The New Boy

In 1940s Australia, a nine-year-old Aboriginal orphan is brought in the middle of the night to a remote monastery where a renegade nun, Sister Eileen, looks after Aboriginal children. The boy settles into a world whose balance depends on routine and obedience, and he turns out to have an unusual spiritual sensitivity. When a large carved figure of Christ on the cross arrives at the mission, the boy is drawn to it, yet his own Indigenous spiritual life sits uneasily alongside the Christianity imposed on him, and the power he carries comes to be seen as a danger. Sister Eileen must weigh the traditions of her faith against what the boy embodies.

Warwick Thornton wrote and directed the film, which follows his earlier features The Turning and Sweet Country in the chronological list of his directing work; the cast includes Cate Blanchett as Sister Eileen, Deborah Mailman, Wayne Blair and Aswan Reid as the New Boy, among twenty credited performers. Producers include Blanchett and Andrew Upton.

Released in July 2023, the film runs 116 minutes and is an Australian and British drama. It holds a rating of 5.7 on IMDb from around 1,800 votes and 6.1 on TMDB from about 31 votes, while critics gave it 6.6 from 68 reviews, so the critical response stands above the audience scores.