The Last Wave

The Last WaveThe Last Wave or Black Rain (US title) is an Australian film from 1977, directed by Peter Weir. It is about a white solicitor in Sydney whose seemingly normal life is disrupted after he takes on a murder case and discovers that he shares a strange, mystical connection with the small group of local Australian Aborigines accused of the crime.

Plagued by bizarre dreams, Burton begins to sense an otherworldly connection to one of the accused (David Gulpilil). He also feels connected to the increasingly strange weather phenomena besetting the city. His dreams intensify along with his obsession with the murder case, which he comes to believe is an Aboriginal tribal killing by curse, in which the victim believed. Learning more about Aboriginal practices and the concept of Dreamtime as a parallel world of existence, Burton comes to believe the strange weather bodes of a coming apocalypse.

The film climaxes in a confrontation between the lawyer and the tribe's shaman in a subterranean sacred site.The Last WaveThe Last Wave shared similar mystical and occult elements with Weir's previous film but also explored the cultural disconnect between white urban society and the laws and legends of aboriginal tribal people. More importantly, the film moves ominously back and forth between a dream world and a natural one in which frogs fall from the sky, water pours out of car radios and hailstorms suddenly erupt without warning in the dusty, arid Outback. While the film could be read as an early warning of the global warming effects to come, the underlaying tension and power of this quietly menacing thriller comes from Weir's use of symbols and mythology to question Australia's identity and its future.

Pauline Kael of The New Yorker wrote, "The plot of this Australian film is a throwback to the B-movies of the 30s and early 40s, and the dialogue...is vintage RKO and Universal..But it's hokum without the fun of hokum; despite all the scare-movie apparatus, this film fairly aches to be called profound." Vincent Canby of The New York Times was more positive, calling the film, "a movingly moody shock-film, composed entirely of the kind of variations on mundane behavior and events that are most scary and disorienting because they so closely parallel the normal." The film's reputation has grown since then thanks to a DVD release on the esteemed Criterion Collection label and is essential viewing for anyone interested in Peter Weir's development as a director. The Last Wave is also worth a look alone for Russell Boyd's ravishing and magical cinematography which depicts an exotic but unsettling side of Sydney and the Australian Outback rarely seen in movies.The Last Wave (The Criterion Collection)"A dream is a shadow...of something real"
By Wing J. Flanagan on July 28, 2001

Peter Weir's The Last Wave has very much the texture of a beautiful, disturbing dream. Before going Hollywood and losing his artistic teeth, he made evocative little gems like this one--full of unformed dread and pregnant with the possibility of mythic revelation.

Eerie, evocative, and haunting
By Stephen Chakwin on August 18, 1999

Our modern, rational culture floats like a small boat on a huge, dark ocean of unguessable depth. Richard Chamberlain, in perhaps his best role ever, is a lawyer specializing in the arid technicalities of corporate taxation who is, by chance [well no, not really, as it turns out] drawn into the Shamanic world of the tribal aborigines who, unknown to most people, still inhabit Sydney, Australia.

Shocking, haunting, evocative
By Kali on November 1, 2000

This is a thinking-person's film. It is slow moving but suspenseful and the plot is sometimes complicated but never confusing. Well worth adding to your video collection if you want something excitingly different and intellectually stimulating.Rob's comments

Besides its indigenous (Australian) themes, The Last Wave has a few connections to Native America:

The Aborigines indicate their ancestors came from South America. Which would make them all or part Native. But no serious anthropologist believes that happened.

Some of the cave paintings look Latin American or Egyptian.

Chamberlain is supposedly part Native. According to Weir, his looks made him right for the role.

My take is that The Last Wave was entertaining but not gripping or compelling. I give it a 7.5 of 10.

For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Movies.

Boxer criticized for wearing Aboriginal t-shirt

Radical Olympics: Racism Is Official At Olympics

By Alex McAuleyDamien Hooper deserves vocal support for wearing a t-shirt bearing the Aboriginal flag into his first boxing match at the London Olympics. In Hooper’s own words “I’m Aboriginal, representing my culture, not only my country, but all my people as well.”

The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has forced Hooper to apologise and to commit to only wearing his Australian team uniform in the future. Many, including boxing officials in Australia, have criticised the “overreaction” of AOC. But the disciplinary action reveals not just an overzealous bureaucracy, but the nasty chauvinism underlying the London games.

Upon entering the ring Hooper was reported to the International Olympics Committee (IOC) for breaching Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter, which prohibits any kind of “demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.” Of course this rule does not apply to major sponsors or the governments of member nations.

Olympics authorities have gone out of their way to protect the exclusive rights of sponsors to plaster their logos across London. In the same way the IOC seeks to protect the “branding” of powerful nations participating in the games. This means silencing the voices of oppressed groups whose beliefs or very existence calls into question the legitimacy of competitor nations. Most infamously the IOC stripped Black American runners Tommy Smith and John Carlos of their gold and bronze medals at the 1968 games for raising their fists in a Black Power salute on the podium in solidarity with the US civil rights movement.

The rank hypocrisy of Hooper’s censure is put into relief by the constant celebration of all things British at the Games. The opening ceremony was an epic three and a half hour whitewash of history’s bloodiest colonial empire which was widely applauded as an “irreverent, but never disrespectful” celebration of the “quirky” Brits. Damien Hooper’s celebration of his people’s survival of a genocide initiated by Britain flies in the face of this cosy image.

