Movie Of The Week
Charlie's Country
Rolf de Heer is certainly a unique filmmaker in this country, having made projects as diverse as Ten Canoes, The Tracker, Bad Boy Bubby and The Quiet Room. In Charlie’s Country he again teams up with the extraordinary Aboriginal actor, David Gulpilil, who won Best Actor in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival for this powerful performance.
Gulpilil and de Heer are credited as co-writers and there’s no denying the authenticity and honesty in the story of blackfella Charlie, who finds himself caught between two cultures and not really able to live a fulfilling life in either.
Living in the Northern Territory indigenous community of Ramingining, Charlie tries to go about his business but can’t help feeling as if he’s treated like a child by the whitefella policemen. An example is when Charlie and his friend, Black Pete (Pete Dijigirr), shoot a huge buffalo and look forward to eating it. But they don’t have permits or licences for their guns and the beast is confiscated and destined to rot instead of providing food.
This is a Northern Territory post the intervention so grog is not allowed in certain areas. There’s both humour and poignancy as we see a group of the locals swigging on beer bottles just a couple of feet away from the sign banning alcohol beyond that point.
Even though Charlie seems to have some rapport with one of the local cops (Luke Ford), he gets fed up with all the restrictions and goes off on his own in an effort to live the old ways. A scene of him cooking a freshly speared barramundi and enjoying the traditional way of life contrasts starkly with an extended scene of him having his long, curly hair and beard shaved off as he enters prison after coming undone because of the grog.
Charlie’s Country shows us, as if we didn’t already know, that there are no easy answers for the people whose lives are similar to Charlie’s. Gulpilil’s soulful face and incredible acting skills make the sometimes funny, sometimes sad journey a very worthwhile one to go on.
by Vicki Englund
Palace Cinemas
Opens 17 July
