A Sydney lawyer defends five Aboriginal Persons in a ritualized taboo murder and in the process learns disturbing things about himself and premonitions.
Director:
Peter Weir
From metacritic.com
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Title: The Last Wave (1977)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Richard Chamberlain | ... | David Burton | |
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Olivia Hamnett | ... | Annie Burton |
| David Gulpilil | ... | Chris Lee (as Gulpilil) | |
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Frederick Parslow | ... | Rev. Burton |
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Vivean Gray | ... | Dr. Whitburn |
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Nandjiwarra Amagula | ... | Charlie |
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Walter Amagula | ... | Gerry Lee |
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Roy Bara | ... | Larry |
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Cedrick Lalara | ... | Lindsey |
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Morris Lalara | ... | Jacko |
| Peter Carroll | ... | Michael Zeadler | |
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Athol Compton | ... | Billy Corman |
| Hedley Cullen | ... | Judge | |
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Michael Duffield | ... | Andrew Potter |
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Wallas Eaton | ... | Morgue Doctor |
A Sydney lawyer has more to worry about than higher-than-average rainfall when he is called upon to defend five Aboriginals in court. Determined to break their silence and discover the truth behind the hidden society he suspects lives in his city, the Lawyer is drawn further, and more intimately, into a prophesy that threatens a new Armageddon, wherein all the continent shall drown. Written by David Carroll <davidc@atom.ansto.gov.au>
I am a big fan of this film and may not be able to make a coherent case for it, especially after reading some of the lukewarm comments some of the viewers offer. I agree that some of the themes could have been developed better, and think that the ending smacks of a "Planet of the Apes" solution to a mystery, yet this film is superb for its relentless atmosphere of otherworldly possibility.
Perhaps I associate this film with the strangeness of the 1970's, when Pyramid Power, UFO cults, and interest in occult phenomena occupied much of popular culture. Weir plays on the apocalyptic feelings of many in that decade with his shots of mud falling from the skies and other phenomena. One of my all time favorite scenes is when Charlie the shaman visits the urbane upper-middle class household of Richard Chamberlain et al. and asks to see the family photo album. I still get chills up my spine thinking of that one.
An element that I enjoyed is the counter-intuitive idea that "there are no tribal aborigines" living in Australian cities...they are all assimilated into the European worldview. This opinion, asserted by the most prominent aborigine in the movie, is subverted bit by bit until the very structure of European logic (as represented by the lawyer Chamberlain) is completely undermined by the end of the movie. Another amazing touch is the juxtaposition of the aboriginal sacred cave complex and what the Europeans are using it for, and Chamberlains descent into all that darkness.
Don't try viewing this one on a commercial channel, it will make very little sense broken up in pieces. Rent it, suspend disbelief a little, and enjoy.