We of the Never Never

"We of the Never Never" is a rare film. A near-epic made by and starring people from Australia. I can't really say whether no Hollywood people were involved, but it doesn't seem so.

Most Americans will have a some trouble understanding dialogue here and there. I have spent time in Oz and N.Z. and I didn't catch some of it. Just another reason why it's a true Australian production.

And it's quite upfront for 1982. The interaction/friction between Aboriginals and Whites is not most of the film, but a large part of it.

But to see it is to see something uniquely Australian, IMHO. Got to read the book!

This is an excellent film based on true experience in a harsh environment. So much better than most of the films of today. We need more of this type of film. It is not a feel good film only either as it is based on facts. True aborigines are fantastic people and it is a pity more and meaningful assistance wasn't provided way back then. They were a skillful and talented race from which we could have learned much and should have been treated with much more dignity. If only they had been incorporated in the decision making of how they would liked to have been treated things for them today might be different. The acting in the film is great and the casting excellent. The beginnings of some of the earlier acting careers of later familiar faces is great to witness. The comradeship and values (apart from those towards the aborigines) of the time is something that is not always evident today.

Watching the film straight after reading the book made for a very poor viewing experience. Where the characters in the book were alive and so multi-dimensional, they sadly lost most of that in the film, which chose to diverge from the book in so many places that it became unrecognizable. Key events in the film did not happen in the book and others that I considered important were omitted from the film. The book was set as a narrative, you were following her thoughts, listening to her voice and I wish they had transferred this concept to the film. Too many key characters were omitted from the movie and those that remained seemed to have lost their voices by being given too few lines. All in all a nice movie, and beautifully shot and acted, but not a true representation of the book or the true events.

Despite its rather rambling structure, this is movie is a great achievement - as a portrait of a 19th century, white Australian woman trying to cope with life in the outback. It's beautifully photographed, written and acted, with the exception of the male lead, who is astoundingly miscast. Such a shame, as otherwise this would have been a completely absorbing and accurate depiction of conditions faced by a woman, married to a typical man of the land; the only white woman in a very male world, and inn a world in which indigenous people are treated as third class citizens. I recommend this to schools and educators and to film historians - as an example of how to make a great movie with not much money and a lot of commitment. See the extras on the DVD - even in those, the male lead reveals himself to be completely out of step with the spirit of the film.

I had never heard of this film and spotted it on a shelf at a rental store some years ago. I started watching it (first few minutes is need to get you to the outback) and suddenly was engulfed by it's brilliance. I watched it all the way through then called three friends and threatened them if they didn't drop what they were doing and get to my house. We all watched it. They all paid the late fees so they could take turns having friends over to watch it. You think life is rough now? Wait till you see what this woman endures and conquers with her incredible husband, the ranch hands and the aborigines.