Jindabyne is the biggest Australian box-office hit in its home country since Muriel's Wedding. And we're not surprised. Everything about this project is blue-chip. From its famous source material (a short story by Raymond Carver) to its fine director Ray Lawrence (of Lantana fame) to its first-rate cast, Jindabyne just oozes pedigree.

Possibly the most powerful drama about marriage since In The Bedroom, it stars Gabriel Byrne and Laura Linney as a married couple whose relationship is shaken to the core when Gabriel finds a dead Aboriginal woman on his fishing trip. His subsequent action � or inaction � scandalizes the community of Jindabyne, a small town in Australia, prompting his guilt-ridden wife to seek some form of reparation to the Aborigine community.

Jindabyne examines the tenuous relationship between white Australians and the Aboriginal people, and between a husband and wife already scarred by the past. Potently crafted and fraught with meaning, it is just the sort of mature and sensitive drama that demands to be seen by discerning audiences who appreciate intelligent movies.

Not to be missed by serious moviegoers.