Rolf de Heer and David Gulpilil's latest collaboration is a slow indictment of the colonialist relationship between white law and Indigenous people
Premiering at the Adelaide film festival, Charlie's Country is the third film in an informal trilogy of collaborations between writer/director Rolf de Heer and actor David Gulpilil. Ten Canoes (2006) showed Aboriginal culture before white settlement, and The Tracker (2002) explored the relationship between white and Aboriginal men in the early 20th century. Now Charlie's Country explores the ongoing repercussions in contemporary Australia.
Charlie (Gulpilil) lives in a remote Aboriginal community in Arnhem Land, where he and the other men of the community struggle with cultural ties in world dominated by white law and both deliberate and incidental racism. With the primarily white police force, Charlie is congenial, fooling them into thinking he is an expert tracker. He uses cultural misunderstandings to his advantage, but then is obligated...
Premiering at the Adelaide film festival, Charlie's Country is the third film in an informal trilogy of collaborations between writer/director Rolf de Heer and actor David Gulpilil. Ten Canoes (2006) showed Aboriginal culture before white settlement, and The Tracker (2002) explored the relationship between white and Aboriginal men in the early 20th century. Now Charlie's Country explores the ongoing repercussions in contemporary Australia.
Charlie (Gulpilil) lives in a remote Aboriginal community in Arnhem Land, where he and the other men of the community struggle with cultural ties in world dominated by white law and both deliberate and incidental racism. With the primarily white police force, Charlie is congenial, fooling them into thinking he is an expert tracker. He uses cultural misunderstandings to his advantage, but then is obligated...
- 10/15/2013
- by Jane Howard
- The Guardian - Film News
SYDNEY -- Rolf de Heer, the Australian director of last year's award-winning aboriginal tragicomedy Ten Canoes, takes a random detour into banana-peel humor with the black-and-white silent comedy Dr. Plonk.
It's a minor curiosity about a time-traveling scientist that found life thanks to de Heer's discovery of a couple thousand feet of leftover film stock in his office refrigerator. He imagined that, run through a camera, the film would look as bad as an old silent movie and -- presto! -- a stylized bit of slapstick silliness that only just outstays its welcome at 85 minutes.
At its most frenzied, this compendium of sight gags starts to achieve lift-off, and there's some impressively acrobatic clowning from the small cast. It's too rarely laugh-out-loud funny, though, and it misses the opportunity to mine the genre's potential. The more pointy-headed film buffs will enjoy the marriage of old technology -- a hand-cranked camera -- with new, such as the computerized transfer of edited digital film onto film negative. But the commercial potential of Plonk, due for a Toronto International Film Festival screening, seems limited.
Adelaide street performer Nigel Lunghi plays the title character as a terribly clever inventor in top hat and tails, his bald pate balanced by creatively manicured facial hair. In 1907, Dr. Plonk deduces that the world will end 101 years hence and, in a bid to silence the naysayers, builds a time machine to bring back proof from the future.
After a couple of false starts and a close shave with some aboriginal cannibals thanks to the meddling of his (rimshot, please) deaf-mute assistant, Paulus (Paul Blackwell), Plonk succeeds in transporting himself to 2007.
He finds the future less than appealing, landing in the middle of an unsightly subdivision and noting, via an inter-title, "the rise of a new civilization already under decay."
The lion's share of the film consists of Dr. Plonk and Paulus popping back and forth between centuries in the amusingly makeshift time machine, getting stranded, landing in hot water (literally) and having run-ins with the law.
All the silent-movie tropes get a look-in: There's peril on the train tracks, Keystone Cop chases, slippery banana skins and everyone -- including a maid played by the director's daughter, Phoebe Paterson de Heer -- suffers a kick in the rear at least once.
It all gets a bit repetitive after a while, though there's a terrific bit of business involving a policewoman and an oversized industrial spool, and the presence of the delightful comedian Magda Szubanski (as Mrs. Plonk) gives proceedings a fillip.
