Yolngu Boy

having been to the world premiere of this film in darwin last night i would like to give you all an idea about it. made by local film-maker Stephen Johnson, "Yolngu Boy" (pronounced "YOLNOO") is a fantastic effort by a first-time feature maker who struggled to get this made for 10 years. It showcases the top-ends' beautiful and haunting scenery very well and will do much to inspire others up here in Darwin and the Northern Territory. The story is the best aboriginal content film i have seen and the three young men starring are excellent even though none have acted before, actually i think that is a huge plus. the one criticism i have is the camera work which (particularly in the first half of the film) has way too much movement and is unnecessarily used when filming less than action. it made me feel a bit seasick. when used appropriately, and it certainly was at some times, it is a great effect....but not ALL the time. the helicopter shots of the coast of Arnhem Land are nothing short of spectacular and the truth of the lives of these young aboriginal boys struggling between the old world and the new is touching and inspiring. First rate effort. Support Aussie films AND do yourselves a favour all over the world by seeing this film....you will enjoy and learn.

This movie will not be everyones cup of tea. You will know after the first 10 minutes whether you want to continue to watch it or not. It depicts the struggles experienced by aboriginal boys coming into manhood and is set in Gove, an isolated area of Northern Australia. The movie explores the pressures of living in such an isolated place combined with the desire to follow a cultural background vrs joining modern society. After seeing this film, one can understand the difficulty people like our three characters have, trying to find their way in life. The movie is not your zillion dollar hollywood production, but it is extremely well made and makes you feel like you are going through the trials with them. For a movie I could easily have not bothered with, I am glad it did. Highly recommended.

A very solid film. Nice, but not groundbreaking script, good solid acting by many first time film actors.

Camerawork too is solid but tries too hard at times to be fast paced & "exciting" when it is not really needed.

A film that deserves a wide audience around the world 7/10.

Many of my workmates had seen this, commented extremely positively and included the comment that they hoped that the Aboriginal kids would watch it. I have to admit that I was also impressed by Stephen Johnson's effort. I hope that a few in the public service and politics also watch this.

It doesn't mince around the issues plaguing many Aboriginal communities today in the Top End including that of petrol sniffing. Yet there is hope in this movie. As well as despair there is resilience evident.

Some commentators have commented on the script saying it has lacked that special something. I would comment that it is actually an accurate representation of how many Aboriginal people speak in this part of the world. It is realistic.

I really enjoyed the punchy cinematography and the music which was unobtrusive yet competely effective.

Definitely worth watching.

This is an interesting movie about three Australian Aboriginal teenagers, from Arnhem Land, who are in trouble with the law. In an advanced capitalist society like Australia, their chances to succeed in life seems about nil. The movie is a kind of fantasy in which they become men by escaping civilization and fleeing to the wild, submerging themselves into the traditions of their culture and becoming hunters. This is great for them, but it's terrible for the local fauna, who gets a real beating from the boys (the scene where a huge turtle is killed by the teenagers leaves a particular bad taste). Of course, in real life, it's white people that have destroyed the environment around the world; aboriginal people tend to live in equilibrium with nature. Still, I found a bit troubling the equivalence of newly found self-respect with hunting.