This is a part of an ongoing project in which I watch one movie from a different country every week.
PLOT: In northern Australia, an Indigenous Aboriginal man named Minygululu (Peter Minygululu) realizes that his younger brother, Dayindi (Jamie Gulpilil), is in love with one of his three wives. During a hunting trip, he tells Dayindi a story set during the time of their ancestors. Through the story the impatient younger brother learns how find balance in life.
Just a heads up, the above trailer is NSFW because it contains a good deal of non-sexual nudity.
MEMORABLE MOMENT: The audience learns all the horrors that might befall you if an evil sorcerer gets a hold of your feces. He could put it in a tree and every time the branches rub together you will suffer from a sore throat. He could set it on fire and kill you. Or he could use it to steal your soul. Not the kind of magic taught at Hogwarts.
IMDB TRIVIA
- Ten Canoes was the first major Australian feature completely filmed in an Indigenous language.
- The canoes in the film were made according to original tribal methods, using directions from elders who had not made them for at least fifty years.
- During shooting in the remote Arafura Swamp, the crew required eleven crocodile spotters.
WHO IS THIS MOVIE FOR?: Anyone who is a fan of Terrence Malick (The Tree of Life, Badlands) will love the natural beauty and mythic themes found in this film. I would also recommend this movie to people who want to see a film set in a culture seldom represented in Hollywood. In many ways Ten Canoes is unlike anything else I have seen before.
WHERE CAN YOU FIND IT?: Netflix DVD. You can also buy the DVD on Amazon but the first price that came up for me was $67.99. So, yeah, just get it from Netflix.
RUNTIME: 90 minutes.
DIRECTOR:
Rolf de Heer
Peter Djigirr
WRITTEN BY:
Rolf de Heer
STARING:
Crusoe Kurddal
Jamie Gulpilil
Peter Minygululu
