Walkabout (DVD)

A teenage girl and her small brother are left stranded in the middle of the outback with very little food and water. Not knowing what else to do, they walk, hoping to hit upon civilisation at some point. They find a waterhole in the middle of nowhere, which provides water and shelter for a while, but the weather is hot and the girl eventually has to accept that they are facing death. Then they meet an Aborigine boy in the middle of his walkabout - a coming of age ritual that teenagers are expected to go through - and he takes them under his wing. Will they find their way home? I have fond memories of this film. Made in 1971, I was a little too young to watch ...  Read the complete review

I have seen this film a few times now, and always find something new that I missed before. The director and writer was quite clever in interweaving the subjects of the father's suicide in the desert beside his burning car; the innocence of a young boy having an adventure in the outback; his sister who despite the awful reality of the situation remains under control, to protect him. Not to mention bringing in the Aborigine's own culture, which the actress Jenny Agutter is intrigued with. Well, that is until it has a direction that she did not perceive. The aborigine becomes involved with her in a way she does not appreciate. The atmosphere of the film is ...  Read the complete review

We were all immensely saddened by the recent death of Philip Schofield but I'm sure that you, like me, were incredibly intrigued by what was found by Andi Peters as he took charge of the house clearance. As we all know from the Daily Mirror Schofield had been secretly hoarding cans of luncheon meat but Peters also discovered some old radio tapes which are the only record of many shows that went unbroadcast. I'm pleased to announce that due to a favour that Andi Peters owed me (see my review on how to curry favour with TV producers) I now have one of those tapes. I'd like to share the transcript with you: Ernest Bagley : Hello, you're ...  Read the complete review

Walkabout portrays the exact opposite cultures of modern British civilization and Australian aboriginal society in a film of unusual depth and beauty. It is based around a brother and sister (Jenny Agutter) who become reliant on an aborigine man-child for survival after being abandoned by someone who I believe to be their father. While I wasn't expecting much from Walkabout (I purchased it because it was on my Amazon recommendations, it was cheap and not to forget the fact there is a naked person on the cover which is always a good selling point), I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised with the film. The first-rate acting from all is brilliant and ...  Read the complete review

Walkabout on the surface is a disneyesque adventure style film which you might have found yourself stuck infront of as a child in the christmas holidays. However, it is an immensley intellegent film by one of Britain's best directors, Nicholas Roeg. The film follows the intruiging narrative of a young girl and her brother who find themselves lost and stranded in the desert and are guided to saftey by an Aborigine through all the stereotypical scenes from an Australian desert. As it does this it also plays upon the interesting themes of culture to nature and the merging of identities, Roeg's love of playing around with and merging binary opposites ...  Read the complete review