Post by klep on Jul 21, 2015 11:23:50 GMT -6
Who wants to talk about Walkabout? It's a perfect title for Nicholas Roeg, whose dreamlike films have about the same lack of respect for reality and linear time that comes with a walkabout. Scenes slide into one another without showing the transitions, flash cuts happen between outback and civilization, and it can frequently be questioned whether scenes happen at all or are just being imagined. Roeg is rarely interested in telling a story, but more in creating a feeling or a sequence of feelings, and this tendency is already full on display in his first solo feature here.
When a teenage girl and her young brother are stranded in the Australian outback, their salvation comes in the form of a young aborigine teen on walkabout. As he helps them back towards civilization, we witness the benefits and downsides of a life away from the hustle and bustle of larger society. Roeg is not purely sentimental about a life in the wild, however, frequently spending time on closeups of insects and not hesitating to show the damage so much time in the sun can do. But this contrast between nature and civilization is not Roeg's only idea; he's also interested in the consequences of the inability of people to communicate with one another. The boy and the girl have reached the age where they have become self-conscious with more hardened mindsets, and as a result they are unable to get around the obstacles to their own wants and desires - with tragic consequences. Only the girl's little brother has yet to set up these barriers and finds a way to communicate with his savior.
I'll admit this isn't my favorite Roeg, but it's still a beautiful film. What do you guys think?
When a teenage girl and her young brother are stranded in the Australian outback, their salvation comes in the form of a young aborigine teen on walkabout. As he helps them back towards civilization, we witness the benefits and downsides of a life away from the hustle and bustle of larger society. Roeg is not purely sentimental about a life in the wild, however, frequently spending time on closeups of insects and not hesitating to show the damage so much time in the sun can do. But this contrast between nature and civilization is not Roeg's only idea; he's also interested in the consequences of the inability of people to communicate with one another. The boy and the girl have reached the age where they have become self-conscious with more hardened mindsets, and as a result they are unable to get around the obstacles to their own wants and desires - with tragic consequences. Only the girl's little brother has yet to set up these barriers and finds a way to communicate with his savior.
I'll admit this isn't my favorite Roeg, but it's still a beautiful film. What do you guys think?