Composer Graham Tardif does a commendable job evoking the pre-talkies era with a playful score of old-timey music, performed by the Melbourne gypsy band the Stiletto Sisters.
DR. PLONK
Vertigo Prods. and Australian Film Finance Corporation
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Rolf de Heer
Producers: Julie Ryan, Rolf de Heer
Executive producers: Bryce Menzies, Sue Murray, Domenico Procacci
Director of photography: Judd Overton
Production designer: Beverley Freeman
Music: Graham Tardif
Costume designer: Beverley Freeman
Editor: Tania Nehme
Cast:
Dr. Plonk: Nigel Lunghi
Paulus: Paul Blackwell
Mrs. Plonk: Magda Szubanski
Running time -- 85 minutes
No MPAA rating...
It's a minor curiosity about a time-traveling scientist that found life thanks to de Heer's discovery of a couple thousand feet of leftover film stock in his office refrigerator. He imagined that, run through a camera, the film would look as bad as an old silent movie and -- presto! -- a stylized bit of slapstick silliness that only just outstays its welcome at 85 minutes.
At its most frenzied, this compendium of sight gags starts to achieve lift-off, and there's some impressively acrobatic clowning from the small cast. It's too rarely laugh-out-loud funny, though, and it misses the opportunity to mine the genre's potential. The more pointy-headed film buffs will enjoy the marriage of old technology -- a hand-cranked camera -- with new, such as the computerized transfer of edited digital film onto film negative. But the commercial potential of Plonk, due for a Toronto International Film Festival screening, seems limited.
Adelaide street performer Nigel Lunghi plays the title character as a terribly clever inventor in top hat and tails, his bald pate balanced by creatively manicured facial hair. In 1907, Dr. Plonk deduces that the world will end 101 years hence and, in a bid to silence the naysayers, builds a time machine to bring back proof from the future.
After a couple of false starts and a close shave with some aboriginal cannibals thanks to the meddling of his (rimshot, please) deaf-mute assistant, Paulus (Paul Blackwell), Plonk succeeds in transporting himself to 2007.
He finds the future less than appealing, landing in the middle of an unsightly subdivision and noting, via an inter-title, "the rise of a new civilization already under decay."
The lion's share of the film consists of Dr. Plonk and Paulus popping back and forth between centuries in the amusingly makeshift time machine, getting stranded, landing in hot water (literally) and having run-ins with the law.
All the silent-movie tropes get a look-in: There's peril on the train tracks, Keystone Cop chases, slippery banana skins and everyone -- including a maid played by the director's daughter, Phoebe Paterson de Heer -- suffers a kick in the rear at least once.
It all gets a bit repetitive after a while, though there's a terrific bit of business involving a policewoman and an oversized industrial spool, and the presence of the delightful comedian Magda Szubanski (as Mrs. Plonk) gives proceedings a fillip.
Composer Graham Tardif does a commendable job evoking the pre-talkies era with a playful score of old-timey music, performed by the Melbourne gypsy band the Stiletto Sisters.
DR. PLONK
Vertigo Prods. and Australian Film Finance Corporation
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Rolf de Heer
Producers: Julie Ryan, Rolf de Heer
Executive producers: Bryce Menzies, Sue Murray, Domenico Procacci
Director of photography: Judd Overton
Production designer: Beverley Freeman
Music: Graham Tardif
Costume designer: Beverley Freeman
Editor: Tania Nehme
Cast:
Dr. Plonk: Nigel Lunghi
Paulus: Paul Blackwell
Mrs. Plonk: Magda Szubanski
Running time -- 85 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 9/14/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
ArtMattan Prods.
NEW YORK -- Australian director Rolf De Heer's Outback saga "The Tracker" has the punch of a good Western with a clean and direct script plus an adventurous use of songs and folk paintings. The film's single-minded, somewhat stylized approach reminds of Clint Eastwood at his most economic and brutal -- "High Plains Drifter", for instance. "The Tracker" has no warm moments and few scenes of redemption. General audiences will probably find these raw emotions a tough watch, though critics and cineastes will certainly be impressed. The story's similarities to Philip Noyce's talked-about "Rabbit Proof Fence" could widen its boxoffice appeal.
