having been to the world premiere of this film in darwin last night i would like to give you all an idea about it. made by local film-maker Stephen Johnson, "Yolngu Boy" (pronounced "YOLNOO") is a fantastic effort by a first-time feature maker who struggled to get this made for 10 years. It showcases the top-ends' beautiful and haunting scenery very well and will do much to inspire others up here in Darwin and the Northern Territory. The story is the best aboriginal content film i have seen and the three young men starring are excellent even though none have acted before, actually i think that is a huge plus. the one criticism i have is the camera work which (particularly in the first half of the film) has way too much movement and is unnecessarily used when filming less than action. it made me feel a bit seasick. When used appropriately, and it certainly was at some times, it is a great effect....but not ALL the time. the helicopter shots of the coast of Arnhem Land are nothing short of spectacular and the truth of the lives of these young aboriginal boys struggling between the old world and the new is touching and inspiring. First rate effort. Support Aussie films AND do yourselves a favour all over the world by seeing this film....you will enjoy and learn.
8 Reviews
Solid
mighty_pickman7 January 2004
A very solid film. Nice, but not groundbreaking script, good solid acting by many first time film actors.
Camerawork too is solid but tries too hard at times to be fast paced & "exciting" when it is not really needed.
A film that deserves a wide audience around the world 7/10.
Camerawork too is solid but tries too hard at times to be fast paced & "exciting" when it is not really needed.
A film that deserves a wide audience around the world 7/10.
An excellent story of coming of age for three aboriginal boys
thealexanders20 January 2002
This movie will not be everyones cup of tea. You will know after the first 10 minutes whether you want to continue to watch it or not. It depicts the struggles experienced by aboriginal boys coming into manhood and is set in Gove, an isolated area of Northern Australia. The movie explores the pressures of living in such an isolated place combined with the desire to follow a cultural background vrs joining modern society. After seeing this film, one can understand the difficulty people like our three characters have, trying to find their way in life. The movie is not your zillion dollar hollywood production, but it is extremely well made and makes you feel like you are going through the trials with them. For a movie I could easily have not bothered with, I am glad it did. Highly recommended.
excellent plot, acting and scenery.
kelkaart1 February 2001
having been to the world premiere of this film in darwin last night i would like to give you all an idea about it. made by local film-maker Stephen Johnson, "Yolngu Boy" (pronounced "YOLNOO") is a fantastic effort by a first-time feature maker who struggled to get this made for 10 years. It showcases the top-ends' beautiful and haunting scenery very well and will do much to inspire others up here in Darwin and the Northern Territory. The story is the best aboriginal content film i have seen and the three young men starring are excellent even though none have acted before, actually i think that is a huge plus. the one criticism i have is the camera work which (particularly in the first half of the film) has way too much movement and is unnecessarily used when filming less than action. it made me feel a bit seasick. when used appropriately, and it certainly was at some times, it is a great effect....but not ALL the time. the helicopter shots of the coast of Arnhem Land are nothing short of spectacular and the truth of the lives of these young aboriginal boys struggling between the old world and the new is touching and inspiring. First rate effort. Support Aussie films AND do yourselves a favour all over the world by seeing this film....you will enjoy and learn.
Aboriginal Australians Choosing the 'Right Way' to Lead Their Lives
raiderhayseed21 November 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Australian cinematographer Dean Semler is perhaps best known for his work (and some say co- direction) of "Dances With Wolves" (1990). He got his start with the Australian Commonwealth Film Unit (a kind of half-arsed government propaganda body) and was involved in Ian Dunlop's striking ethnographic documentary,"Marrakulu Funeral - Yirrkala" (1974). That film tells the story of the funeral ceremony for an Australian Aboriginal clan leader.
The film was made at the request of the tribal elders, who wanted to ensure that a record remained of the "old ways", available for future generations.
At one stage of the film, the funeral is interrupted by some drunken young boys. They are told, in no uncertain terms, to leave immediately. There is no place for the profane in this sacred ceremony.
