this has been an extraordinary year for australian films .
” shine ” has just scooped the pool at the australian film institute awards , picking up best film , best actor , best director etc . to that we can add the gritty ” life ” ( the anguish , courage and friendship of a group of male prisoners in the hiv-positive section of a jail ) and ” love and other catastrophes ” ( a low budget gem about straight and gay love on and near a university campus ) .
i can’t recall a year in which such a rich and varied celluloid library was unleashed from australia .
” shine ” was one bookend .
stand by for the other one : ” dead heart ” .
>from the opening credits the theme of division is established .
the cast credits have clear and distinct lines separating their first and last names .
bryan | brown .
in a desert settlement , hundreds of kilometres from the nearest town , there is an uneasy calm between the local aboriginals and the handful of white settlers who live nearby .
the local police officer has the task of enforcing ” white man’s justice ” to the aboriginals .
these are people with a proud 40 , 000 year heritage behind them .
naturally , this includes their own system of justice ; key to which is ” payback ” .
an eye for an eye .
revenge .
usually extracted by the spearing through of the recipient’s thigh .
brown , as the officer , manages quite well to keep the balance .
he admits that he has to ‘bend the rules’ a bit , including actively encouraging at least one brutal ” payback ” .
( be warned that this scene , near the start , is not for the squeamish ) .
the local priest – an aboriginal , but in the ” white fellas ” church – has a foot on either side of the line .
he is , figuratively and literally , in both camps .
ernie dingo brings a great deal of understanding to this role as the man in the middle .
he is part churchman and part politician .
however the tension , like the heat , flies and dust , is always there .
whilst her husband – the local teacher – is in church , white lady kate ( milliken ) and her aborginal friend tony , ( pedersen ) have gone off into the hills .
he takes her to a sacred site , even today strictly men-only .
she appears to not know this .
tony tells her that this is a special place , an initiation place .
he then makes love to her , surrounded by ancient rock art .
the community finds out about this sacrilegious act and it’s payback time .
the fuse is lit and the brittle inter-racial peace is shattered .
everyone is affected in the fall out .
to say more is to give away the details of this finely crafted film .
suffice to say it’s a rewarding experience .
bryan brown , acting and co-producing , is the pivotal character .
his officer is real , human and therefore flawed .
brown comments that he expects audiences to feel warmth towards the man , then suddenly feel angry about him .
it wasn’t long ago that i visited central australia – ayers rock ( uluru ) and alice springs – for the first time .
the wide-screen cinematography shows the dead heart of australia in a way that captures it’s vicious beauty , but never deteriorates into a moving slide show , in which the gorgeous background dominates those pesky actors in the foreground .
the cultural clash has provided the thesis for many a film ; from the western to the birdcage .
at least three excellent australian films have covered the aboriginal people and the line between them and we anglo-saxon ‘invaders’ : ” jedda ” , ” the chant of jimmie blacksmith ” and ” the last wave ” .
in a year when the race ‘debate’ has reared up in australia , it is nourishing to see such an intelligent , non-judgemental film as ” dead heart ” .
the aboriginal priest best sums this up .
he is asked to say if he is a ” black fella or white fella ” .