De Heer's script tells of four very different men on the trail of an Aboriginal fugitive in 1920s Australia: The Fanatic (Gary Sweet, from De Heer's more recent "Alexandra's Project"), a racial supremacist who hates all Aborigines
the Follower (Damon Gameau), a nervy rookie policeman
the Veteran (Grant Page), an aging conscript with no stomach for his job
and the Aboriginal Tracker (David Gulpilil), who seems content to do the white men's bidding.
As the quartet range deeper into the Outback, conflicts develop. The Fanatic murders any Aborigine he comes across. These acts of violence gradually alienate him from the Follower. The Tracker, in his element, coolly manipulates the situation to his advantage and finally dispenses rough justice to the white men.
De Heer's approach to narrative is unusual. He allows folksy songs (written by Graham Tardif and sung by Archie Roach) to run at length over the images. Far from being background music, these songs elucidate both the history of the treatment of Aborigines and the feelings of the Tracker. The acts of violence are represented by Aboriginal paintings inserted into the narrative. Ian Jones' cinematography emphasizes the vastness of the land, effectively using a quick zoom -- usually the most reviled of photographic techniques -- to pick out a relevant feature or character in the Outback.
The film is unequivocal in its depiction of how the settlers sought to destroy Aboriginal life and culture.by Stephen Hopkins and Eric Bross. Hopkins, whose experience at action shows includes directing "24," brings a brisk pace and a sharp eye for composition to the first night. Bross maintains the roller-coaster ride on the second and third nights, eliciting strong but restrained performances. In particular, Koteas shines as the mysterious but dedicated agent juggling long-distance family responsibilities with a job that doesn't come with a well-defined playbook.
Vancouver fills in for Seattle thanks, in part, to geographical proximity and similar climates. Scenes of foreign locales, also shot in Vancouver, are more generic and slightly less convincing.
TRAFFIC: THE MINISERIES
USA Network
Initial Entertainment Group
Credits:
Executive producer/writer: Ron Hutchinson
Producers: Stephen Hopkins, Jay Benson
Consulting producer: Ilene Kahn Power
Directors: Stephen Hopkins, Eric Bross
Director of photography: Joel Ransom
Production designer: David Fischer
Editors: Tod Feuerman, John Duffy
Music: Jeff Rona
Art director: Don Macaulay
Set decorator: Dominique Fauguet-Lemaitre
Casting: Mary Jo Slater, Steve Brooksbank
Cast:
Adam Kadyrov: Cliff Curtis
Mike McKay: Elias Koteas
Brent Delaney: Martin Donovan
Ben Edmonds: Balthazar Getty
Carole McKay: Mary McCormack
Fazal: Ritchie Coster
Ronny Cho: Nelson Lee
Alex Edmonds: Tony Musante
Tyler McKay: Justin Chatwin
Kahn: Brian George
Angie: Jennifer Rae Westleyear="none" />Editors: William Morris, Teki Cruickshank, Adrian Herrera, Fred Hawthorne, Marc Cahill, Michael Auerbach, Brian Horn, Jeff Cooper
Host: George Gray
Starring:
Todd Santos="none" />No MPAA rating " />Shane McCutcheon: Katherine Moennig
Dana Fairbanks: Erin Daniels
Alice Pieszecki: Leisha Hailey
Kit Porter: Pam Grierppencott, David Vanacore, Mark T. Williams
Main title theme: The O-Jays
Casting: Rob LaPlante...
