Walkabout (1971)

A teenage girl and young boy are driven into the Australian outback by their father for a picnic. After inexplicably firing shots at them, torching his car and turning the gun on himself, the two are left to fend for themselves in the harsh conditions. Just when survival seems most unlikely, an Aboriginal teen finds them and helps them back to civilization.

It's a simple set-up, but there's a lot going on in this movie. The father's suicide is never explained, and while the older sibling (played by a very young Jenny Agutter) tries shielding the younger boy (director Nicholas Roeg's son, Luc) from reality, he's aware of the situation and seems to deal with it better than his sister. While the boy takes to the Aboriginal youth (David Gulpilil in his first role) immediately, even learning how to communicate with him, the older sibling makes no effort and communicates with him only through her brother. Sexual tension is made apparent through lingering upskirt shots and fixed gazes at Gulpilil's nearly naked body, but the girl doesn't act on it. Because all of Gulpilil's dialogue is in his native tongue, we can only guess at what he's saying. His attraction is more apparent than her's, though, and in a scene in which I assume he professes his love to her, her lack of reciprocation is quite clear. The closer they get to civilization, the less need she has for him.

This was Nicholas Roeg's first solo directing effort and his last cinematographer job. The latter is superb. The harsh, barren outback has never looked better; everything deceptively beautiful. The aforementioned lingering shots of Jenny Agutter, both in and out of her clothing, caused "Walkabout" to be slapped with an R rating on it's release. Nothing remotely sexual occurs on screen, though, so the ratings board eventually knocked it down to a PG. The shots were particularly pervy, though. That sort of stuff wouldn't fly in American cinema today. Roeg flexed his muscle as a director on this first outing, inserting multiple freeze frames and juxtaposing scenes of Aboriginal hunting with those of a butcher chopping meat in a shop. The number of animal deaths in this film were unnecessary to the telling of the story, likewise the graphic detail in which it's shown, but hunting is essential in surviving the outback. Vegetation is scarce, so meat is all there is. All of the performances were excellent, but especially so from Luc Roeg. How he could act so well at such a young age is a mystery. Nicholas had an eye fit talent, I guess.

This film leaves me with many questions, even after multiple viewings. I've watched this several times looking for an explanation for the suicide, but haven't found one. I suppose it's possible there aren't meant to be answers to those unanswered questions. Who knows? I only know that I've thoroughly enjoyed this every time I've watched it and will watch it several more times in years to come.

5/5