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.
A very profound film. To be jerked from our comfort zones and thrown into a hash and alien environment is truly terrifying until we come to understand that world. A very insightful and haunting film. Nice to be reminded how many wonderful and challenging films that were made in 1971.
1971 is proving to be an excellent year! On the other hand, so many of the films are sad or cynical.
The last years of the 1960’s were a very turbulent and violent time in the World and America especially. Maybe the 1970’s were a period of reflection and reassessment. There is no escaping the dire situation we are in now, thank you Donald Trump. For us to survive things must change now. If they do change, hopefully for the better, there will again be a period of important and excellent films. And hopefully an end to these useless and silly superhero movies!
I agree the parallels between that time and ours are striking. I don’t think the late 60’s ended until about 1972 myself! See my review of The Andromeda Strain later today.
I like the low key nature of The Andromeda Strain. A Scienefact not fiction film. Enjoy.
If memory serves, this is David Gulpilil’s first movie, and even at this young age, he demonstrates the sort of gravitas that makes him so magnetic on the screen.
Also, I’m a big Jenny Agutter fan, so there’s a lot to like in this one.
The performances are all first class. I learned that Gulpilil spoke no English at the time, making his performance even more impressive. A natural.
We revisited WALKABOUT not long ago. It absolutely stands the test of time.
So true. Poor kid. Nobody ever said thank you.
I do not remember if I mentioned it in my own review, but when I visited the film museum in Melbourne in 2016 they had an entire section about Gulpilil with quite a bit from Walkabout. This was next to their section on Cate Blanchett. He deserves the honors.
It is a brilliant museum if you should end up there again. I do love Australian movies.
Wow, I didn’t even know there was a film museum in Melbourne. Gulpilil was so great in this.