Walkabout (1971)

Directed by Nicolas Roeg. Starring Jenny Agutter, Luc Roeg, David Gulpilil, John Meillon. [PG]

Schoolgirl Agutter and little brother Roeg get stranded in the Australian outback, joined in their struggles to survive by an Aboriginal boy (Gulpilil) on walkabout, a transitional period spent wandering the bush away from the tribe. Elliptical drama, bleak yet beautiful, evoking a return to nature, the loss of innocence, how we yearn to connect to the natural world and how we strive to find ways to communicate with others. As an idyllic reconstruct of memories to resemble dreams and longings, it’s bluntly pessimistic, witnessing the tentative connections between two worlds crumbling; the Biblical symbolism through crucifixion, resurrection, and so forth, however, is less certain, less constructive, managing to be both too overwrought and oblique. First-time solo venture for Nicolas Roeg as a feature director, and he was already honing the avant garde editing style that would become one of his calling cards. He also photographed the film for the last time in his career, and he gives the desolate landscape a lot of personality, especially in exotic wildlife closeups (animal lovers should be warned that a kangaroo is killed onscreen). Luc Roeg, the son of the director, is billed as Lucien John in the opening credits, while Gulpilil’s name is misspelled (as “Gumpilil”)!

80/100