The way of the Outback warrior is revealed.
Groundbreaking and incredibly imaginative, Australia's official selection for this year's foreign language Oscar category,
Ten Canoes
, is a delightful blend of aboriginal stories set in the stunning Arnhem Land and its Arafura Swamp. The first feature film made in an aboriginal language,
Canoes
' narrative
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floats between the bubbling tongue of Ganalbingu and the soothing Aussie/English slang of actor/storyteller David Gulpilil.
Developed in the swamps with the help of the Ganalbingu clan, the film consists of a tale within a tale pre-empted (as cautionary stories often are) by a "wrong love" for a taken woman.
A pre-colonial Australia is magnificently depicted through sweeping naturalistic cinematography that slows the relentless pace of modern life down to an awed crawl. Get comfortable, because the pace is part of the experience, a story is like "a big tree" and a tree takes its own time to grow.
Jamie Gulpilil (son of David, the narrator), plays Dayindi, the recipient of the story, and Yeeralparil, an ancient character caught in a problem similar to the young man's. Dayindi's big problem? Well, he's in love with his brother's third wife, a "wrong love" if ever there was one. As the waters rise, a group of 10 hunters head out to the swamp to hunt magpies and gather their eggs, a perfect setting for Dayindi's older, wiser brother Minygululu to confront the problem with a story that "teaches how to act right." These fascinating sections of story within
a story feature the construction of 10 canoes and the
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hunting rituals of the clan. Shot in black and white, the cinematography is inspired by 1930s photographs by anthropologist Donald Thompson.
The ancient story that informs Dayindi is a grand and humorous tale following the plight of a hunter and his three wives. When a stranger enters the town, leaving behind black magic, the peaceful life of the village is turned upside down. Wives go missing, men are speared, war parties are called and the fun goes on and on, transforming what could have been a startling ethnographic masterpiece into an entrancing bit of entertainment. It's a win-win situation for intellectuals and amusement seekers alike. The modern story is depicted in color, symbolizing the richness of aboriginal history and culture.
While the pace of the narrator is decidedly methodical, one wouldn't want it any other way. His steady wording is tantamount to the efficiency of a story born from a vocal culture. If you couldn't write down your history, you'd take your time telling it right, and that's exactly what directors Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr do.
