Charlie’s Country (2013)

☆ ☆ ☆

Charlie’s Country (2013) – R. de Heer

David Gulpilil (Walkabout, The Last Wave) is charismatic as an elderly Aboriginal man in a remote community in the Northern Territory doing it pretty tough by modern standards.  You see, his culture has been pretty well eradicated by the incursion of white European culture, leaving him with few options but junk food, alcohol & drugs, and laws preventing him from hunting on his own.  When he decides to escape back to the bush to live by the old ways, he finds he is too old and sick to make a go of it.  After a stint in a hospital in Darwin, he joins up with a city-dwelling group of Indigenous people from another tribe and ends up in prison.  Only returning to his country and getting in touch with his traditions (dance, in particular) can bring Charlie peace.  Rolf de Heer’s film takes us to a place not often seen depicting situations as current as today’s headlines (Tony Abbott’s government is cruelly trying to close some remote indigenous communities).  However, it often feels didactic, scoring undoubtedly important points at the expense of a more naturalistic feel. Gulpilil (who co-wrote the script) is a star.