Australia, ten years after global economic collapse. Eric drives randomly through the countryside, where law and order are no longer anywhere to be found. When a band of thugs steals his car for a getaway after a robbery, he goes after them, driven by a silent power. Along the way, he meets Rey, the brother of one of the gangsters, who has been left for dead and whom he takes along with him on his quest …

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In 2010, Australian director David Michôd made waves with Animal Kingdom, his grippingly violent debut. After Jacki Weaver was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar, a Hollywood career seemed imminent, but Michôd ignored the sirens’ call, returning to independent film with The Rover, which is equally bloody and uncompromising. Somewhere between Mad Max and western, with an excellent desert setting, this post-apocalyptic fable is supercharged by a nervous performance by Guy Pearce. An unrecognizable Robert Pattinson co-stars, proving his worth with yet another audacious career choice, after his last project with David Cronenberg. Armed with a captivating camera and a sure eye, a fantastic ambiance and a memorable screenplay, David Michôd confirms his reputation as a director to watch out for. The Rover is unblinking, unhesitant, surefooted and unforgettable thanks to its depth and beauty, underline by a superb soundtrack by Antony Partos. On the other side of the scales, it is reminiscent of Nicolas Winding Refn’s Only God Forgives, his second collaboration with Ryan Gosling after Drive, with its desperate and cruel cry against a system that Michôd obviously does not agree with. Both films are audacious and original, but both also lack a sense of proportion.