EssenceStory Well Deserved Praise

PlatinumRead Just so...so bad

Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

frankwiener Although this film is often visually beautiful, it also depicts a very bleak world in which the thin mask of "civilization" fails to disguise our most fundamental roots in the raw, natural world that exists beyond the skyscrapers and modern conveniences of urban life. It is a world filled with devouring insects, menacing reptiles, foreboding skeletons, and, perhaps worst of all, the mental fragility of humans that can so easily create horrific outcomes.Aside from its broader, more universal theme, the film also reveals the stark contrast between the cities of Australia, where the overwhelming majority of people live, and the vast, enormous wilderness that covers most of that magnificent nation and continent.This is a very important film that has managed to overcome its undeniable 1970's cultural attributes. To me those aspects of the film's era are superficial in comparison to its profound message concerning our very existence as a species that happens to control this planet, a tiny speck within an endless universe that is far beyond our control.The names of the three main characters are never revealed, as if they have no personal identity as individuals. While their different races and ethnocultural backgrounds are essential on one level, the specific details of their individual lives are insignificant on another, higher level. They are human beings. Beyond that, they are just another species, granted a very influential species within its limited realm, in a universe that is much more powerful and that renders all of the particular aspects of their lives, including their names, meaningless.I am surprised that some other reviewers had problems with Jennie Agutter's nude scenes as they include no sexual activity whatsoever. In my view, the appearance of a beautiful young woman in her natural state is deliberately used to offset all of the ugly aspects of the world that exist around her and that threatened her physical loveliness from every direction. Even her own father, of all people, came very close to eliminating her forever. For me, her natural beauty serves as a triumph over the hideousness, even horror, that prevails around us and that threatens us every day. She is beautiful. The scenes are exhilarating as art. Regardless of how old her character is supposed to be, she looks like a fully grown woman to me.I don't know if animals were actually killed as a result of the production only because the standard US disclaimer from an American animal welfare organization does not appear among the final credits. If animals were killed only for the making of a movie, I would be very disappointed, especially since the killing would have been completely unnecessary.In spite of the sometimes disturbing nature of our world, the three young people at the center of the film do manage to achieve, under very difficult circumstances, an idyllic paradise, even if it is of very brief duration. As the film reminds its viewers again and again, our individual lives in the general scheme are a mere flash in time, whether we choose to accept this reality or not.The final quote from A.E. Housman's nostalgic poem "A Shropshire Lad" illuminates the situation best: "That is the land of lost content, I see it shining plain, the happy highways where I went, And cannot come again." Tragically, the central characters cannot return to those fleeting moments of heavenly bliss that they shared in the wilderness. In this imperfect world, we must seize perfection as it occurs because we may never live to experience it again.

paul2001sw-1 Nick Roeg's 'Walkabout' is a highly unusual film. A pair of English children, lost in the Australian outback after the death of their father, are looked after by a young Aborigianal who is apparently completely unfamiliar with people of European descent. Cue lots of close up photography of wildlife, not a lot of dialogue, and a decidedly trippy view of the psychology of being lost in the desert. What really didn't work for me in this movie was the performances of Jenny Augutter and the director's son Luc and as the English children: they're both pretty stiff, and neither the terror of their situation, and their presumed grief, are well conveyed. The emotionless nature of their experience reduces the impact of the film's inherently tragic ending. 'Walkabout' was made in 1973; and overall it feels bold but dated, a product of its time.

Michael_Elliott Walkabout (1971) *** 1/2 (out of 4) A girl (Jenny Agutter) and her young brother (Luc Roeg) find themselves in the Australian outback trying to survive after being left out there. Soon they run across a hunter (David Gulpilil) who is out there on a "walkabout." Nicolas Roeg's WALKABOUT is without question one of the greatest looking films that you're ever going to see. I've often said that this film did for the outback what Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODDYSEY did for space. I mean, whenever you think of a dessert setting your mind can't help but go to the images on display throughout this poetic look at struggle.For my money the greatest thing done by Roeg is just the atmosphere and setting that he creates. There's not too much dialogue but what really moves the film is the beautiful music score and cinematography. The images that we view are breathtaking from the opening scenes to the closing ones. The stuff in the outback is beautifully captured and there's no doubt that the setting comes to life. The music score also perfectly captures the innocence and beauty of everything going on.The performance by the three leads are another major plus. Agutter rightfully became a name after this picture and it's easy to see why. The role here certainly isn't flashy but the actress is able to do so much with such little dialogue. Her eyes certainly tell you everything you need to know and there's a very intelligent performance. You can see her intelligence without her saying a word. Both Roeg and Gulpili are equally as great in their supporting roles.WALKABOUT is certainly a very poetic film that has some of the greatest images that you're ever going to see. It's really a film full of life and the way it plays out holds your attention from start to finish.

