Kid Snow ★★★½

THE Australian film Kid Snow is advertised as a sports drama but it’s more of a romantic one.

That doesn’t take anything away from the film, however, which has authentic atmosphere and natural drama and showcases two good young actors in Billy Howle and Phoebe Tonkin.

It’s set during the 1970s when the romanticism of the Australian outback was still to the fore and such an entertainment as travelling boxing tournaments still existed.

You know the ones that offer somebody in the crowd the chance to win a few bucks if they can last a few rounds in a dusty, old tent reeking of sweat and broken ambitions.

Kid and his brother Rory run a ramshackle one of these with Kid, who once looked like being a successful professional boxer, the star attraction.

There is tension between the brothers and into this volatile mix comes single mother Sunny who is hired to perform exotic dancing before the fights to help draw the male punters in.

The first thing to enjoy about this second feature from Paul Goldman is the authenticity. The budget, which wouldn’t have been huge by Hollywood standards, has been used wisely to create the era.

Secondly the Western Australian locations – historic Gold Rush town Kalgoorlie and Fremantle Port – have rarely looked better and help immensely in capturing the strong atmosphere. The strong music score also does a lot of the heavy lifting.

Even though Englishman Howle sems a little young for the role of a washed-up boxer, he gives a very promising performance, equally matched by Australian Tonkin as Sunny.

Keep an eye out for both of them.

Watched at the cinema.