10 canoe

An outstanding movie. Storytelling at its finest. Ten canoes is a story within a story and delves into a world that people rarely no about. Away from the clichéd Aboriginal art and instruments - we are propelled to live by proxy with two generations and experience their world, their humour. This was one of two most outstanding movies at this year's Cannes film festival. The only shame was that it was not in the official competition section but in the un certain regard. /however, showing great wisdom, the jury did realise and rightly so award for the first time ever a special jury prize to Ten Canoes. Written, shot and directed with a deft touch. Sheer class.

The English philosopher Thomas Hobbes, who lived to be 92 and spent much of his life in the aristocratic splendour of Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, famously opined that the life of primitive man was "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short". Jacques Rousseau, on the other hand, in direct contradiction of Christian theology, was convinced that man had been born good, and that primitive man was indeed the "noble savage".

Rolf de Heer, a maker of small, quirky and interesting films ("Bad Boy Bubby", "The Old Man Who Read Love Stories", "The Tracker"), probably doesn't subscribe to either notion. In this exquisitely photographed tale from the mythical past he lets the aboriginals of the Arafura wetlands, Arnhem Land, tell their own story. Apart from David Gulpilil, who provides a gentle, teasing voice-over, and his son Jamie, all the parts are played by non-professional actors from the district. Apart from the voice-over, all the dialogue is in the local aboriginal language (don't worry, there are sub-titles).

While on a goose egg hunting trip, Older Brother , who has noticed his younger brother's interest in one of his wives, tells Younger Brother a story from a much earlier time, of another younger brother who yearned after his older brother's wife. Without giving the story away, the moral is "be careful about what you wish for, you might get it", but much happens in between. It becomes evident that these "savages", as well as possessing a robust sense of humor, have a legal system that minimizes the damage done by crimes. It seems that neighboring tribes, whose language our tribe scarcely understands, will play by the same rules. Once honour is satisfied, the matter is at an end. The story gives us an insight as to how aboriginal society remained stable for so long prior to contact with Europeans.

It is hard to comment on the acting, other than to say the characters seem completely authentic. The tribe's sorcerer, for instance, likes to choose a bone to wear in his nose to suit his mood or the occasion, just as your local GP might like to select a bow tie before opening his surgery. But I have to mention Crusoe Kusddal as Ridjimiraril, the older brother in the myth. His language means little to us, but his expression everything.

The scenes on the goose-hunt, which book-end the main story, are in black and white, a tribute to earlier photographers in Arnhem Land, but most of the film is in colour, which does full justice to the landscape. This is no Garden of Eden – the necessity to build tree platforms while camping in the swamp is evidence of that (though we see no actual crocodiles). Yet the aborigines manage to live within the environment without despoiling it or each other. Theirs is a patriarchal society but women are protected by the rules as well as by their menfolk. The movie is a fascinating glimpse into the culture, told in a disarmingly humorous fashion, by the people themselves. One should not be too misty-eyed about this – the cast probably watch "The Simpsons" via satellite at home – but they have given us both a droll tale and some food for thought.

Wow. If your main prior experience of Aboriginal film is with black and white documentary footage from the 50s and 60s or with the many films examining the impact of white culture on black society and the often tragic results of their interplay, this will turn it on its head. The movies worships nature and the land in the same way Aboriginal culture views the land not as backdrop or something to be exploited, but as almost human itself. Without qualification or embellishment, the camera marvels at the beauty of the landscape, and we do too. The story is set many generations ago, but there is no sense of time; it could be yesterday, or 40,000 years ago. Time hasn't changed the way of life of the people we are introduced to nor the lessons the young must learn to reach maturity, as our hero Yeeralpiril discovers. David Gulpilil's narration is so masterful it suggests he has another twenty stories up his sleeve just as beguiling to tell you as this one. Film-making like this is a rare experience. Let there be more.

I encourage you to also read the other comments on this site for TEN CANOES as each also will add to the clear understanding of this astonishing Australian film by master film maker Rolf DeHeer. He is a Dutch immigrant to Australia whose unique look at this country has now produced a superb library of films each different, that contribute to a fascinating movie spectrum of impressions of Australian life. TEN CANOES is an Aboriginal parable set possibly ten thousand years ago. It has hilarious casual dialog and familiar situations depicting tribal family and community life that humanizes this people in a heightened way so accessible to audiences of 2007. At this time in a new century we are now blessed with a sequence of Australian aboriginal themed films I encourage you to find and view in their production order: JEDDA directed by Charles Chauvel in 1956, WALKABOUT d: Nicolas Roeg in 1970, STORM BOY in 1976, THE LAST WAVE d: Peter Weir in 1977, RABBIT PROOF FENCE d; Phil Noyce in 2003, THE TRACKER d Roldf De Heer, and now TEN CANOES. Incredibly and as a bonus celebrated Aboriginal actor David Gulpilil features in all of them except Jedda... and as a bonus in theme, his son Jamie is the lead actor in TEN CANOES with David narrating. TEN CANOES will take you to a reality and a community unlike anything ever depicted in any film ever. As alike those above, it is presented and magnificently filmed in cinemascope differently to any Australian (or 'primitive') feature I have ever had the fascinating engrossing pleasure of seeing. Just to study the timeless faces alone is a peep into history and often delivered with very funny and genuinely suspenseful and heartwarming results. De Heer is now a film maker par excellence now finally getting major recognition in this country with a broad range of different and arresting films unlike any other film maker I can name. just for starters, check out the comments for BAD BOY BUBBY, ALEXANDRA'S PROJECT, THE QUIET ROOM, alone for a jaw dropping range of themes. Even if you see TEN CANOES and find the journey into the Australian stone age initially difficult, you will be astonished at the visuals presented and in awe of the fact this was ever captured on film with such humor and accessible humanities.

Rolf de Heer's film premiered as part of the Adelaide Festival with sound problems dogging the otherwise pristine print. The film looks great, and the narration with David Gulpilil is too important to miss, obviously, as I found it very difficult to keep up with the extremely complex set up/story. When hearing a new language such as this it is important to hear things clearly - sadly the capacity of the Adelaide Festival to screen the film was lacking on this front.

That said, the film is filled with compelling visuals not unlike one of the earlier films of de Heer, and it has some very quaint (albeit base) amusement wrapped into the story.

Set a 1000 years ago before white fellas came to Australia, this is a dual story, one told in the immediate black and white/sepia world of reality, and one told in the rich color of the Aboriginal dream time... both stories are pretty much the same, and the roles are played by the same actors in each, so there are points where it's easy to get a little confused by who is doing what and when - but over all this is what you'd call a worthy film - it has the look of an old documentary at times, and that's not a bad look.

I enjoyed it despite the technological problems of this screening.