The framing story is the ethereally animated Ash Wednesday, using the TS Eliot poem to explore the idea of communal memory. These darker ideas linger in Aquifer, in which a news headline triggers a memory for a man (Mulvey) who witnessed a tragedy as a young boy (Bryans). Sand is a darkly poetic day out for two brothers (Jakory and Jarli-Russel Blanco) who get into some trouble while playing in the dunes. And Commission features a young man (McConville) travelling into the Outback to tell his estranged father (Weaving) that his mother is dying.

Lighter themes echo in Reunion, which stars Blanchett and Roxburgh as a couple dreading Christmas with his mum (Nevin), although the day takes a silly turn. In Big World, a guy (Fraser) takes a road trip with his loser pal (Phillips) and sees what he thinks is the natural order of things take a spin. Cockleshell is a nostalgic glimpse of first love as a teen (Wallace) tags along spear-fishing with the neighbour (Harding) he has a crush on. And in Boner McPharlin's Moll, a group of people reminisce about their town's most notorious resident, but can't separate truth from myth.

The collection's most striking clip is Long, Clear View, about a young boy (Shanley) who can't quite understand what society expects of him, so he decides to play with his dad's rifle. And the most bracing performance comes from Byrne in The Turning, as a beyond trailer-trash mother with a rough husband (Nable) who rethinks life and, most surprisingly, religion when when she befriends a wealthier neighbour (Otto).

Each of these films is immaculately produced, with first-rate production values and striking visual imagery. Several segments are dialog-free and one is documentary-style, but all of them get deep beneath their characters' skin to reveal motivations and connections. Intriguingly, most feature characters with the same names, reinforcing the sense that the situations and feelings are universal. So even if the parts are sometimes vague and elusive, as a whole the film leaves us exploring our own lives for common threads that may help us with our next transformation, whatever that might be.

themes, language, violence, sexuality

7.Jan.15