Walkabout (1971)

Walkabout
Directed by Nicholas Roeg
Written by Edward Bond from a novel by James Vance Archer
1971/Australia
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Criterion Channel
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

The Girl: You must look after your blazer. It’s got to last! We don’t want people thinking we’re a a couple of tramps!
White Boy: What people?

This film works on many different levels.  I seem to get more out of it each time I see it.  My definition of a true classic.

I think it would be best to come to this film for the first time knowing as little as possible about it. The film opens with scenes of bustling city life then focuses on one family.  None of the characters is named. The father takes his 14-year-old daughter (Jenny Agutter) and 6-year-old son (Luc Roeg) on a picnic in the Outback. The children end up stranded there alone with very few provisions and no transport.  They wander around for days.

When they have just about reached the end of their strength, they are spied by a young aboriginal man (David Gulpilil) who is on his coming-of-age walkabout surviving alone off the land.  He makes the girl very nervous but her little brother begins to communicate with him. The trio make a long trek toward a distant road.  Will they learn to understand each other?

Cinematographer-director Roeg creates some of the most beautiful nature, and other, images ever.  The story is multi-layered. Ancient ways and modern civilization are contrasted with a rather heavy hand.  But there are also themes of coming-of-age, sexual tension, race relations and so much more.  The ending seems sadder to me each time I see the movie.  But the film just gets better and better.  The John Barry score is the icing on the cake.  Highly recommended.