Like the empire that spawned it, the Australian nation is built upon genocide and dispossession. Flags symbolising this fact are emblazoned on the national team uniform, raised at the moment of any victory, and waved by thousands in the crowd. Yet it is Hooper that is guilty of displaying “political or racial propaganda.”Canadian aboriginal athletes back Australian boxer’s T-shirt stunt

By Teresa Smith[F]our-time Canadian Olympian Sharon Firth, a member of the Dene Nation who competed for Canada in the 1970s and 1980s, said Wednesday that she applauds Hooper for standing up for indigenous people worldwide.

“What’s the big deal?” said Firth. “The IOC (International Olympic Committee) should examine themselves, broaden their horizons, and wake up.”

“Sure, you shouldn’t involve politics with sports,” she said. “But in reality, all sports are political—even on the Olympic level.”

She and her sister, Shirley Firth-Larsson, were the first two aboriginal females to be members of Canada’s Women’s National Cross-Country Ski Team. They went to the Olympics four times between 1970 and 1982.

“We came up against racism from the Canadian Olympic Committee—but that wasn’t our problem. It was theirs,” said Firth, who said she competed first as a Dene woman, and second for Canada.

“We were pioneers—out there creating political statements whether we liked it or not—because anywhere we show our face, it’s political.”On the Olympics & Being IndigenousThe Olympics are political and they reflect the politics of the both the ruling nation-states of the world and corporations. You can wear a shirt with Canada on it. You can wear shoes with Adidas on them. That’s fine, because it’s “not political.” Unless of course you’re Indigenous and these corporations and nation states are causing never-ending harm, destruction and trauma to your land and your people.

The idea that there is no place for political protest at the Olympics is also a wild sanitization of the games given that there has been dissent and protest at the games as long as the modern games have been held. Remember in 2000 when Cathy Freeman, who is also Indigenous and from the Australian team, carried the same “Aboriginal flag” around the track in her victory lap?

Hooper says he is very proud of what he did, and he should be proud. He showed Indigenous Peoples all over the world that he gets it–that settler states occupy our lands, they ignore our traditional governments, they try and beat us down, but they cannot take away our pride in being Indigenous. He showed us he remembered his family, his community, and his nation, above all else. He took a risk in the biggest sporting event of his life to tell those Old Ones that he remembered. To tell me, he remembered.

The only person in this non-fiasco fiasco that is owed an apology is Damien Hooper. To compete in the Olympics you shouldn’t have to deny your nationality, you shouldn’t have to erase your Indigeneity, and you should never be threatened or made to apologize for being who you are.Comment:  Pretty funny to claim an event based on nations competing with each other isn't "political." It would be like claiming the United Nations isn't political.

News flash: How nations come into existence, how they define themselves, who they include and exclude as citizens are all political issues. The parade of nations at the Olympics is a statement about who's politically accepted, and acceptable. In other words, who's in and who's out.

What's the justification for Olympic nationalism, anyway? I'd love to hear an explanation that doesn't involve politics. Pride in one's nation? That's a political issue.

If you don't want politics at the Olympics, then abolish the national teams. Have everyone compete as individuals. Why not, if no politics are involved? A nonpolitical event should have no interest in nations or any political entity.

For more on the Olympics, see Apaches Perform No-Rain Dance and Native Athletes in 2012 Olympics.

Oprah to visit Aboriginal rock art

Oprah to sing the praises of ancient Aboriginal rock art

By Lindsay MurdochOne of the destinations of Oprah Winfrey's Australian tour is stunning Aboriginal rock art that has been seen by only a few non-indigenous people.

Plans are being made to show Winfrey's worldwide audience a centuries-old Aboriginal shelter in a remote part of the Northern Territory's west Arnhem Land.

Discovered only three years ago, the site provides a fascinating insight into one of the world's oldest living cultures.

Since Winfrey announced last month that she would celebrate her farewell season by bringing The Oprah Winfrey Show to Australia, she has spoken of her wish to learn about Aboriginal people and their culture.Comment:  For more on related subjects, see Aborigines Want Uluru Closed and Quileute Chairwoman Visits Oprah.

Below:  "The Aboriginal artwork in remote Arnhem Land."

Aborigines want Uluru closed

Calls to close Uluru rock climb after 'disrespectful' behaviour on sacred rock

By Daniel Bourchier and Padraic MurphyTHERE are renewed calls for the immediate closure of the Uluru rock climb after more photos emerged of controversial behaviour at the sacred site.

Football personality Sam Newman has been pictured hitting a golf ball off the rock, while another man was photographed naked on top of the monolith.

Aboriginal leaders are outraged and have called for the rock climb to be stopped immediately, the NT News reports.

Newman revealed he played golf at the site while discussing French exotic dancer Alizee Sery's controversial striptease on the Australian wonder.Rock rage rolls on

Comment:  For more on the subject, see Uluru Striptease Angers Aborigines. For more on a similar subject, see Russian Skaters Defend Stereotypes.

