University of Virginia Library

CINEMA

Primitive Plot, Pretty Picture

By PAUL CHAPLIN

There's a very strange film in
town this week. It's called
"Walkabout," and the best way to
describe it is by saying you've never
seen anything like this before. It is
a story about two young
Australians lost in the desert and
befriended by an Aborigine youth
undergoing his initiation into
manhood, the "walkabout" of the
title.

Edward Bond's script is full of
disturbing ambiguities. We want to
know why the children's father
wants to be rid of them and why he
kills himself. There is nothing to
justify his actions or explain how
the girl realizes all along what is
going to happen to them on their
little field trip to the desert. Of
course, answers to these questions
are superfluous, as the crux of the
story is the walkabout of the
Aborigine, and the young girl.

Isolated Stillness

Director Nicolas Roeg creates
moments of tension with the
isolated stillness of the desert
interrupted by the heavy footsteps
of a lizard creeping across the
hardened earth. It seems that
insects and little creepy things are
becoming big box office stars this
year. Insects crawl around and
through dead animals and do an
effective job of turning one's
stomach.

Aside from the bugs, Roeg's
photography is strikingly beautiful.
There is a recurring shot of a
blazing white-hot sun against an
orange-red sky that is awe-inspiring.
The whole landscape of the film is
fascinating, and it easily rivals a
National Geographic documentary
in its location footage alone.

Roeg's direction, however, is
not quite up to his majestic images.
"Walkabout" abounds in freeze
frames, dissolves, overlaps, jump
cuts, and numerous other
techniques, which call so much
attention to themselves that you
can forget the plot of the film
entirely. Pulling out all the stops is
nice, and some directors do a damn
good job with the tricks of the
trade. When an overload of effects
is presented, though, the result is
usually a pretty picture, lacking in a
strong plot and
appeal.

Walkabout: Pretty Postcard

To overcome the skimpiness of
the basic Roeg attempts to
inject a of '42" feeling
into the film. The Aborigine does a
primitive love dance before the girl,
but she rejects him. The appeal is
largely of a documentary nature,
with our feelings being "Ah, how
interesting this dance is." This
attempt us emotionally
involved with the characters does
not work, as have been denied
anything to develop our concern
prior to this in the film. The
figures we've observed across the
landscape are now supposed to be
characters, and there isn't enough
time or action in create sympathy
for either the boy or the girl.

Peek

In all, "Walkabout" is
interesting as a peek into the
savagery of the deserts of
Australia. But as a film that
chronicles a touching experience in
two lives, it is a pretty postcard and
not much more.

(Now at the University)