OREM, Utah — You know you've enjoyed a movie when it ends and you're not sure anymore where you are or what time of day it is."Broken Hill" does that to you.It's engaging, well shot, well acted and quite unusual — a feature film at the 2010 LDS Film Festival that deserves the buzz it's been getting about being one of the breakout flicks.The story itself is kind of cliche: Talented boy is blocked from chasing his dream because his macho dad doesn't think much of his music; boy meets girl who doesn't give him the time of day; boy gets into trouble because of the beautiful said girl and they go off to prison together to create a remarkable band?OK, maybe the story isn't quite so predictable.And just because one can see some of the end from the beginning, it doesn't mean the movie is a bummer. It's actually quite spectacular. The Australian Outback scenery is gorgeous and the camera even catches some kangeroos hopping through the red desert.The actors, including veteran Timothy Hutton as the unfeeling, demanding father, along with Luke Arnold, Alexa Vega, and Rhys Wakefield make the story believable.Kat and Tommy evolve quite naturally into a couple as they spend their community hours in prison making music with bad guys.One has to suspend belief in a couple of instances — how could anyone get a great band together in three weeks, especially if most of the members are doing time?And how could Tommy keep up with his endless ranching chores, play on the school rugby team, go to class and still put this band together? It's also a little hard to believe prison inmates wouldn't make a bigger deal out of having a really pretty high school girl playing the piano for them.But those are just pesky details. This movie does what a movie is supposed to do. It entertains in a visual and emotional way.It has more than a couple of surprises — a full symphony orchestra with a Steinway grand piano set up on the desert rocks — and a great, satisfying, musical finish.It'd be nice to see this get to the big screen and the bigger audience.
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