A film made with a lot of heart and the best intentions, it has plenty of wonderful things about it. I wish I liked it more. The good things: it's a side of aboriginal Australians even now we don't see much of, the uneasy co-existing of white and black, the family dynamics, the desire to move out of a camp into something more. No one goes out of their way to be bad, except that white blonde racist girl, but I can vouch that joke she says is 100% authentic.
The film's heart seems in the 1960s - I know "this sort of thing still goes on" - it's just the film feels like the 1960s and wish they'd just set it then, surely it didn't have to cost that much money.
On a pure craft level, I think the script is wonky - this sort of slice of life movie is hard to put off, and Beresford's skill as writer never matched his ability as director. It could have done with more narrative, romance and/or funny jokes. Maybe that would have broken the spell, I don't know - but it doesn't have much of a narrative engine.
It actually doesn't really get into Trilby's head that much - for instance the "is it my baby" scene with Ernie Dingo is filmed in long shot. I think Beresford could have milked the drama more. But maybe that's just me.
The actors are excellent - Ernie Dingo has star power but so do Justine Saunders, Bob Maza, etc. The bit players are superb.
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