Below:  "Sam Newman hitting a golf ball off Uluru has been slammed as 'disrespectful' by Aboriginal spokesperson." (Melbourne Radio Talk)

Uluru striptease angers Aborigines

No frock on the rock was tribute, says stripper

By Dylan WelshA French-born stripper has been filmed dancing near-naked on top of Aboriginal Australia's most sacred site, Uluru, in what she says is a homage to local indigenous people.

Alizee Sery, a 25-year-old exotic dancer, has been labelled "stupid" and local indigenous elders have described the act as the equivalent of defecating on the steps of the Vatican.

"I do not mean in any way, in what I did in my show … to offend the Aboriginal culture, I respect the Aboriginal and their culture," Ms Sery said after her strip show on the rock.

"What I did was a tribute to their culture, in a way."

Ms Sery, who arranged to be filmed, can be seen climbing up the rock with a companion with a camera. She then strips off until she is wearing only an Akubra hat, bikini bottoms and white high heels. "I think the way I was, was the perfect way to be up there, in total harmony with the land and with myself," she said.


Comment:  Macon D. of the Stuff White People Do blog characterized Sery's "self-aggrandizing publicity stunt" as "a tribute to the days when, you know, those groovy, close-to-the-earth peoples were even closer to the earth than we are by virtue of their lack of clothing." He continues:Sery seems to be furthering her dancing career in a common white way, by casting something authentically Aboriginal as a natural, romantic, wild, and exotic backdrop. This amounts to a racially white performance, because it's meant to evoke and profit from some of the many collective white fantasies about non-white people.

In this sense, Sery's actions, and her defense of them, echo similar ones committed in the U.S. by many white people, who also tend to romanticize and exotify indigenous people. To me, the most obvious parallel way they do so is by clinging to racist sport logos and mascots. White American sports fans cling to mascots that represent several racial groups in racist ways, but the overwhelming majority (past and present) represent Native Americans.

When white people defend such insults in the way that Sery did--by claiming that they're honoring instead of disrespecting the human objects of their racist caricatures--they're failing to listen to the other side. By doing so, they're ultimately failing to understand what a lot of people on the other side think, and feel. They're failing to empathize.You said it, Macon. All these people--Sery the stripper, mascot lovers, Indian wannabes, Dudesons, et al.--want to return to a "primitive" state where they can act "wild" and "free" without censure. They want to revel in their inner savage, unrestrained by rules and regulations.

Okay, then pretend you're a bear, wolf, or pig. Get down on all fours, roll in the mud, and grub for roots and berries. But whatever you do, don't equate this primitive state with Indians. Singling out one race as beastlike savages is--duh--racist.

For more on the subject, see The "Honor" of a Plains Chief and Stuff White People Do:  Indians.

Russian skaters do offensive dance

Aboriginal leaders:  Russian ice dancers' routine still offensive

By Maggie HendricksDomnina and Shabalin toned down their costumes and removed their face paint, but made no changes to their Aboriginal dance.

The dance they did was more likely their interpretation of Aboriginal dance, though they claimed to have done research. Watching the dance Sunday night, one can understand why Aboriginal leaders were offended.

At times, Shabalin led Domnina around by her ponytail. They mugged, stuck out their tongues and mimicked the hand over mouth gesture that was once associated with American Indians. After the dance ended, the crowd gave the Russians what could generously be called a lukewarm reception.Nothing cultural about this act

By Nikki AshbyTHERE is nothing that represents this as an indigenous Australian dance.

The costumes could be suggestive of traditional cultural dance by the colour red and the white paint possibly trying to reflect ochre on dark skin.

But, it is definitely not cultural dance. It looks to me as though they had googled a few images on the internet and mixed it up with the old school "caveman" image.

The dance is certainly unlike anything I've seen and other than a few complex lifts, the performance didn't really entertain me. It looked wrong on so many levels.Loin cloths and rubbed noses . . . why would anyone be offended?

By Nicole Jeffery"I am offended by the performance and so are our other councillors," Bev Manton, the chairwoman of the NSW Land Council said.

"Aboriginal people for very good reason are sensitive about their cultural objects and icons being co-opted by non-Aboriginal people--whether they are from Australia or Russia.

"It's important for people to tread carefully and respectfully when they are depicting somebody else's culture and I don't think this performance does."Comment:  For more on the subject, see Russian Skaters Defend Stereotypes and Russian Skaters Change Costumes.

Russian skaters defend stereotypes

Russian figure skaters defend Aboriginal-inspired dance

By Josh Massoud and Glen ForemanCONTROVERSIAL Russian figure skating duo Maxim Shabalin and Oksana Domnina have defended their Aboriginal-inspired costumes, declaring they "like the way they dance and the leaves."

In their first interview with Australian press, the pair also hinted the costumes, featuring brown body tights, white tribal paint and strategically placed foliage, had made the trip to Vancouver.

It had been reported they scrapped the outfits after causing deep offence to Aborigines, but Shabalin hinted that only minor changes had been made after research and a secret meeting with Indigenous Canadians yesterday.

"I don't know about this report (about our costumes being scrapped)," Shabalin said. "Maybe, maybe not."Comment:  "I like the way they dance and the leaves." Could their understanding of Aboriginal culture be any shallower if they tried?

Obviously, these skaters want to be hammered with criticism until they relent. Okay...if they insist, we'll oblige.

