High Ground (2020)
February 4, 2021 2:14 AM - Subscribe
In a bid to save the last of his family, Gutjuk, a young Aboriginal man, teams up with ex-soldier Travis to track down Baywara, the most dangerous warrior in the Territory, his uncle.
Adding to the Australian 'western/outback' genre populated by films such as Sweet Country and The Proposition, High Ground deals with the violence brought to Australian Aboriginal country by the colonial police, squatters and missionaries.
The scenery is spectacular - Kakadu and Arnhem Land - and well worth a big-screen watch. While the dialogue is occasionally clunky, using direct speech once or twice to communicate without nuance to the audience, the use of Yolngu matha where relevant is rewarding.
While Jacob Junior Nayinggul shines as Gutjuk I was very taken by Esmerelda Marimowa's Gulwirri. Simon Baker and Jack Thompson both admirably fulfill their roles though I couldn't help thinking that Baker was not a natural in the saddle. Thompson, who is now 81, could not have made the film without the Purple Truck, a mobile dialysis machine that travels to remote communities in the outback.
Adding to the Australian 'western/outback' genre populated by films such as Sweet Country and The Proposition, High Ground deals with the violence brought to Australian Aboriginal country by the colonial police, squatters and missionaries.
The scenery is spectacular - Kakadu and Arnhem Land - and well worth a big-screen watch. While the dialogue is occasionally clunky, using direct speech once or twice to communicate without nuance to the audience, the use of Yolngu matha where relevant is rewarding.
While Jacob Junior Nayinggul shines as Gutjuk I was very taken by Esmerelda Marimowa's Gulwirri. Simon Baker and Jack Thompson both admirably fulfill their roles though I couldn't help thinking that Baker was not a natural in the saddle. Thompson, who is now 81, could not have made the film without the Purple Truck, a mobile dialysis machine that travels to remote communities in the outback.
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
Thanks for the rec! I can't stop contemplating human existence in pre-colonial Australia.
posted by porpoise at 6:52 PM on February 4, 2021