Hotel Coolgardie

I love the 2 women. They are beyond courageous. To do what they did in a place where they honestly tried to just make some money and be themselves and be honest ladies. They just wanted to move on. And and to put up with the cras drunks and that boss that did nothing but belittle and degrade them was beyond heroic. What a bunch of local low class drunks that did nothing but shame them and the drunk men that treated them like meat for their perverted enjoyment. Wow, they are my new favorites.

In reading all the other reviews I was disappointed by a number of 1 scores that didn't like the content of the documentary and scored accordingly. It's a documentary, not a drama. No one wrote the story, that's just the cold hard facts. It was hard to watch, in parts, because it exposed a part of Australia that most of us want to ignore. In fact, pretty much every country in the world has those parts that we are embarrassed about, that are isolated and seem to exist in a time gone by. It is more so in a place so vast as Australia, but I have seen such places in Scandanavia and most of Europe. When you live in a big city, with all it niceties, it is easy to ignore that society isn't always kind and this documentary does a good job of showing that but also shows a nicer side and there was a comment made by one of the girls that Coolgardie seemed a sad place. So often true when all the people in an isolated town are there because of a difficult past not because of the town. It's not a pretty film but an education about all of us.

Very good filming where you forget there is a camera and it is quite clear the people in this documentary forgot the camera quickly as well. It shows a rough brutal way that a hotel owner treats temporary employees and how a small mining town looks forward to greeting new staff. Some characters come off ok, some clearly are lonely and welcome the chance to get to know new faces and take a trip with them to relieve the boredom of the town but others clearly have other ideas. Shocking to see how an employer reacts to illness, to know what I mean watch the movie.

This insightful documentary follows two young women who find themselves broke and in need of work in Western Australia. They were victims of theft while vacationing in Bali and need money to travel home. The young women in question are from Finland and find work in a bar in the rough hewn mining town of Coolgardie through an employment agency in Perth. True to form when envisioning a place like this where the folks are as rough as they place they inhabit not unlike some of backwoods towns in the States. The men are primarily mysogynistic and the women largely unsympathetic and almost abrasive to the girls. It's very disturbing to watch these two young women tolerate the abuse which is flung their way by the bar owner. But they push forward through the awkward backwards pulse of a dirty, dusty mining town which is almost like a nightmare. Endless drunken men who continuously and callously treat them with thorough disrespect. There are a few of the men who endear themselves, but they're goal is much the same. The girls are strangers in a strange land where most of the people treat them with contempt and even more so because they are not from Australia. I've lived in the south most of my life and I witnessed things such as this for myself. In the end the girls manage to find themselves going home not necessarily the way initially planned, but not without considerable misery at the hands of yokels with nothing much better to do than stay drunk. The movie is an experience and should certainly be seen to get a real feel of the outback. I had heard a comedian on TV once describe Australia as "Redneck England" and Robin Williams make a similar statement many years ago which landed him in hot water. Obviously, the film is not an overall depiction of Australia itself by any means. The film illustrates a study in humanity which often ugly, but as I stated before. I've been in some backwoods places which were very similar here in the States. Anyway, the film was jarring and well worth the time to watch with a grain of salt so as not to excoriate the locals living in such conditions.

If you want to see a garbage dump of humanity, and watch two sweet innocent Finnish girls, who just want to work to make money to see Australia, have thier happiness slowly die from constant verbal abuse, constant sexual harrassment, and having thier home violated and disrespected, and watch a very unhappy ending, then this movie is for you. As an Australian after watching this, for the first time in my life, I'm utterly disgusted and ashamed of my country. The job agency who keeps sending innocent girls to that hell should be charged with abuse and conspiracy to commit torture.

I have to admire the grit of these 2 girls who continued to work at a place that robbed them of their dignity on a daily basis. Their resilience was misconstrued as 'not fitting in', which ultimately led to them being let go. As an Australian, I implore would-be travelers/workers to invest 90 minutes in their trip and watch this film. Film-making was world-class.

I have met a lot of Australians over the years & they have all been a lot of fun & great people. Listening to some of the locals & especially the owner I've never seen so many scimbags in my life. Poor girls are stuck & need work, no one would treat their daughters or family like this. They agree to a 90 commitment so end up having to take this bs. Too bad they didn't walk away as soon as they got there & tried to find something better. This isn't entertainment only showing abuse of these young ladies.

I'm giving it five stars because someone deserves credit for finding the Cro-Magnon patrons of the Denver Hotel bar. Honestly, really the most despicable excuses for humans. I'm with Steph, thinking about that place and its people makes me want to puke.