☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
The
Last Wave (1977) – P. Weir
This is Weir’s white western take on the
dreamtime, the aboriginal spiritual plane.
He doesn’t purport to understand and he passed the script through some
tribal elders and added material that they suggested. The indigenous actors here, apart from David
Gulpilil (who famously appeared in Walkabout), are non-professionals brought in
by Nandjiwarra Amagula who plays Charlie, the elder with the magical powers.
Richard Chamberlain is the protagonist with whom we identify as he makes
contact with a secretive Aboriginal group through his involvement as their
lawyer in a murder case and with the dreamtime through a series of premonitions
and visions. The film is full of
foreboding from start to finish and a persistent low rumbling on the soundtrack
keeps viewers on edge. A very mysterious film, filled with beautiful images,
that ties up some loose ends, but leaves an ominous feeling in the mind.
Perhaps this has something to do with white destruction of indigenous cultures?
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