The New Boy

A slow, haunting immersion into spiritual conflict, where quiet moments carry heavy weight and the eerie beauty lingers.

Directed by

Warwick Thornton

Genres

Drama

Starring

Cate Blanchett, Deborah Mailman, Wayne Blair

Tagline

A mysterious new arrival disturbs a delicately balanced world in this story of spiritual struggle and the cost of survival.

Overview

In a remote monastery in 1940s Australia, a mission for Aboriginal children is run by a renegade nun, Sister Eileen. A new charge is delivered in the dead of night – a boy who appears to have special powers. When the monastery takes possession of a precious relic, a large carving of Christ on the cross, the new boy encounters Jesus for the first time and is transfixed. However, the boy’s Indigenous spiritual life does not gel with the mission’s Christianity and his mysterious power becomes a threat. Sister Eileen is faced with a choice between the traditions of her faith and the truth embodied in the boy, in this story of spiritual struggle and the cost of survival.

How it feels

Eerie, melancholic, earnest and tense. Slow-burning and demanding.

About

Identity, faith, colonialism, isolation

Content

Mild violence, gore and language. No sexual content.

Note

Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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Watch the trailer on YouTube (opens in a new tab)