A film about prejudice
Jindabyne review
By
wreeve from London NW3
- 21
- 6
13th June 2007
A telling film in many ways. As the husband of an Australian 'sheila', I know Australia quite well - tho I must say I haven't spent any significant time in a place like Jindabyne. The film portrays some immediately recognisable Australian dynamics.
Aborigines feature quite heavily in this film. It doesn't quite capture their spirit or their reputation - tho it comes closer than any other film I have seen. The headline plot revolves around whether the four white weekenders are racist for not immediately reporting their discovery of a dead Aborigine woman in their remote fishing river. The implication is that if they had found an Aborigine man, or a non-Aborigine, or heaven-forbid a non-Aborigine man, then they'd have reacted differently.
The interest value of the film is that the headline plot is almost a sideline. This is no Wolf Creek but holds your interest thru-out. It is pretty, but not happy; it won't lift your spirits, but should get you thinking. Ultimately however it is telling that the lead actor of such a quintessially Oz film is Irish and the film has 'interest value' without ever becoming a great film.