James Hitchcock A teenage schoolgirl and her younger brother are left stranded in the Australian outback by a strange sequence of events. Their father, who has driven them far into the wilderness for a picnic, suddenly takes out a gun and begins shooting at them. After they run away he sets the car on fire and shoots himself in the head. Lost in the desert, they would seem to have little chance of survival, until they are discovered by an Aboriginal boy. Although he cannot speak any English, and they do not speak a word of his language, they manage to communicate using sign language and the Aborigine uses his tracking and hunting skills to help the children.Although the film was made by an English director, Nicolas Roeg, it was shot in Australia on an Australian theme and can therefore be seen as one of the earliest films of the Australian "New Wave" of the seventies. Roeg's photography of the outback recalls that of Peter Weir in "Picnic at Hanging Rock", perhaps the best-known "New Wave" film. This was Roeg's second feature film and shows many of the techniques for which he was to become famous, especially extensive cross-cutting and the symbolic use of montage. One of his themes is the contrast between the children's safe, ordered life in Sydney and their ordeal in the desert. The film opens with a brief montage of scenes of the Anglophone city, a place of military parades, of school uniforms, of butcher's shops, of radio broadcasts and of swimming-pools He then reverts to some of these images later in the film; for example, shots of the Aboriginal boy butchering a kangaroo he has killed are intercut with shots of a butcher chopping meat, possibly to indicate that the preparation of food is something fundamental to both cultures. The film is notable for its photography of the landscapes and wildlife of Australia. During the early scenes, when the children are on their own, the bush seems like something alien, harsh and threatening. Later, however, after the Aboriginal boy has joined them, and especially after they discover a lush green oasis, it still seems alien but in a different way. It has now become a place of wonder, of life, even of plenty for those who can understand its secrets. (From a reference to Remembrance Day we learn that the action takes place in November, the Australian spring). The shots of the animals and birds also seem to have symbolic meanings. Creatures like snakes, scorpions, an eagle hovering overhead and a thorny devil seem to symbolise the dangers confronting the siblings, while a possum and a cockatoo in the oasis speak more of nature's bounty. There is much that is mysterious about the film. It is never really explained why the father should have killed himself or have tried to shoot his children, although it is hinted that money troubles may have played a part. It is not explained how the family, originally from Sydney, should have made it so far into the outback. (References to Adelaide suggest that we are now in South Australia). We do not even learn the names of the main characters; they are merely referred to as "the girl", "the white boy" and "the black boy". Yet these gaps in our knowledge should not be regarded as "goofs" or "plot holes". They merely add to the air of mystery which is an important part of the film. In his review Roger Ebert described it as being about "the mystery of communication", and I think this was a perceptive comment. When it comes to the basics of survival, food and water, the siblings and the Aborigine are able to communicate despite their lack of a common language. When it comes to matters of the heart cultural differences get in the way. In a key scene near the end the Aborigine performs an elaborate dance in front of the girl. She simply interprets this as a strange ritual and tells her brother that this is the Aborigines' "way of saying goodbye to people they like", unable to understand that he has fallen in love with her and this is in fact a courtship dance. Difficulties in communication can also arise between people of the same cultural background. At one stage in their wanderings the children find a deserted mining town where they meet an elderly white man but are unable to make him understand they are lost; his only concern is that they are trespassing and might damage "company property". To say that "Walkabout" is simply "about" communication, or "about" cultural differences, or survival, or the relationship between Man and Nature, or the clash of urban civilisations with other, older ways of life would be to oversimplify the film, even though it is "about" all those things and others. It is not a film with a single, obvious meaning, but a hauntingly beautiful, complex cinematic poem in which many meanings can be found each time one sees it. It marked the emergence of the lovely Jenny Agutter as a major star, confirming the promise she had shown in "The Railway Children" the previous year, and of David Gulpilil as the first Aboriginal film star. Mention should also be made of John Barry's fine musical score. It also marked the arrival of Roeg as a major auteur. Although he has not always fulfilled his early promise, "Walkabout" is a masterpiece of the cinema. Roeg was to follow it up with another masterpiece, "Don't Look Now". 10/10