BLU-RAY: Walkabout (1971)

 

Walkabout

Directed by Nicolas Roeg

Starring Jenny Agutter, Luc Roeg (credited as Lucien John), David Gulpilil (credited as David Gumpilil)

Max L. Raab-Si Litvinoff/20^th Century-Fox 1971

When a man takes his teenage daughter and younger son for a drive into the outback for a picnic, things take a shocking turn as he attempts to shoot them. Failing to do so, he torches the family car and turns the gun on himself.

The abandoned children are left to fend for themselves, as they try to make their way back home, or at least to familiar surroundings. They meet an aboriginal boy, who is on his traditional rite of passage (the “walkabout” of the title). Despite not being able to communicate verbally through their language barrier, the boy teaches them how to survive in their unfamiliar and harsh environment.

Walkabout is released on Blu-Ray in the UK by Second Sight on August 31^st 2020, so what better opportunity to revisit a film which stuck in my mind from my formative years of film watching, and has revealed more of its facets with subsequent viewings. My memory deceives me that it was on television frequently in my childhood, although a bit of digging reveals that the BBC screened it three times in that period. In the times before we had a video recorder, we must have watched all those screenings in our house.

Naturally, there were elements of the film that failed to register with me at that age. In that sense, it has always felt like the film has grown with me. My younger self viewed it simply as a tale of two stranded children trying to make their way back home, but revisiting Walkabout through the passing years revealed it also to be a tragic tale of cultures clashing, as well as an allegory of modern civilisation moving away from a simpler, perhaps more natural means of existence. As Jenny Agutter says in a fascinating interview included on this Blu-Ray release:

“It tells [its] story both very simply, but with all of the different layers as well. It’s very hard to say exactly what it’s about. You know, people say “what’s the film about?” I think, to me it’s about loss of innocence.”

At this distance, the casting is fascinating. Agutter was yet to make her breakthrough film, that perennial evergreen The Railway Children, although Walkabout would actually end up being released after that particular film. The casting of Roeg’s own son Luc may well have raised a few eyebrows (and might explain the pseudonym on the credits), but it perhaps makes sense that the child in a challenging role should have absolute trust in the director from the off – how better to have this than when the young actor’s father is in charge?

Also making his film debut here was David Gulpilil (curiously credited as David Gumpilil). His performance as the boy on walkabout is so astonishing that it’s truly a puzzle that he didn’t appear in another film for five years, when an impressive triumvirate of Mad Dog Morgan, Storm Boy (an AACTA nominated performance) and The Last Wave all followed in quick succession.

The Blu-Ray:

Walkabout gets the lavish treatment it deserves in Second Sight’s superb release. It is unquestionably one of the most beautifully shot films of its time, and the 4K scan and restoration allows Nicolas Roeg’s cinematography to shine.

Special features include a new audio commentary with Luc Roeg and David Thompson, new interviews with producer Si Litvinoff, Luc Roeg and Jenny Agutter, a new interview with Danny Boyle discussing Nicolas Roeg’s work, a 2011 BFI Q&A with Nicolas Roeg, Jenny Agutter and Luc Roeg and an archive introduction by Nicolas Roeg. The main feature also has optional subtitles.

The limited edition box set (3,000 copies) comes with new slipcase artwork by Michael Boland, a copy of Donald G. Payne’s original novel (with unique cover art), a facsimile copy of the original 65 page First Draft Script with preface by Daniel Bird and an additional book with new essays by Sophie Monks Kaufman, Simon Abrams and Daniel Bird, along with stills and lobby card images.

In conclusion:

Walkabout, along with the same year’s Wake In Fright were very much films made from an outsider’s view of Australia (and it’s fascinating to contrast and compare the two films), but they are frequently cited (and with good reason) as kicking off the new wave in Australian cinema, as indigenous filmmakers began to tell their own stories, and with government backing.

The word “seminal” may be somewhat too casually applied to some films, but in the case of Walkabout it is perfectly apposite. It is a shame that a documentary on the career of David Gulpilil (included with an earlier US release) couldn't be included here, but that's a relatively minor quibble overall. The wealth of supplementary materials included with this edition, both on the disc and in the package make up what must be the near-definitive document of this quite unique film, and another fine Second Sight release.

Walkabout is available directly from Second Sight Films for pre-order, released on August 31^st 2020. Click HERE to visit the product page (opens in new window).