NEW YORK -- Australian director Rolf De Heer's Outback saga "The Tracker" has the punch of a good Western with a clean and direct script plus an adventurous use of songs and folk paintings. The film's single-minded, somewhat stylized approach reminds of Clint Eastwood at his most economic and brutal -- "High Plains Drifter", for instance. "The Tracker" has no warm moments and few scenes of redemption. General audiences will probably find these raw emotions a tough watch, though critics and cineastes will certainly be impressed. The story's similarities to Philip Noyce's talked-about "Rabbit Proof Fence" could widen its boxoffice appeal.
De Heer's script tells of four very different men on the trail of an Aboriginal fugitive in 1920s Australia: The Fanatic (Gary Sweet, from De Heer's more recent "Alexandra's Project"), a racial supremacist who hates all Aborigines
the Follower (Damon Gameau), a nervy rookie policeman
the Veteran (Grant Page), an aging conscript with no stomach for his job
and the Aboriginal Tracker (David Gulpilil), who seems content to do the white men's bidding.
As the quartet range deeper into the Outback, conflicts develop. The Fanatic murders any Aborigine he comes across. These acts of violence gradually alienate him from the Follower. The Tracker, in his element, coolly manipulates the situation to his advantage and finally dispenses rough justice to the white men.
De Heer's approach to narrative is unusual. He allows folksy songs (written by Graham Tardif and sung by Archie Roach) to run at length over the images. Far from being background music, these songs elucidate both the history of the treatment of Aborigines and the feelings of the Tracker. The acts of violence are represented by Aboriginal paintings inserted into the narrative. Ian Jones' cinematography emphasizes the vastness of the land, effectively using a quick zoom -- usually the most reviled of photographic techniques -- to pick out a relevant feature or character in the Outback.
The film is unequivocal in its depiction of how the settlers sought to destroy Aboriginal life and culture.by Stephen Hopkins and Eric Bross. Hopkins, whose experience at action shows includes directing "24," brings a brisk pace and a sharp eye for composition to the first night. Bross maintains the roller-coaster ride on the second and third nights, eliciting strong but restrained performances. In particular, Koteas shines as the mysterious but dedicated agent juggling long-distance family responsibilities with a job that doesn't come with a well-defined playbook.
Vancouver fills in for Seattle thanks, in part, to geographical proximity and similar climates. Scenes of foreign locales, also shot in Vancouver, are more generic and slightly less convincing.
TRAFFIC: THE MINISERIES
USA Network
Initial Entertainment Group
Credits:
Executive producer/writer: Ron Hutchinson
Producers: Stephen Hopkins, Jay Benson
Consulting producer: Ilene Kahn Power
Directors: Stephen Hopkins, Eric Bross
Director of photography: Joel Ransom
Production designer: David Fischer
Editors: Tod Feuerman, John Duffy
Music: Jeff Rona
Art director: Don Macaulay
Set decorator: Dominique Fauguet-Lemaitre
Casting: Mary Jo Slater, Steve Brooksbank
Cast:
Adam Kadyrov: Cliff Curtis
Mike McKay: Elias Koteas
Brent Delaney: Martin Donovan
Ben Edmonds: Balthazar Getty
Carole McKay: Mary McCormack
Fazal: Ritchie Coster
Ronny Cho: Nelson Lee
Alex Edmonds: Tony Musante
Tyler McKay: Justin Chatwin
Kahn: Brian George
Angie: Jennifer Rae Westleyear="none" />Editors: William Morris, Teki Cruickshank, Adrian Herrera, Fred Hawthorne, Marc Cahill, Michael Auerbach, Brian Horn, Jeff Cooper
Host: George Gray
Starring:
Todd Santos="none" />No MPAA rating " />Shane McCutcheon: Katherine Moennig
Dana Fairbanks: Erin Daniels
Alice Pieszecki: Leisha Hailey
Kit Porter: Pam Grierppencott, David Vanacore, Mark T. Williams
Main title theme: The O-Jays
Casting: Rob LaPlante...
ArtMattan Prods.
