The Criterion Collection: Walkabout

Sam and I went far outside of our comfort zones in picking the second film from the Criterion Collection to watch-- and we loved it. We picked 1971's "Walkabout" directed by Nicolas Roeg. Roeg has directed many films four of which are included in the Criterion Collection. He also directed a movie that may have scarred Sam for Life, "Witches." 

The film is the story of two Australian children lost in the dessert. They have very few supplies and are not sure how they are going to survive until they meet and Aborigine boy on his "walkabout," a right of passage into manhood, who helps them. He teaches them how to find food, water and shelter. This is a bare bones minimum description of what happens in the movie. All I can say is that Sam and I enjoyed it. The film stars Jenny Augtter, who I had seen and loved in "Logan's Run" and most recently as one of the faceless council members in "The Avengers," as the girl. The director's son, Luc Roeg as the younger brother. And finally, David Gulpili as the aborigine boy. Gulpili's real life story was fascinating. He grew up in a traditional culture and was discovered by the director who saw him performing traditional dances. He didn't even speak English when they filmed the movie. He became something of an ambassador for Aborigine's after the movie. 

Here is what Sam and I liked most about the movie-- we talked about the film a lot while watching it. We had to stop and talk because there was so much to talk about we couldn't wait until the end. Sometimes we had to stop the film and talk about what just happened and try to figure out exactly what was going on. I know that may make us sound stupid, but it was our favorite thing. We were completely engrossed and engaged in this movie and we wanted to talk about it with each other. This movie left us feeling so full we had to share it. We talked about the actors, the scenery, the music, the dancing and the heartbreak. In fact, with both movies from this collection we have a lot to talk about after watching. Honestly, when we finish most movies we see all we say is, "Did you like it?" and "Yeah, I liked it." No real discussion about the movie because most often there isn't much to the movie to talk about. That sounds stuck up, but give some of these movies a try and you'll probably understand where I'm coming from. 

We'll be watching another movie this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes. 

P.S. A word of warning to some of my friends. There is nudity in this movie from all three of the main characters.