For more on the subject, see Russian Skaters Change Costumes and Russian Skaters Should Rethink Routine.

Below:  "Russia's Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin in the controversial costumes." (Picture: AP)

Russian skaters change costumes

Russian ice dancers changing controversial costuming [Updated]In the face of intense international criticism, Russian ice dancers Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin, the reigning world champions, are changing the costuming that has offended leaders of the Australian aboriginal community, the Tribune has learned.

Russian Figure Skating Federation President Valentin Piseev confirmed via telephone Friday that changes were being made before the Olympics. "I am aware of this [controversy]," he said.

Piseev said the team will keep the supposedly aboriginal music, which has been called inauthentic by aboriginal leaders. "The music is OK," he said.

Asked about the changes a couple minutes into a telephone conversation, Natalia Linichuk, the team's coach, abruptly replied she could not talk until after practice Friday.Comment:  Another protest works. People are slowing learning that they can't get away with stereotyping indigenous people.

For more on the subject, see Russian Skaters Bad, Gaultier Good and Russian Skaters Should Rethink Routine.

Below:  Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin. (Ivan Sekretarev/Associated Press)

Russian skaters bad, Gaultier good

A good explanation of why the Russian skaters' outfits are objectionable while Jean Paul Gaultier's dresses aren't.

Olympic Games' tortured relationship with fashion won't change in Vancouver

Raising eyebrows: The taste level of Russian ice dancers Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin is being questioned.

By Robin GivhanThe ice dancers have chosen to emulate the dark skin of Australian aborigines by wearing unitards in varying shades of brown. The costumes have white swirls to mimic body paint. Faux leaves dangle from their limbs and torso. They're also wrapped in bits of red fabric that are supposed to represent loincloths but that resemble poorly made skorts--a garment that no man should ever wear, not even male figure skaters who, over time, have managed to get away with everything from gauntlets to ruffled epaulettes. Serious folks who represent the aboriginal culture have announced to the media that they are offended. As well they should be, if for no other reason than the costumes are hideous. But the bigger issue is whether the idea itself is offensive. Should Russian skaters be using Australian aboriginal culture at all? Is any sort of appropriation inherently mocking?

It's one of those questions that comes up with frequency in the fashion industry where designers believe they have the creative license to borrow freely from everyone and anything. The list of cultures that have been ransacked in the name of style is long and includes African American, Jewish, Indian, Caribbean, Native American, Middle Eastern, African and so on. No one is off-limits. Occasionally, designers have been inspired to glorious effect. Almost a decade ago, Jean Paul Gaultier debuted a ready-to-wear collection in Paris that was a pastiche of African and black American style. His models looked glorious and noble. And the clothes, in velvet and jewel tones, were breathtaking.

Gaultier's wisdom was in using the specific cultures as merely his starting point; his creative process took flight from there. He wove an elaborate and enticing fantasy out of reality. He created something wholly new that was, itself, worth celebrating. In contrast, the ice dancers' costumes attempt to re-create something that they simply cannot. Cultural markers are etched out over generations. They can't be stitched up in a few hours. These costumes don't embellish on reality; they don't transform it. The unitards, with their ridiculous greenery, are like cheap, lazy Halloween costumes without the plastic mask.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Russian Skaters Should Rethink Routine.

Below:  "Raising eyebrows: The taste level of Russian ice dancers Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin is being questioned." (Ivan Sekretarev/associated Press)

Russian skaters should rethink routine

Russian ice dancers should rethink their routine

By Bev MantonFrom an Aboriginal perspective, this performance is offensive. It was clearly not meant to mock Aboriginal culture, but that does not make it acceptable to Aboriginal people. There are a number of problems with the performance, not least of all the fact both skaters are wearing brown body suits to make their skin appear darker. That alone puts them on a very slippery slope.

Australians know only too well the offence that can be caused by white people trying to depict themselves as black people during performance pieces. Last year's domestic and international furore over the blackface skit on Hey, Hey it's Saturday's Red Faces is a recent case in point.

That said, I don't think it's the most offensive part of the performance. That honour belongs to some of the claims by Domnina and Shabalin that have accompanied it.

They are not, as they state, wearing "authentic Aboriginal paint markings." They are wearing white body paint in designs they dreamed up after reading about Aboriginal Australians on the Internet. The designs are no more "authentic" or "Aboriginal" than the shiploads of cheap, "Aboriginal" tourist trinkets that pour into our country from overseas.

This is not a particularly difficult concept. For art to be Australian, it must be painted by an Australian, and for art to be Australian Aboriginal, it must be painted by an Australian Aboriginal. Russian art is not painted by Italians, and I doubt Russians would be impressed if someone tried to pass it off otherwise.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Russian Skaters Do "Aboriginal Dance."

Below:  "Russian ice dancers Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin perform the routine that has angered indigenous Australians." (Photo: AFP)

Russian skaters do "Aboriginal dance"

'Aboriginal' skating routine has Russian pair on thin ice

By Tom ReillyIN THE fiercely competitive world of international figure skating, performers will do anything to get an edge. For Russian world champions Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin, the desire to stand out from the crowd has led them to unveil a new "Aboriginal dance" to perform at next month's Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.

