work in the system gives some meaning to his life, and pays the bills as well. He knows more than most, there isn't much room to be vulnerable here, and the price of a mistake can be high. Somehow despite it all, he also knows that while he maybe can't change things much, he can choose how he deals with them. As he sleeps alone, Jay's phone rings out in the darkness. He wakes, and dutifully answers. Another day awaits. Meditative Magic.