NEW YORK -- Australian director Rolf De Heer's Outback saga "The Tracker" has the punch of a good Western with a clean and direct script plus an adventurous use of songs and folk paintings. The film's single-minded, somewhat stylized approach reminds of Clint Eastwood at his most economic and brutal -- "High Plains Drifter", for instance. "The Tracker" has no warm moments and few scenes of redemption. General audiences will probably find these raw emotions a tough watch, though critics and cineastes will certainly be impressed. The story's similarities to Philip Noyce's talked-about "Rabbit Proof Fence" could widen its boxoffice appeal.
De Heer's script tells of four very different men on the trail of an Aboriginal fugitive in 1920s Australia: The Fanatic (Gary Sweet, from De Heer's more recent "Alexandra's Project"), a racial supremacist who hates all Aborigines
the Follower (Damon Gameau), a nervy rookie policeman
the Veteran (Grant Page), an aging conscript with no stomach for his job
and the Aboriginal Tracker (David Gulpilil), who seems content to do the white men's bidding.
As the quartet range deeper into the Outback, conflicts develop. The Fanatic murders any Aborigine he comes across. These acts of violence gradually alienate him from the Follower. The Tracker, in his element, coolly manipulates the situation to his advantage and finally dispenses rough justice to the white men.
De Heer's approach to narrative is unusual. He allows folksy songs (written by Graham Tardif and sung by Archie Roach) to run at length over the images. Far from being background music, these songs elucidate both the history of the treatment of Aborigines and the feelings of the Tracker. The acts of violence are represented by Aboriginal paintings inserted into the narrative. Ian Jones' cinematography emphasizes the vastness of the land, effectively using a quick zoom -- usually the most reviled of photographic techniques -- to pick out a relevant feature or character in the Outback.
The film is unequivocal in its depiction of how the settlers sought to destroy Aboriginal life and culture.by Stephen Hopkins and Eric Bross. Hopkins, whose experience at action shows includes directing "24," brings a brisk pace and a sharp eye for composition to the first night. Bross maintains the roller-coaster ride on the second and third nights, eliciting strong but restrained performances. In particular, Koteas shines as the mysterious but dedicated agent juggling long-distance family responsibilities with a job that doesn't come with a well-defined playbook.
Vancouver fills in for Seattle thanks, in part, to geographical proximity and similar climates. Scenes of foreign locales, also shot in Vancouver, are more generic and slightly less convincing.
TRAFFIC: THE MINISERIES
USA Network
Initial Entertainment Group
Credits:
Executive producer/writer: Ron Hutchinson
Producers: Stephen Hopkins, Jay Benson
Consulting producer: Ilene Kahn Power
Directors: Stephen Hopkins, Eric Bross
Director of photography: Joel Ransom
Production designer: David Fischer
Editors: Tod Feuerman, John Duffy
Music: Jeff Rona
Art director: Don Macaulay
Set decorator: Dominique Fauguet-Lemaitre
Casting: Mary Jo Slater, Steve Brooksbank
Cast:
Adam Kadyrov: Cliff Curtis
Mike McKay: Elias Koteas
Brent Delaney: Martin Donovan
Ben Edmonds: Balthazar Getty
Carole McKay: Mary McCormack
Fazal: Ritchie Coster
Ronny Cho: Nelson Lee
Alex Edmonds: Tony Musante
Tyler McKay: Justin Chatwin
Kahn: Brian George
Angie: Jennifer Rae Westleyear="none" />Editors: William Morris, Teki Cruickshank, Adrian Herrera, Fred Hawthorne, Marc Cahill, Michael Auerbach, Brian Horn, Jeff Cooper
Host: George Gray
Starring:
Todd Santos="none" />No MPAA rating " />Shane McCutcheon: Katherine Moennig
Dana Fairbanks: Erin Daniels
Alice Pieszecki: Leisha Hailey
Kit Porter: Pam Grierppencott, David Vanacore, Mark T. Williams
Main title theme: The O-Jays
Casting: Rob LaPlante...
