William McInnes stars as John Woldring, an Australian farmer living in self-imposed exile after his wife's death, who rescues and protects Tahmeena, played by Monic Hendrickx, an Afghan refugee who has escaped abusive local townsfolk.

Deliberated by scholars and Peter Duncan as a film focused on the response to 9/11, Unfinished Sky has also been described as post-national cinema, with themes of isolation, the fear of others, and the overcoming of obstacles, all relating to Australian identity.

Unfinished Sky was filmed in Queensland at Beaudesert and Boonah; the cinematographer Robert Humphries deliberately framed the colours and reliability of the camera as a reflection of the familiarity of the central relationship.

John Woldring (William McInnes), a widowed farmer in outback Australia, is living in isolation outside a small Queensland town until Tahmeena (Monic Hendrickx), a traumatised Afghan refugee, collapses near his farm.

She and John struggle to communicate, given the language barrier, and he must keep her presence a secret from the nosey neighbours and from Police Sergeant Carl Allen, who has his suspicions aroused.

Unfinished Sky is presented as a rebuttal of the contextual feelings regarding global influences, reflecting on the growing connection between regions such as Asia and the Middle East, with the underlying central political and social themes lending the film as an 'example of post-national cinema.

[4][5] Discussed amongst scholars in its more blatant representation and innate didactic portrayal, given Duncan's desire for it to be centralised,[6][7] the fear of others and/or of difference is a contextually relevant issue at the post 9/11 time of release.

[12] Khoo develops this idea, clinically classifying Hendrickx's portrayal as comparable to Downey Jnr's blackface in Tropic Thunder with respect to the power dynamics at play.

[2] Unfinished Sky's arguably most intrinsic theme seemingly erects what it attempts to dismantle, Khoo concludingly stating the notion as, "leaving one always on one side of the fence or the other.

[2][16] Besides a concern for an increasing fear of the unfamiliar, Duncan frames the film as a political and authorial undertone about growing distrust,[17] more specifically the government's policy toward asylum seekers.

[2] Once again, McCarthy offers a differing perspective, presenting the acceptance of the ‘other’ as that done so with an understood power imbalance, citing Tahmeena as a character plagued by childlike representations.

Whilst originating as an adaptation of "The Polish Bride", Unfinished Sky represents a "changing era of globalised Australian cinema," according to Khoo, with the post-national and regional aspects making way for an identity of multiculturalist appreciation to be plausible.

"[23] Unfinished Sky remains a multicultural text with its effectiveness in doing so heavily questioned; however, the individualised perception of the world from John calls for a broadening of spectrums, with the omission of subtitles subtlety highlighting one-dimensional approaches.

[24] The involvement and investment of New Holland Pictures, a combination of the Dutch company responsible for the production The Polish Bride and an Australian pair, Cathy and Mark Overett, was vital in the creation of Unfinished Sky.

[27] This catalysed the casting of Monic Hendrickx, with Peter Duncan (director), although originally sceptical, ultimately impressed, recasting her in his culturally appropriated reimagining.

[31] The film is split into two parts; the opening half is distinguished by a more tonally grey image, a result of a slight crushing of colour, reflecting the coarseness of interaction between the protagonists.