Charlie’s Country (English, 2014)

Charlie – portrayed by David Gulpilil through whom the audience witness the entire story is brilliant. As this movie is more of a single character viewing the marginalization of the aboriginal tribes in current Australia – David Gulpilil plays the 70 year old member of a tribe who have now lost their tradition and are adjusting in a society that looks down upon them and doesn’t give them space to lead their own lives. In essence this film is a milder take on the Australian society when compared to Ted Kotcheff’s unsettling Wake In Fright.

In essence David is the tragicomic hero – when he says proudly about the time when he danced in front of Queen Elizabeth during the opening of the Sydney Opera House or when he spends all the money he has on ‘grog’ with a few other fellow tribesmen because that is the only way he can have some peace – the character’s plight comes across. After sometime you might forget that there is an actor inhabiting the role of the protagonist – this is one great feat.

From the police officer who calls him ‘Charlie’ because he is unable to pronounce his original tribe name, to the white men in the city close by (Darwin) who subject them to unfair treatment just because they feel so – the marginalization is portrayed in a effective way. The treatment in effect is not something so oppressing, but as Charlie feels throughout, the minor ways his freedom is curbed so that he cannot live a life that is natural to him in a country that is more his, than the white men’s is shown in a haunting way. Any person who has experience his freedom being lost in the most smallest of ways can associate with the plight of Charlie.

The movie has its share of fun moments. Not the laugh out loud moments. But little moments of chuckles spread throughout. When Charlie takes the policemen and investigates the tracks of drug traffickers or the scenes where he borrows the car of the policemen are enjoyable and they give a common man color to Charlie that everyone can relate to.

The cinematography, editing, the music and all the other technical departments complement the director Rolf de Heer’s vision of realistic portrayal of the unconventional hero and hence they do not standout. But there are a couple of shots that are beautiful in conveying by symbolism the situation at hand. A shot where burning embers slowly die down when the nature brings down its fury as slowly washes out Charlie’s try at living along with the nature. There is another shot of brilliance when Charlie, who we have been seeing with his hair and beard grown as wild as him throughout the movie – is shaved clean in prison to reveal a week and meek himself. The shot itself seems to be an analogy of the laws of white men emasculating him.