NEW YORK -- Australian director Rolf De Heer's Outback saga "The Tracker" has the punch of a good Western with a clean and direct script plus an adventurous use of songs and folk paintings. The film's single-minded, somewhat stylized approach reminds of Clint Eastwood at his most economic and brutal -- "High Plains Drifter", for instance. "The Tracker" has no warm moments and few scenes of redemption. General audiences will probably find these raw emotions a tough watch, though critics and cineastes will certainly be impressed. The story's similarities to Philip Noyce's talked-about "Rabbit Proof Fence" could widen its boxoffice appeal.
De Heer's script tells of four very different men on the trail of an Aboriginal fugitive in 1920s Australia: The Fanatic (Gary Sweet, from De Heer's more recent "Alexandra's Project"), a racial supremacist who hates all Aborigines
the Follower (Damon Gameau), a nervy rookie policeman
the Veteran (Grant Page), an aging conscript with no stomach for his job
and the Aboriginal Tracker (David Gulpilil), who seems content to do the white men's bidding.
As the quartet range deeper into the Outback, conflicts develop. The Fanatic murders any Aborigine he comes across. These acts of violence gradually alienate him from the Follower. The Tracker, in his element, coolly manipulates the situation to his advantage and finally dispenses rough justice to the white men.
De Heer's approach to narrative is unusual. He allows folksy songs (written by Graham Tardif and sung by Archie Roach) to run at length over the images. Far from being background music, these songs elucidate both the history of the treatment of Aborigines and the feelings of the Tracker. The acts of violence are represented by Aboriginal paintings inserted into the narrative. Ian Jones' cinematography emphasizes the vastness of the land, effectively using a quick zoom -- usually the most reviled of photographic techniques -- to pick out a relevant feature or character in the Outback.
The film is unequivocal in its depiction of how the settlers sought to destroy Aboriginal life and culture.by Stephen Hopkins and Eric Bross. Hopkins, whose experience at action shows includes directing "24," brings a brisk pace and a sharp eye for composition to the first night. Bross maintains the roller-coaster ride on the second and third nights, eliciting strong but restrained performances. In particular, Koteas shines as the mysterious but dedicated agent juggling long-distance family responsibilities with a job that doesn't come with a well-defined playbook.
Vancouver fills in for Seattle thanks, in part, to geographical proximity and similar climates. Scenes of foreign locales, also shot in Vancouver, are more generic and slightly less convincing.
TRAFFIC: THE MINISERIES
USA Network
Initial Entertainment Group
Credits:
Executive producer/writer: Ron Hutchinson
Producers: Stephen Hopkins, Jay Benson
Consulting producer: Ilene Kahn Power
Directors: Stephen Hopkins, Eric Bross
Director of photography: Joel Ransom
Production designer: David Fischer
Editors: Tod Feuerman, John Duffy
Music: Jeff Rona
Art director: Don Macaulay
Set decorator: Dominique Fauguet-Lemaitre
Casting: Mary Jo Slater, Steve Brooksbank
Cast:
Adam Kadyrov: Cliff Curtis
Mike McKay: Elias Koteas
Brent Delaney: Martin Donovan
Ben Edmonds: Balthazar Getty
Carole McKay: Mary McCormack
Fazal: Ritchie Coster
Ronny Cho: Nelson Lee
Alex Edmonds: Tony Musante
Tyler McKay: Justin Chatwin
Kahn: Brian George
Angie: Jennifer Rae Westleyear="none" />Editors: William Morris, Teki Cruickshank, Adrian Herrera, Fred Hawthorne, Marc Cahill, Michael Auerbach, Brian Horn, Jeff Cooper
Host: George Gray
Starring:
Todd Santos="none" />No MPAA rating " />Shane McCutcheon: Katherine Moennig
Dana Fairbanks: Erin Daniels
Alice Pieszecki: Leisha Hailey
Kit Porter: Pam Grierppencott, David Vanacore, Mark T. Williams
Main title theme: The O-Jays
Casting: Rob LaPlante...
- 1/27/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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