That problem is the narrative core of "Yolgnu Boy".(The Yolngu are an Indigenous Australian people inhabiting north-eastern Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. Yolngu means "person" in the Yolŋu languages. The term Murngin was formerly used by some anthropologists for the Yolngu)
It tells the story of the different life courses embraced by three young aboriginal boys, Lorrpu, Botj and Milika, who have undergone the initial rites of initiation given to young children.
Lorrpu and Milika are about to undergo the final rites conducted by the tribal elders that initiate boys into manhood.
The rites of initiation are described in the book that laid down the narrative structure for the first three Star Wars films of George Lucas. (Joseph Campbell's "Hero With A Thousand Faces" Fontana 1993 pages 137-142, 154-55, 174-5). They are a very serious undertaking. The well being of the clan group relies on the law and ritual imparted during these ceremonies. Those who are responsible for their administration are respected and feared (with good reason) by the community as a whole.
Milika is more interested in becoming a star player for the Essendon Australian Rules Football Club in Melbourne, at the southern extremities of Australia.
Botj, a rebel without a cause trouble maker has been refused initiation because of his errant ways. In fact he has just returned from jail in Darwin when the film begins, and after a night of petrol sniffing, vandalism and injurious self harm, is about to be sent back to there.
Lorrpu wants to stop this happening. He believes that if the tribal elders will not seek to reform Botj, then he should. He interrupts the tribal initiation rites to "go bush" with his two friends on a journey to Darwin. If he can make it to Darwin, he can argue Botj's case with tribal leader Dawu. They travel through much of the land seen in the Crocodile Dundee film.
Sadly, when they make it to Darwin, the errant Botj acts according to his worst instincts and self destructs, again, this time fatally.
The real significance of the film is its (perhaps) oblique depiction of a vibrant, all encompassing, tribal Australian Aboriginal culture that continues to exist as it has done for forty thousand years or more. Regardless of the encroachment on European civilisation, it is still possible for those who are willing to practise their cultural beliefs to do so. Those who are seduced by the squalor of the worst excesses of European culture will fall by the wayside. But the film presents a view that it is possible for Aboriginals to take what is good from both cultures.
From 1787 until 1971, the European colonists who had settled in Australia treated the aboriginal population as an illusion. The legal doctrine Terra Nullius claimed the land was empty when they arrived. (Search on Mabo and Wik in Wikipedia for details as to how that doctrine was overturned). The aboriginal culture was strong enough to resist the barbaric depredations of the white settlers. In the area in which this film was made, a Yolgnu leader, Noel Pearson, is in the process of creating a new way for the original owners to deal with the relatively new European culture.(Check him out in Wikipedia too).
The film was partly funded by the Yothu Yindi Foundation, and there a quite a few of the Yunupingu family (the driving force behind the Yothu Yindi band) involved in its making. You may recall the song (and video clip) "Treaty" which is used in this film.
While Australians have a great deal to be ashamed of in their treatment the indigenous population, but this film suggests that a mutually beneficial accommodation can be reached between two vastly different cultures.
The film was made at the request of the tribal elders, who wanted to ensure that a record remained of the "old ways", available for future generations.
At one stage of the film, the funeral is interrupted by some drunken young boys. They are told, in no uncertain terms, to leave immediately. There is no place for the profane in this sacred ceremony.
That problem is the narrative core of "Yolgnu Boy".(The Yolngu are an Indigenous Australian people inhabiting north-eastern Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. Yolngu means "person" in the Yolŋu languages. The term Murngin was formerly used by some anthropologists for the Yolngu)
It tells the story of the different life courses embraced by three young aboriginal boys, Lorrpu, Botj and Milika, who have undergone the initial rites of initiation given to young children.
Lorrpu and Milika are about to undergo the final rites conducted by the tribal elders that initiate boys into manhood.
The rites of initiation are described in the book that laid down the narrative structure for the first three Star Wars films of George Lucas. (Joseph Campbell's "Hero With A Thousand Faces" Fontana 1993 pages 137-142, 154-55, 174-5). They are a very serious undertaking. The well being of the clan group relies on the law and ritual imparted during these ceremonies. Those who are responsible for their administration are respected and feared (with good reason) by the community as a whole.
