- published: 10 Nov 2016
- views: 85
Walkabout is a 1971 film set in Australia, directed by Nicolas Roeg and starring Jenny Agutter, Luc Roeg (credited as Lucien John) and David Gulpilil. Edward Bond wrote the screenplay, which is loosely based on the novel Walkabout by James Vance Marshall. Walkabout premiered in competition at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival.
A teenaged schoolgirl (Jenny Agutter) and her much younger brother (Luc Roeg) become stranded in the wilderness after their father (John Meillon) goes berserk. After driving them far into the Australian outback for a picnic, the father suddenly begins shooting at the children. They run behind rocks for cover, whereupon he sets the car on fire and shoots himself in the head. The girl conceals what has happened from her brother and, after grabbing some food and supplies, the pair head out into the desert.
By the middle of the next day, they are weak and the boy can barely walk. Discovering a small water hole with a fruiting tree, they spend the day playing, bathing, and resting. By the next morning, the water has dried up. They are then discovered by an Aboriginal boy (David Gulpilil). Although the girl cannot communicate with him, her brother mimes their need for water and the newcomer cheerfully shows them how to draw it from the drying bed of the oasis. The three travel together, with the Aboriginal boy sharing food he has caught hunting. The boys learn to communicate slightly using words and sign language.
Two young siblings are stranded in the Australian Outback and are forced to cope on their own. They meet an Australian boy on "walkabout": a ritual separation from his tribe.
''Into my heart an air that kills From yon far country blows: What are those blue remembered hills, What spires, what farms are those? That is the land of lost content, I see it shining plain, The happy highways where I went And cannot come again.'' A. E. Housman.
Two young siblings are stranded in the Australian Outback and are forced to cope on their own. They meet an Australian boy on "walkabout": a ritual separation from his tribe.
Directed by Nicolas Roeg. Written by Edward Bond. Based on the novel by James Vance Marshall. Cinematography by Nicolas Roeg. Starring Jenny Agutter, Luc Roeg, David Gumpilil, John Meillon... Gorgeous cinematography and a mind-blowing story! Reformatted from the director's preferred aspect ratio of 1.77:1.
Against the backdrop of some of the most glorious cinematography, an aborigine boy (David Gulpilil) on “walkabout” (a coming-of-age survival ritual separation from his tribe) happens upon a stranded white teenage girl (Jenny Agutter) and her younger brother (Luc Roeg as Lucien John) who, still in shock from a horrific act of violence, have been wandering aimlessly for days. Realizing they won’t survive on their own, he takes the siblings under his wing and helps them return to civilization. In this visually stunning drama, Nicolas Roeg compares and contrasts the natural beauty of the Australian outback with urban images, and imparts a powerful message about the mismanagement of the land and desecration of indigenous cultures by those who believed white Europeans to be more civilized than n...
John Barry - Walkabout (1971) main title theme
Walkabout - The Children - Stranded - Night in the Outback - Survival Test / The Journey - The Three of Us - Together at Sunrise - The Deserted Settlement / The Final Dance - Back to Nature. Performed by The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra (with the Crouch End Festival Chorus) conducted by Nic Raine.
Book now at:http://miff.com.au/program/film/walkabout David Gulpilil Retrospective| D Nicolas Roeg | UK/Australia, 1971 L English "Walkabout is a superb work of storytelling and its material is effortlessly fascinating." – Roger Ebert David Gulpilil made his feature film debut in this haunting classic of cultural dislocation. Already an accomplished tribal dancer, he was just 16 years old when he caught the eye of director Nicolas Roeg (Insignificance, MIFF 1985; Performance, MIFF 1973), who was then scouting locations for his film about two English school kids lost in the Australian outback. Gulpilil was widely praised for his performance as the Indigenous teenager who encounters the white girl (Jenny Agutter) and her young brother (Lucien Roeg), leading the audience on a journey of s...
I think I'll go on a walkabout
And find out what it's all about and that ain't hard
Just me and my own two feet
In the heat I got myself to meet
A detective of perspective
I need to try and get a bigger eye, open wide
Blood wood flowers in my gaze
Walkabout in a sunny daze, to me now
On a walkabout
You could do it in the city
You could do it in a zone
You could do it in the desert
You could do the unknown
On a walkabout
High desert skies, are what I spy
So fly, you've got to wonder why
The stingrays must be fat this year
Moving slow in my lowest gear
The digeridoo original
Man with a dream
I believe the Aborigine
On a walkabout
You could do it with a shuffle
You could do it with a stroll
You could do it with a stride
You could do the unknown
On a walkabout
A walk could cure
Almost all my blues
Bare feet or in my two shoes
One, two
I think I'll go on a walkabout
Find out what it's all about, can't hurt to try
Use your legs to rock it wide