User Reviews

... replace 'this country' with almost any country of your choosing and, if they had an indigenous population, they were probably treated in a similarly brutal way and probably still are.

All Aussies should watch this movie. Beautifully produced and filmed. It's hard to watch at times. But if you don't learn something important, you're not listening.

The Australian Dream is a good movie worthwhile seeing - 7/10. The segments of the movie relating the Adam Goodes story were excellent and gave both sides of a divisive issue. I felt that too much time was devoted to the diatribes of Andrew Bolt and the preachings of Stan Grant. The latter was inevitable given that Stan Grant wrote it and was determined to have his say. In fact, he said a whole lot too much in the final 10 minutes as the movie began to focus more on Stan Grant's beliefs than on the Adam Goodes issues. The TV special shown in Australia, The Final Quarter, covered pretty much all of the Adam Goodes story with pretty much the same footage without having to listen as much to Andrew Bolt and Stan Grant, whose rantings detracted from the impact of The Australian Dream. As I said, it's a good movie worthwhile seeing - but not unmissable.

An immensely powerful and provocative documentary that poses some very timely and fundamental questions about what it means to live the Australian Dream and at the same time be part of truly tolerant and inclusive society.

A must watch film for Australians. It is a national shame what indigenous Australians have been put through on the sporting field and beyond. We have so far to go. Adam Goodes and all those a part of this film thank you. We hope that the Australia your daughter grows up in will be a kinder more understanding country, that acknowledges our past & works to reconciliation.

Powerful, gutsy, honest, brutal, uncompromising, completely distressing and utterly brilliant. Stan Grant wrote an incredible script. The edit blew me away - so detailed, so many cuts, seamless and fully emotive. I personally am more 'Australian' because of this film. Please go see this film - take friends with you - a story that is not going to go away.

I saw The Australian Dream last night and it was one of the most powerful cinematic experiences I have ever had. I applaud Adam Goodes and Stan Grant for lives led with such grace, resilience and leadership. This movie is not just about footy, the AFL, Adam and Grant but more importantly about who we all are as Australians. Don't miss it!

I am not a great fan of documentaries so I did not expect much from the film. However I was profoundly affected by the story. There is no doubt that Adam Goodes has been abominably treated not only by ordinary supporters but by reputable commentators who should have known better. Goode's demise leaves a dark stain on Australia's reputation as an enlightened and inclusive society.

A powerful and heartbreaking documentary with such a poignant reminder of the issues we still face today in our society. There's not one dull moment in this incredibly well put together piece and it's sure to bring out the emotions. I implore all of the people who are giving this 1 star on IMDb for whatever reason to just sit down and watch the movie because I guarantee they have not done so.

Written by Stan Grant and directed by Daniel Gordon this film is more about the bad report card Australia has deservedly received on its treatment of our First Nation people since settlement in 1778 .The Final QuarterI felt had more impact in telling Adam Goodes appalling treatment by racist fans and commentators. Saying that The Australian Dream is well worth a look for its main message of tolerance equality and recognition of our Indigenous people. It had an optimistic conclusion that through Adam Goodes trials and tribulations that Australia may be hopefully at a turning point in race relations. As the legislation and overwhelming support for same sex marriage in 2017 hopefully bought the attention to Gay hate speech to the public notice Adam Goodes story will promote conversation and hopefully new healthy attitudes towards vilification and hate speech of all kinds. My ancestors arrived in Australia as Convicts against their will never to see their homeland again. They made sacrifices and forged new lives for themselves and those who followed .It doesn't matter what Day we pick to celebrate our Nations Birthday as long as we can encourage Unity and reconciliation .

Acknowledging that there was a culture and population here before The First Fleet arrived and that atrocities occurred as in every resettled Nation on Earth. We surely and hopefully can still recognise and not have to diminish the contribution that White Settlement has made to the development of our Lucky and Great Country.

This is a very engrossing documentary. Works very well on the telly (where I watched it) but I suspect not as much in the cinema. It really helps to understand the whole saga and the trauma experienced by Goodes. It should be used in schools.

Its important to separate the relevance of the message from the cinematic production skills. Undoubtedly, the message here is vital, powerful and important, but its a shame that the movie was not of the quality that the message really deserved. Screen writing is not Stan Grant's forte, he is however a great journalist and public speaker. He just doesn't appreciate the dynamics of screen production. As a result this doco drags, gets lost, finds itself, then meanders off on tangents. Damn, its frustrating. It fails to leverage the power of the combined audio and visual potential. It also fails to step far enough back to escape the trap of being myopic. Having said all this, its still a movie that all Australians should see, as a nation we need to understand that casual racism is still racism and it is horrible.

Very compelling and well-made doco about a recent and shameful part of our sporting history. It was interesting to see a variety of sides of Adam and the talking heads were all good - especially Gilbert McAdam and Michael O'Loughlin. My only criticism is that I couldn't really see the point in giving Andrew Bolt a platform. I hope this educates many and changes some perspectives.

This film highlights how deeply racism is entrenched in what so many will call "just a joke". Adam Goodes, Stan Grant showed plainly that Australia needs to face up to the reality of its history and the pain it continues to inflict on Indigenous Australians. Most importantly it shows that we must work together to truly heal.

Pair this with John Pilger's Utopia, make all Australians watch both, and as a nation we'll be convinced to change the date of Australia Day. No one wants to take away a holiday- let's just do it on a nicer day, that doesn't resurface any group's historical trauma; any other day, really.

Australia is more segregated than America from what I can tell, and for sure the world has been focusing on America and the injustices against African-Americans. But can say as a white Australian, we don't see them in movies, tv, or even in day to day life much at all. Less representation than is offered to African-Americans from what I can tell, and they're still arguably underrepresented at that.

Hopefully a well-made documentary like this can sway people. I know my attitudes towards race and Indigenous issues have changed in the past decade or so- it can happen. I don't doubt this documentary is one-sided, but the point is that we need to consider Adam Goodes' (and other Indigenous Australian) perspective more often.

It's eye-opening and if shown to enough Australians, could influence genuine, positive change.

Brilliant film calling out ongoing racism in Australia

This should be mandatory for high schools to watch and learn about.

Such a great movie. I recommend to anyone and everyone!

Having very little prior knowledge of AFL, aboriginal history, or racism within Australia, this documentary film offered a great insight into the personal journey of Adam Goodes in this context. I would recommend this to sports fans especially, as we consider crowd behaviour, but in present times I think it is a worthwhile watch for anyone.

Playing both sides so you win every time. Blah Blah Blah

In this documentary Adam Goodes explains how other peoples racism is the reason behind all of his shortcomings and explains how racism is the only possible reason why opposition football fans could dislike and boo him, such is his high opinion of himself. This documentary appears to lack understanding of the culture of the Australian sporting landscape and the intricate issues in play. It does not explain why other Indigenous stars are so well liked by Australian sports fans while Adam Goodes is not. The film also does not examine how all notable sports stars in Australia get booed ferociously by opposition fans and does not explore the real reasons Adam Goodes was booed. The movie also ignores Goodes playing his sport in an extremely unsportsmanlike way and does not explore how and why he purposely antagonised fans during matches.