In dark-toned bodysuits, complete with what they claim are authentic Aboriginal paint markings, the pair easily won their national ice dance competition three weeks ago at their first performance of the routine, making them favourites for gold. But while the judges in St Petersburg may have been impressed, many in the Aboriginal community are not.

"I am offended by the performance and so our other councillors," said Bev Manton, chair of the NSW Land Council yesterday. "Aboriginal people for very good reason are sensitive about their cultural objects and icons being co-opted by non-Aboriginal people--whether they are from Australia or Russia.Where the Russians got their "inspiration":Within ice-skating circles there are suspicions the Russians may have "borrowed" the idea for an Aboriginal dance from Australian rivals Danielle O'Brien and Greg Merriman.

The Sydney-based pair first performed an Aboriginal dance at a Korean competition in 2008--after spending a year in consultation with the indigenous community to ensure their performance, music and costumes respected Aboriginal culture.How they made their performance "authentic":Asked about their research of Aboriginal culture, Domnina said: "We've watched video clips on the internet of these dances and it is really like this--complete with the leaves around the knees."Comment:  To my untrained eye, these costumes look like obvious imitations, not genuine reproductions. We can only imagine how badly the skaters have misunderstood and misrepresented the dance.

If you're going to imitate an indigenous ceremony, at least do some real research. O'Brien and Merriman did it the right way. Domnina and Shabalin did it the wrong way.

For another ice-skating controversy, see Skater Dances "Last of the Mohicans" in a Skimpy Outfit. For similar controversies at beauty pageants, see Miss Peru Wears Bolivian Costume and Pageant Contestant = Sexy Chief.

Review of Australia

I recently watched Australia, the 2008 epic romance film directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. It's relevant here for its take on the country's indigenous people and policies.

Australia's reviews were mostly mixed, with some accentuating the positive and some the negative.

Australia (2008 film)Critical reception

Early reviews in the Australian press were mixed to positive with the general consensus that Australia was a good but not great film.[38] Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that as of 29 November 2008, 52% of critics gave the film a positive write-up, based upon a sample of 126, with an average score of 5.8/10. The site reported that the consensus was that while the film features "lavish vistas" and "impeccable production," it suffers due to its "lack of originality" and "thinly-drawn characters."That line sums up the movie nicely. In other words, I tend to agree with the negative reviews. A sampling:

(Un)Happy Cows: Milk, Australia, Quantum of Solace, Twilight

By Fernando F. CroceOz here is the land of a thousand CGI-adorned vistas, introduced to the Ken Russell-on-blow tempo of Moulin Rouge!: There's Nicole Kidman as a British lady traveling Down Under as WWII simmers in the horizon, Hugh Jackman as the studly drover who agrees to drive her cattle across the flatlands, and a half-caste aboriginal orphan (Brandon Walters) who becomes their surrogate exotic. The pace slackens for stampedes, betrayals and Snidely Whiplashes before Miss Priss and Faux-Gable realize they are meant for each other. Whoa, still got a lot left. There's the obligatory ball where the scruffy hero dons a white tux ("I mix with dingoes, not duchesses"), the boy's grandfather (David Gulpilil, from Walkabout) watching from the mountains, familial revelations, a half-assed critique of Australia's old racist laws and a sprawling Japanese blitzkrieg. You'd need Spielberg working in Indiana Jones mode to pull this off, and Luhrmann just piles quotation mark on top of quotation mark. All that's missing is an epilogue with a powder-dusted Kidman looking back at how horribly-scripted her life was, although Edna Ferber herself would probably look at the film's leaden romanticism and plead, "Less. Less."Review of “Australia”It is a huge film--in scale, scope, look and feel, and of course budget. It is also a huge disappointment, labouring under the weight of its own overly mannered style, and its ambition to somehow embody the spirit of a nation, the style of classic movie making, and the historical politics of race relations. At nearly three hours in length, the film required either a galloping storyline or the exploration of characters in real depth. We get neither--and the film’s simple linear plotting is devoid of suspense, telegraphing all its dramatic moments so clearly that we are simply waiting for the inevitable. And wait we must, as the cattle mustering Western storyline comes to a close, and the bombing of Darwin storyline takes over. We wait often, too, as moments of drama unfold theatrically in slow motion, accompanied by swelling music and expositional voice-over. It is laboured cinematic excess.

The people of the film--with the stunning exception of Nullah--are caricatures rather than characters, and offer us little emotional connection. Luhrmann’s deliberate directorial decision to take this melodramatic approach means the performances are exaggerated, Kidman thoroughly entertaining as the comic English lady abroad, but less convincing as she falls for Jackman’s rough but noble outcast stockman. The real charm and warmth in the film comes almost exclusively from the performance of the young Brandon Walters, whose natural ease serves to highlight the cartoon nature of those around him.

The film looks stunning, Mandy Walker’s cinematography of the outback a real highlight (and far superior to the CGI-enhanced sequences) but I suspect that, like Kangaroo in 1952, this wont be enough to thrill audiences or woo critics.Australia
Australia (2008)

The Native aspects

When Australia came out, I covered it in a couple postings:

Aborigines stereotyped in Australia
Australia's "black fella magic"

Here are a few additional thoughts:

The boy Nullah is the movie's main Aboriginal character. In the cast, Aborigines are listed 6th, 7th, 8th, and 13th of the top 16 characters. Once again, white people are in charge of telling indigenous stories.