Milika is more interested in becoming a star player for the Essendon Australian Rules Football Club in Melbourne, at the southern extremities of Australia.
Botj, a rebel without a cause trouble maker has been refused initiation because of his errant ways. In fact he has just returned from jail in Darwin when the film begins, and after a night of petrol sniffing, vandalism and injurious self harm, is about to be sent back to there.
Lorrpu wants to stop this happening. He believes that if the tribal elders will not seek to reform Botj, then he should. He interrupts the tribal initiation rites to "go bush" with his two friends on a journey to Darwin. If he can make it to Darwin, he can argue Botj's case with tribal leader Dawu. They travel through much of the land seen in the Crocodile Dundee film.
Sadly, when they make it to Darwin, the errant Botj acts according to his worst instincts and self destructs, again, this time fatally.
The real significance of the film is its (perhaps) oblique depiction of a vibrant, all encompassing, tribal Australian Aboriginal culture that continues to exist as it has done for forty thousand years or more. Regardless of the encroachment on European civilisation, it is still possible for those who are willing to practise their cultural beliefs to do so. Those who are seduced by the squalor of the worst excesses of European culture will fall by the wayside. But the film presents a view that it is possible for Aboriginals to take what is good from both cultures.
From 1787 until 1971, the European colonists who had settled in Australia treated the aboriginal population as an illusion. The legal doctrine Terra Nullius claimed the land was empty when they arrived. (Search on Mabo and Wik in Wikipedia for details as to how that doctrine was overturned). The aboriginal culture was strong enough to resist the barbaric depredations of the white settlers. In the area in which this film was made, a Yolgnu leader, Noel Pearson, is in the process of creating a new way for the original owners to deal with the relatively new European culture.(Check him out in Wikipedia too).
The film was partly funded by the Yothu Yindi Foundation, and there a quite a few of the Yunupingu family (the driving force behind the Yothu Yindi band) involved in its making. You may recall the song (and video clip) "Treaty" which is used in this film.
While Australians have a great deal to be ashamed of in their treatment the indigenous population, but this film suggests that a mutually beneficial accommodation can be reached between two vastly different cultures.
Definiely worth watching...
donnasch16 March 2001
Many of my workmates had seen this, commented extremely positively and included the comment that they hoped that the Aboriginal kids would watch it. I have to admit that I was also impressed by Stephen Johnson's effort. I hope that a few in the public service and politics also watch this.
It doesn't mince around the issues plaguing many Aboriginal communities today in the Top End including that of petrol sniffing. Yet there is hope in this movie. As well as despair there is resilience evident.
Some commentators have commented on the script saying it has lacked that special something. I would comment that it is actually an accurate representation of how many Aboriginal people speak in this part of the world. It is realistic.
I really enjoyed the punchy cinematography and the music which was unobtrusive yet competely effective.
Definitely worth watching.
It doesn't mince around the issues plaguing many Aboriginal communities today in the Top End including that of petrol sniffing. Yet there is hope in this movie. As well as despair there is resilience evident.
Some commentators have commented on the script saying it has lacked that special something. I would comment that it is actually an accurate representation of how many Aboriginal people speak in this part of the world. It is realistic.
I really enjoyed the punchy cinematography and the music which was unobtrusive yet competely effective.
Definitely worth watching.
Interesting movie - animal lovers, beware
Andy-29615 January 2008
This is an interesting movie about three Australian Aboriginal teenagers, from Arnhem Land, who are in trouble with the law. In an advanced capitalist society like Australia, their chances to succeed in life seems about nil. The movie is a kind of fantasy in which they become men by escaping civilization and fleeing to the wild, submerging themselves into the traditions of their culture and becoming hunters. This is great for them, but it's terrible for the local fauna, who gets a real beating from the boys (the scene where a huge turtle is killed by the teenagers leaves a particular bad taste). Of course, in real life, it's white people that have destroyed the environment around the world; aboriginal people tend to live in equilibrium with nature. Still, I found a bit troubling the equivalence of newly found self-respect with hunting.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
