Posted: Apr 21, 08 5:37pm
Guy Smiley recommended this australian film to me some time back, since it is hardly what you would call mainstream (do we ever really discuss mainstream here?) I had difficulty getting my hands on a copy. It was one of those that made it to the top of the queue and then sat there as film after film got sent out ahead of it due to unavailability.
I'm delighted that I was finally able to watch it. I promise that you have never seen a film like it and it seems to have a whole different cinematic agenda than most films made these days Australian or otherwise.
Directed by Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr, it is an aboriginal folktale relayed to the viewer in the same manner that it would be received if one were a member of the actual culture. A story handed down through generation after generation, we watch it as it is passed from one era to the next and it lands ultimately upon our own ears. It presents to us the same difficulties as we face in our own societies, but pulls us in so that we are experiencing them with the eyes of the people of the Arafura swamp. We are pulled along as this group of Aboriginals experience, labor, lust, loyalty, vengeance and personal growth. The story (s) deal with a young man who finds himself drawn to one of his brother's wives and the consequences and sacrifices of achieving that desire.
I give this film a rating of twelve tiffany lamps, because I think anyone interested in innovative film should see it. It is something new, presented in a very enjoyable way.