For movies where Aborigines are at the center of the story and whites on the periphery, rather than the other way around, see the superior Rabbit-Proof Fence, The Tracker, and Walkabout.

The Aboriginal characters are generally reactive rather than proactive. They follow the lead of the white characters. Other than running away and hiding, no one is bold or independent enough to challenge the racist system.

Although the film talks about Australia's racial policies, one doesn't get a sense of how pervasive they were. Rather, they seem the work of a few bad men, and they're countered by the efforts of a few good people. The film doesn't indict the system as much as it could.

Consider Nullah the half-caste boy. His father is a villainous white man and his mother an Aboriginal servant on the ranch. How did she come to be in a position of servitude? Where are her people and why doesn't she rejoin them? Did the man rape her, or did she "acquiesce" to his advances because she lacked options? How does she feel when he struts around as if he practically owns her?

Questions like this go unanswered in a film like Australia. It almost has a whiff of Song of the South, with its happy slaves, about it. The Aborigines don't whistle a happy tune, but they don't seem terribly upset about their plight either. None of them are brimming with the anger or hate one might feel in their positions.

Nullah gets a fair amount of lines, but I'm not sure his sing-song pidgin English is an accurate reflection of how Aborigines spoke. It seems exaggerated to me.

We get a few references to Aboriginal concepts: walkabouts, the Dreaming, the Rainbow Serpent. But these are mostly window dressing. We get no real sense of the depth or breadth of Aboriginal culture.

We do get a sense that Aborigines are spiritually connected to nature, but this connection is mostly used to do magic tricks. Nullah can sing to animals to make them do his bidding, and sing to humans to make them come to him. This must be an extremely superficial if not downright false presentation of Aboriginal beliefs. It's about like portraying Indian religions as nothing but a brotherhood of humans, bears, wolves, and eagles.

In conclusion, I'd say Australia is a sprawling mess of a movie with good intentions but mediocre results. Rob's rating: 6.0 of 10.

For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Movies.

First contact with "devil men"

Aborigines:  'I was terrified. I didn't know anything about white fellas'

Until 1964, they had never been in contact with the outside world. Newly discovered footage captures the moment their innocence ended

By Kathy MarksIt was 1964: the US had gone to war against North Vietnam, the first Ford Mustang was rolling off the assembly line and Beatlemania was reaching fever pitch. Meanwhile, in the Western Australian desert, a group of Aborigines were still living as their ancestors had done for thousands of years, with no inkling of a world beyond the expanse of sand and spinifex grass they called home.

That innocence was about to end: in October, the group--the last desert-dwelling Aborigines to make "first contact" with white Australians--was found by patrol officers scouring the dump zone of a rocket test range. The remarkable encounter was filmed and photographed. But the footage did not come to light until recently and it is only now being widely viewed, thanks to a new documentary called Contact.And:Among them was Yuwali, who was 17 at the time. She and her family thought the officers were "devil men" who had come to eat them. They had never seen a truck before. "I said to the kids, 'you know those big rocks we play on, the rock has come alive,'" she recalls in the film.

She adds: "I was terrified. My whole body was shaking. I didn't know anything about white fellas. Seeing one for the first time was a real shock. It looked like his skin had been peeled off."

But this was no hallucination: Yuwali's world had changed, beyond recognition, forever. Before long, the Martu were taken to a church mission, where they were given clothes, taught English and schooled in becoming good Christians. In the documentary, surviving members of the group take the directors Martin Butler and Bentley Dean to their homeland in the Percival Lakes area of the Great Sandy Desert. The area is extremely remote: even now, it is a four-day car journey to get there--half of it entirely off tracks--from the nearest town, Newman, in the Pilbara region.

Until the white men arrived, Yuwali and her extended family had no concept of the modern world. They had no idea that Australia had been colonised for nearly 200 years. They led a traditional lifestyle, wandering through the desert, their route determined by the seasons, the availability of food and the mythical "Dreamtime" tracks. They hunted with digging sticks and dingoes.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Christians vs. Uncontacted Tribes and Indiana Jones Tribe Found?

Below:  "Yuwali was part of the group recorded in 1964. She still lives in the Pilbara region."

"Nigel the crazy Noonga"

'Crazy Noonga' website sparks racism outrage

By Fran RamrodA website set up by a Perth student about a fictional Aboriginal character has been shut down and is being investigated by police amid racism claims.

The website, which Radio 6PR reports was created by a 19-year-old Curtin University student, features audio excerpts of a character called "Nigel the crazy Noonga," who prank calls businesses and fast-food outlets with a fake Aboriginal accent.

The portrayal of negative Aboriginal stereotypes has sparked outrage from the Aboriginal community.

Craig Somerville, lecturer at the Curtin University Centre for Aboriginal Studies, told 6PR he believed the material on the website had crossed the line between humour and racism.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Aborigines Stereotyped in Australia and Aborigines Wallow in Garbage on "Arses."

All about David Gulpilil

David Gulpilil is the aboriginal star of Walkabout, Crocodile Dundee, Rabbit-Proof Fence, The Tracker, Ten Canoes, and Australia. Some have called him the greatest Australian actor.

