Walkabout, the movie
Let’s talk about the most singular Aboriginal culture movie, Walkabout. The film directed by Nicolas Roeg in 1971, relates the journey of two British children in the Outback after the failed father’s attempt to assassinate them. On their long trek, they encounter a young Aboriginal in his walkabout, initiation, when he left his community to survive by his own and discover his country.
The combination of images without connection recreates the “hallucinogenic” impression of the desert. For example, the kangaroo’s dismemberment scene set side by side with images of butcher’s work. The adaptation of this Surrealist technique transforms the landscape into a character with agency. However the Outback tricks are counter-balanced by the initiated, interpreted by David Gulipilil, who guides the others protagonists and opens new perception.
More info:
Walkabout, edited by the Criterion Collection, Directed by Nicolas Roel, featured Jenny Agutter, David Gulpilil