Walkabout (1971)
Under the pretense of having a picnic, a geologist takes his teenage daughter and 6-year-old son into the Australian outback and attempts to shoot them. When he fails, he turns the gun on himself, and the two city-bred children must contend with harsh wilderness alone. They are saved by a chance encounter with an Aboriginal boy who shows them how to survive, and in the process underscores the disharmony between nature and modern life.
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Overrated
To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.
The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.
This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.
This is one of the most beautiful films I've seen. The colors are so vivid and the shots of Australian wildlife so fascinatingly cruel, you almost want to be out there in the desert, without food or water, just to experience this beauty in person. It's edited like a music video, with long shots and lots of jump cuts in between. Those who like dialogues and acting and drama would feel let down watching this, but to me, the cinema is first and foremost, a visual pleasure. If you want to go on a fantastic journey and spend some time in paradise, this is a film to watch. The pleasure is visceral.
Nick Roeg's 'Walkabout' is a highly unusual film. A pair of English children, lost in the Australian outback after the death of their father, are looked after by a young Aborigianal who is apparently completely unfamiliar with people of European descent. Cue lots of close up photography of wildlife, not a lot of dialogue, and a decidedly trippy view of the psychology of being lost in the desert. What really didn't work for me in this movie was the performances of Jenny Augutter and the director's son Luc and as the English children: they're both pretty stiff, and neither the terror of their situation, and their presumed grief, are well conveyed. The emotionless nature of their experience reduces the impact of the film's inherently tragic ending. 'Walkabout' was made in 1973; and overall it feels bold but dated, a product of its time.
Walkabout (1971)Story about deserted siblings in the Australian Outback, meeting an aborigine on his spiritual journey to manhood. But if you look closer, you'll also find a story about civilization, communication and the harsh beauty of nature. Close-ups of creatures dwelling in the desert reveal the circle of life. Death and life are closely related. But what makes us people different from these creatures? Our ability to speak perhaps? But what happens when you can't communicate? Through civilization we learn how to talk, how to walk and how to dress. But we don't learn how to survive in the harsh nature of the wilderness. Which boundaries can love transcend? The characters have no names and very little background information is given. But that's a good thing. This is a timeless story and palpable for all viewers. Great Movie, as rated by the late Roger Ebert. Highly recommended!
A random walk in the desert.That's pretty much what this movie is. Starts randomly, continues randomly, ends randomly. The start was so implausible - clearly just a plot device to get the kids lost in the desert - that you have forewarning that this is not going to be a great movie.From then it's just random occurrences, some of which never get linked to the main plot. (Eg I still haven't figured out what the horny scientists and their balloons had to do with anything).I could have liked this even if it turned out to be what I suspected it was going to be: am overly politically correct essay on the clash of cultures between whites and native Australians. But, while it shaped up to be that one stage, that theme pretty quickly disappeared. However, we did have the director's massive overuse of jarring match cuts just to keep remind you about it, without progressing the discussion or actually saying anything constructive about it.Similarly, the director had a secondary urban vs rural sub-theme going through the movie, all through jerky back-and-forth match cuts. Yeah, yeah, we get it, and got it early, so no need to keep reminding us: city bad, country good, whites bad, natives good.Nope, the main plot is pretty much a random one. Kids stranded in desert, wander around, random things occur, meet native boy, wander around, random things occur.