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The Aboriginal race in
Australia has had much hardship at the hands of white man. I have travelled
to Kakadu, been on the edge of Arnham land and heard many stories about their
Dreamtime. Places in these areas hold a lot of meaning and history for these
people. What most white people don’t understand is that land for these people
is like their mother and taking it away is like losing an important member of
their family. They do not value material goods as much as white man does and
the consumer rationale is different. Their values are more in the realm of
spirituality, their land and the stories they are brought up with.
Now onto the story. Lena
is a young white girl brought up by Aboriginal foster parents. When things
start to get ugly she takes off to find her birth father. Along the way she
meets an Aboriginal boy, Vaughn, who is on the run from the police after
breaking out of prison. Vaughn breaks out to see his mother who is ill even
though Vaughn’s mother did not care for him he still feels the importance of
seeing her before she passes away. Lena and Vaughn meet and decide to take
the journey together.
Lena and Vaughn hitchhike
along the road in NSW and slowly make their way into the city. The journey is
a hazardous one wrought with risk and unpredictability. The pair are wary of
each other and as the movie progresses they become more trusting and slowly
begin to understand each other’s lives as well as their own.
It is a serious movie with
not much comic relief from the throbbing intensity that the two main
characters exhibit. However it is interesting and it provides insight into
Aboriginal culture that some people in this country do not bother to think
about. Opinions from both sides are expressed in this film. The disrespect
that is displayed from white culture to black is reciprocated. While this
seems counter-productive for both sides it is good to see the perspective the
other way around to educate viewers on the issues that face Aboriginal
people. It is just a shame that the whole movie is so sombre and intense in
execution.
The sound is great with a
sombre orchestral soundtrack to accompany the film. Special note must go to
the beginning of the film, which has an impressive surreal theme with sped up
weather photography. This profound introduction is one of the best seen by
this reviewer. Shame about the rest.
This thoughtful production
is basically just that and not much else unfortunately. The entertainment
factor is low and will be too serious for most viewers although the cast is
commendable with the female lead winning an award for best new talent at the
Berlin Film festival. This part was done well especially for a young actor.
Another fault that can be
said about his film is that the script is pretty basic and uninteresting. A
bit more thought in the department would have certainly helped. Lena and
Vaughn mostly say one liners or monosyllables, which is disappointing to say
the least. Overall the dialogue is lacking in life and could have been
better.
There is no distortion or
low-level noise in this title. All music and sound is clear and audible.
There is only couple of movie trailers in the special features which is even
more of a shame. There could have been more extras in the form of production
notes or interviews with the actors to provide more insight into what the
producers and directors set out to do.
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