The Tracker DVD has a one-hour documentary on Gulpilil called One Red Blood. It's well worth watching.

Gulpilil: One Red BloodDavid Gulpilil is one of the most highly respected Aboriginal actors of his generation. At the same time he is an elder of the Yolgnu clan in Arnhem Land in Northern Australia.

The film finds Gulpilil on the set of The Trackers where he plays a lead role, and then follows him back to his community where his tribal status and relative affluence leads to social, obligations. This documentary is about how Gulpilil moves between these two very different worlds.

Gulpilil was born in 1953 and grew-up on an Aboriginal reserve. He went to work as a stockman like most boys of his generation, however he showed exceptional talents as a dancer. In 1969, when he was only 14, he was chosen by English director Nicholas Roeg to play the lead in the film Walkabout. Walkabout soon became a cult classic and Gulpilil quickly gained parts in a succession of films including Mad Dog Morgan (1976), Storm Boy (1976), The Last Wave (1977) and Crocodile Dundee (1986). Gulpilil also led a traditional dance troop for 10 years and staged performances around the country including the Sydney Opera House.

Since the mid-1980's Gulpilil career declined, however he has gone through a recent resurgence with his roles in Rabbit-Proof Fence and The Tracker. In the documentary we hear from some of the directors who have worked with him and from colleagues like actor Justine Saunders, activist Gary Foley, the actor Jack Thompson as well as two of his former wives.Gulpilil: One Red BloodAn account of the life and work of aboriginal actor David Gulpilil, Darlene Johnson's "Gulpilil: One Red Blood" takes an intriguing look at Gulpilil's two seemingly conflicting modes of living: his life as an icon of the Australian cinema and his traditional aboriginal lifestyle. Coming on the heels of Gulpilil's superb performances in "Rabbit-Proof Fence" and "The Tracker," docu will make a fine addition to fest and arthouse programs that already include one or both of those films, with television distribution to follow.

It's tempting to think of Gulpilil as an Australian Sidney Poitier. Just three years before his appearance in Nicholas Roeg's 1971 "Walkabout," white actors were still appearing in blackface to play aboriginal characters in Australian films.

Even more fascinating than his movie career, however, is his everyday life in the village of Ramingining in Northern Australia. He and his extended family continue to live in a makeshift house on the banks of a crocodile-infested river, where gathering fresh water and hunting for food are the order of the day.

Pic is assembled in "This Is Your Life"-style (including, ironically, a clip from Gulpilil's long-ago appearance on that very program), alternating film clips and archival footage of Gulpilil with interviews with friends, colleagues and admirers. Yet, Johnson's film is not all valedictory tribute; though made with Gulpilil's full cooperation (he even shares the "film by" credit in pic's opening titles), pic doesn't back away from depicting Gulpilil's dalliances with drugs and alcohol or his temporary inability to find work following the success of "Crocodile Dundee."

Johnson's film never loses sight of its social concerns. Despite Gulpilil's enormous personal success, there's an undercurrent running throughout "One Red Blood"--one that leaves the viewer with a strong sense of just how much remains to be accomplished regarding the peaceful co-existence of white and aboriginal cultures.Honoring David Gulpilil [official site]

Comment:  Among the things you'll learn from watching this documentary:

1) How indigenous actors are undervalued.

Gulpilil received only $10,000 for his work in Crocodile Dundee. According to IMDB.com, this was his 13th movie or TV role and he was billed fourth in Crocodile Dundee.

2) How indigenous actors face logistical problems.

When someone in the US contacted Gulpilil about filming him--for a commercial, I think--it required a two-day trek. Gulpilil had to retrieve his passport, which meant swimming across a crocodile-infested river and walking to his village in northwestern Australia. Then came the actual travel: flying across Australia and then across the ocean to America.

This hints at the difficulty of using authentic Natives in movies. If you wanted a traditional Navajo who knew the language and customs, it might take almost as long to transport him to Hollywood.

3) How indigenous actors add authenticity.

As in The Tracker, Gulpilil plays, well, a tracker in Rabbit-Proof Fence. In that film, he pursues three runaway girls across the Outback.

In Rolf de Heer's original screenplay for Rabbit-Proof Fence, the tracker couldn't catch them. Gulpilil noted that this was unrealistic; no inexperienced children could elude an experienced tracker.

Because of Gulpilil's input, de Heer changed the script. When the tracker found signs of the girls’ flight, he smiled slightly to himself. This seemingly minor gesture signaled a huge shift in the tracker's role. Now he knew the girls' whereabouts but was intentionally letting them go.

This adds an extra layer to Rabbit-Proof Fence--a small but notable improvement. Rather than working solely for "the man," the tracker is acting as a double agent. He pretends to help the Anglos while actually thwarting them.

That might be enough to add an extra half a point to my rating for Rabbit-Proof Fence. It might be enough to boost the positive reviews and box-office receipts by 5% too. It's an example of how authentic casting can have a tangible effect on a movie's quality.

For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Movies.

