curator_13410 Reviews

The Last Wave (1977)

Culture Shock or nightmare comes true

[19 October 2004]

Peter Weir's early films were devoted to uniquely Australian themes which he tried to make universal. Without a clear understanding of the aboriginal culture some of the strange things which happen in this film, fall truly into the horror genre a la Steven King,and that is unfortunate. A wealthy Australian tax lawyer, born in South America, with a uniquely American accent (played very well by Richard Chamberlain), watches as his world slowly falls apart.

His day of reckoning begins when he has to defend six aboriginal defendants accused of killing another man after a disagreement in a bar. Not normally responsible for court trails, Chamberlain fights court, his own counsel (in Aussie trials there are usually two lawyers involved in the defense) and even his family, Chamberlain's dreams, the unnatural weather and the eventual discovery of tribal secrets the men tried to protect...leads Chamberlain to his eventual downfall...

He is to the tribe, a bridge, a man from the East....(across the water from Sydney who can and does live in the dream world these aboriginals believe in...) Chamberlain's dreams came true as a child...and now he sees time and time again....Sydney.. under water....

There is here a clash of cultures....As one lawyer mentions..we all but obliterated the Aboriginal presence in the city...there are no tribes left...and in the end...Weir sides with the native...earlier culture...in a sense trying to revive it ...by filming an Aboriginal myth come to life....and so at least in the dream world....Chamberlain's life ends....when the last wave...a huge tidal wave crashes against the shore....With that perhaps as a symbol.. the culture of these few tribesmen and those who understand them...begins and ends with the fate of Chamberlain...

I liked the film....but its not an easy one to understand...nor is it Weir's best effort....Gallipoli, Witness and the Trueman Show are all better and deal with the theme of mystic communication so much better.. But this film was an Australian Right of passage and a mourning of the loss of Aboriginal culture...well acted and superbly written. 8 of 10

Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)

great film

[11 October 2004]

Picnic at Hanging Rock is a masterpiece of psychological fiction in which we see an awful thing happen from a great distance and are only given enough clues to guess at what happened to the missing girls. Excellent cinematography and a musical score perfectly chosen both of which become Weir trademarks first appear in this film. They are clearly missing in the Cars that Ate Paris his first full length film. Though many people have offered suggestions both realistic and absurd as to what happened to the ladies, everything but Dingo attacks have been suggested, we are kept in the dark on purpose. The novel that the film was based on suggested, almost as an afterthought, that the story might be true. This claim was as much a fiction as the rest of the novel.

The site, Hanging Rock, is identified with a mythic highway man and all the things we observe happening have elements of the supernatural. The people as in many Weir films communicate the most critical ideas with out talking. A significant plot development in this film, we hear thoughts..see people moving on ward as if drawn towards their doom, but Weir never bothers us with needless Dialog..how much weaker would the plot be if we heard Miranda calling to her companions "follow me, we must reach the top." It is also critical to the developing sense of spirituality and intuitive communication we see in Gallipoli and Witness.

Finally, if we knew what happened to the girls, any speculation about the fate of those at the school would be moot. The mystery explains the accusations by the girls, parents and staff and the eventual downfall of most who worked there.

Those who do not like the film fail to see it as an Aussie Gothic film as innovative in its day as Wuthering Heights was in its.