‘Walkabout’ by Nicolas Roeg (1971)

On the surface this looks to be a film about two upper class English children (a 14yo girl and a 6yo boy) who are abandoned in the Australian outback. They are ‘saved’ by the fortuitous arrival of a 16yo Aboriginal boy who is on walkabout (a coming of age ritual where the boy goes out by himself for 6 months, either survives or doesn’t, and comes back to the tribe a man).

It is SO much more than that. This film was so far ahead of it’s time. On the most noticeable level, I suppose you could say, is the pure beauty of the film. The cinematography is breathtaking. This is a stunning visual poem. The score and the landscape combine to be more than just backdrop – they combine to be a character all by itself.

There are so many themes to this movie. The way European society has a cliched view of the Aborigines for a start (particularly back in 1971 – when Aborigines had only been given the right to vote in 1967, and Australia’s immigration policy of a “White Australia” wasn’t fully abolished until 1973).

The point this film makes about the way European culture looks at Kooris (being Aboriginals), especially back then, was really really interesting. Apart from the obvious arrogance and ignorance, that sense of disconnection and inability (and unwillingness from a European point of view anyway) to communicate was strong. How the little boy, still an innocent, communicates much better with the Koori boy than a girl who has been educated and “programmed” to fit with the trappings of a superficial society.

Disconnection – again – of European society and culture from the environment.We build these awful ugly buildings. We wall ourselves off from the environment. I loved the images of the environment ‘meeting up with’ (or coming smack bang against) civilization. It seemed harsh and abrupt in a lot of places – where people are in control. But then, with the derelict farmhouse, nature is slowly encroaching on what we have left behind. The greenery so slowly crossing the boundaries, where people have been absent and aren’t in control. We and everything we build are ephemeral, in the bigger picture of time.

The landscape itself appears to become lusher as the English children and the Koori boy interact more and are more comfortable together. When the girl in particular is allowing herself to interact more with the Koori boy … there are obvious sexual and erotic undertones to the movie. Even the landscape – trees – become erotic subjects (crotch-shots of trees?!). Eventually the trio happen upon an old abandoned derelict farmhouse, come to something the girl in particular clings to as part of civilization, all of her communication with the Koori boy is once again disconnected – to the point of there being no understanding whatsoever.

There are some very surreal scenes of ‘civilized’ whites intercut within the movie. There are many similarities made – when the Koori boy hunts and kills a kangaroo and butchers it for food, the scene is interspersed with cuts of butchers chopping up meat. When we see the Koori boy hunting for animals to eat, we also see white hunters killing buffalo for sport, and leaving the bodies there to rot.

I will not reveal how the movie ends in case anyone wants to watch it. But I will say this – if you like Hollywood blockbusters where you can sit on your arse, have it all presented to you on a plate and you don’t have a thought in your head, this movie is not for you. If you can’t stand arty movies – don’t watch this one. If you need plot and fastpaced action – steer clear of it. This is a movie for people who appreciate art and beauty, who want to think. OH – and one important thing. There are scenes in this movie I found extremely difficult to watch. In fact, I turned away. And these are the scenes of animals being killed. These looked so real, that I wonder if … presume acutally, that they were.

There is a very good reason that this is touted as one of the best movies ever made. You won’t be able to watch this once. It will haunt you, stay with you, and you will have to own it. It is deeply, deeply moving, and at times tragic. It is a masterpiece on so many levels. And … it has that 70’s avante guard thing happening.

Brilliant. Please watch. You won’t be disappointed. (And now I am going to watch The Emerald Forest – finally.)