Review of The Tracker

Here's the basic premise of a fine indigenous film:

The TrackerThe Tracker is an Australian drama film produced in 2002. It was directed and written by Rolf de Heer. It is a set in 1922 in outback Australia where a racist white colonial policeman (Gary Sweet) used the tracking ability of an Indigenous Australian tracker (David Gulpilil) to find the murderer of a white woman.And here are some reviews:

The TrackerWith characters simply called the Tracker, the Fanatic, the Follower, and the Veteran, this action-oriented morality tale is gripping, even if it is more than a tad pedantic. Set in 1922, the film follows the Aboriginal Tracker (Gulpilil, who played a similar character in Rabbit-Proof Fence), as he leads three white men through the mountainous Australian outback on a hunt for an Aborigine accused of murdering a white woman. Having vowed not "to let the black bastard get away from me," the Fanatic senses that the Tracker may be intentionally allowing the accused to run free. He threatens the Tracker, "If I don't catch him, it will be your ears I take back with me." Repeatedly, the Tracker obsequiously answers, "Yes, Boss. Okay Boss." Yet, in a close-up, he is amused as the men fruitlessly fire away at unseen assailants. Eventually, to ensure that the Tracker doesn't flee in the night before the men can catch their quarry, the Fanatic chains him with a collar.

Gary Sweet's subtle performance (the Fanatic) shows how the terror of a man who is out of his element fuels his pomposity and anger. The entire cast is equally strong. And in a departure from period films, a middle-of-the road rock soundtrack, with such lyrics as "Now we are no longer free, we're dispossessed," is sung by Archie Roach, an Aboriginal singer with a voice like Elvis Costello's. Although the characters are clichéd and largely symbolic, their path takes surprising turns. Interspersed with moments of great suspense, the tragic cat-and-mouse survival adventure overshadows the heavy-handed didacticism. Kent Turner'The Tracker'The party's leader, the Fanatic (Gary Sweet, resembling a young John Cleese), is a bullyboy caricature of the angry, punitive, racist white man. The Follower (Damon Gameau) is a raw young soldier who's taken aback at the Fanatic's virulence, while the Veteran (Grant Page) is a middle-aged farmer who disapproves of the Fanatic but keeps his opinions to himself.

The Tracker is quiet and sometimes droll, with an almost supernatural ability to read the landscape. He addresses the whites as "boss" and offers double-edged observations: "No such thing as an innocent black," he says after the party's deadly encounter with a small band of natives. He is carefully, almost cheerfully subservient, but the Fanatic notices that, somehow, the pursuers are always half a day behind the fugitive.

Deep in the bush country, the trackers lose their extra horse and supplies to an Aboriginal lance that seems to emerge from nowhere, and it's clear the party is being watched. The Tracker tells them to hurry up or they'll never get their man, and we start to wonder who's really in charge.

The use of a daunting, mysterious landscape, the pace and the fablelike simplicity suggest that director Rolf has been studying classic Westerns. He does nicely employing techniques that in other hands might be intrusive, such as a repeated shot that begins as a close-up of the tracking party, then zooms back and back until the characters become tiny figures barely visible against an impressive swath of bush country. He also makes good use of cutaway shots that substitute primitive paintings for violent scenes. The soundtrack, however, with folk ballads written by the director, becomes a distraction.

See the film mainly for the quiet and powerful work of Gulpilil in the title role.The TrackerOne of the films I wanted to include in my Australian article, but didn’t because I couldn’t obtain the region 4 DVD in time, was Rolf de Heer’s The Tracker (2002), a potent and formally inventive depiction of three white, mounted police in the 1920s who chase a black Aboriginal fugitive deep into the bush. The police are guided by a forced-labor Aboriginal tracker, played by Walkabout’s David Gulpilil, who played a similar but much less developed role in Philip Noyce’s Rabbit-Proof Fence the same year. The film’s drama rises from the tensions of the Tracker’s position; his professional efficiency versus his growing alarm at the officers’ unbridled racism, and his duty to the law versus the oppressive system it represents.

The film exhibits some of the dominant themes in Australian cinema–its respect for nature (recorded in stately compositions), sense of isolation (the four characters are alone throughout most of the film), emphasis on mateship (loyalties become crucial when tensions flare), and even its valorization of the underdog: the drama turns on the Tracker’s ability to use his lowly position to gain the upper hand.

The Tracker has been called a neo-Western, and that genre context extends further than the film’s visual motifs of desert, felt hats and horses, into its minimalist dramatic set-up and broad ethical strokes. In fact, each of the characters is named in the credits according to an archetype (The Veteran, The Fanatic, The Follower) and introduced in the film with text (a man who has been drafted, a man who rejects statistics, a man unaccustomed to expeditions). By foregrounding these elements, the film emphasizes its fable qualities and sets the stage for its moral structure, which hinges on the merging of power and racism and the possibility of resistance.

The story provides the foundation for a character study with strong ensemble performances; as The Tracker, Gulpilil is particularly memorable with his weathered face and seemingly effortless ability to transition between mysterious nobility and clownish nonchalance. In fact, Gulpilil is so good at exhibiting the former quality that he is often relegated to playing minor, Noble Aboriginal roles in lesser films; it’s nice to see him granted more room to flesh out a character here.More reviews from Variety and Roger Ebert.

Rob's review:  I'd say these reviews have accurately summarized The Tracker's qualities. It's one of the better indigenous movies--almost as good as Rabbit-Proof Fence. Rob's rating: 8.0 of 10.

For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Movies.