Linda Hunt won an Oscar. I did not know this.

I've never heard of it. Anyone seen it?

Yeah, it frequently makes my lists here of favorite films. Hunt was amazing and deserved that Oscar. The film is possibly director Peter Weir's finest.

Is it worth hunting down?

 I guess that depends on whether or not you have an interest in world history and politics, philosophy and other cultures.

 
Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, is among the most populated cities in the world. It also now contains one of the largest population of Muslims in the world. The film doesn't delve into how that came to be. But it is an indictment of Western government support for totalitarian governments of the Cold War 1960s, as long as they were not Communists. It's difficult for westerners to imagine the abject poverty depicted in the film. And when a people are suffering, they'll turn to any form of government to gain relief.

As someone who is himself a societal reject (half-Chinese, half-Australian dwarf), Billy Kwan (Hunt) has great compassion and empathy for his people. His faith in the current dictator, President Sukarno, is eventually shattered by events. Guy Hamilton (young Mel Gibson) is an Australian reporter who has been sent there to cover a possible PKK (communist rebels) uprising in an attempt to overthrow Sukarno. Jill Bryant (young Sigourney Weaver) is a British embassy official who starts a relationship with Hamilton. Kwan is a successful photographer and a friend to just about everyone.

Two of my favorite characters are Kumar and Tiger Lily who at first appear to be just lowly helpers in Hamilton's office, but they are far more important than what they seem. There's also a recurring Vangelis theme which adds a melancholy mood to the story.

Now if my comments here have not left you totally bored, then you might like the movie.