User reviews

I watched this film with little knowledge of its content apart from a vague recollection that there was a play by the same name from many years ago. I was pleasantly surprised by the movie and thoroughly enjoyed its humour and wackiness. I am northern European heritage but even I wanted to be an Aborigine for a day (watch the movie and you will know what I am talking about). Given the Indigenous population in Darwin where I live and the proximity of us to Broome there was always going to be some forgiveness for the inherent weaknesses in the movie. Hell, even though I haven't met Jess Mauboy personally, I know some people who were/are important in her life. I also have met and enjoyed a bit of time many years ago with Uncle Tadpole, Ernie Dingo. So I suppose you could say that I am more inclined to be supportive of this movie than not. That being said, I was in a cinema 80 per cent full and there was standing applause at the end by some. My 17 year old daughter who I thought would seriously savage the movie came out saying she really enjoyed it. Clearly, Geoffrey Rush is a standout, as with anything he delivers on screen. But this is not a movie about standouts. It delivers in the true Indigenous philosophy of a collaborative effort. The sum of the collaborative efforts is far greater than the individual parts. Go see it with no preconceptions and enjoy. I reckon the reason this quirky movie is so interesting is that it defies genre, unlike another poster that didn't seem to enjoy it because it didn't seem to fit a pre-defined mould.

BRAN NUE DAE (aboriginal speak for "Brand New Day") is a joyous musical romp which celebrates Australia's indigenous culture. The movie tells the story - in song, dance and dialogue - of an aboriginal boy's escape from a Catholic boarding school in Perth in the 1960s and misadventures with hippies (Missy Higgins and Tom Budge) and Uncle Tadpole (Ernie Dingo) in a "Kombi" Campervan on his journey back to his sweetheart in hometown, Broome, pursued by the relentless Father Benedictus (Geoffrey Rush).

In the 1990s, I had enjoyed the stage musical written by Broome musician/playwright, Jimmy Chi, but was intrigued as to how it might be adapted to the big screen. I was not disappointed. Director Rachel Perkins does a fine job of retaining the exuberance of the stage production while incorporating new elements that only cinema can provide. Like most road comedies, BRAN NUE DAE revolves around a series of skits, most of which are very funny. The cast are excellent, especially Ernie Dingo and Jessica Mauboy, with suitably over-the-top performances by Geoffrey Rush, Deborah Mailman and Magda Szubanski. The tunes are catchy and infectious.

BRAN NUE DAE touches lightly upon aboriginal rights issues, but mostly it is good old fashioned vaudevillian fun. Go see it!

BRAN NUE DAE is an utterly delightful new musical with an Indigenous Australian cast that is a sensational showcase of Aboriginal/Islander talent. Set in Broome in NW West Australia with spectacular natural scenery, BRAN NUE DAE revels in its silliness, sense of fun, community and absolute zinger talent. It is a musical road trip set in 1969 about a funny romantic schoolboy who falls in love and discovers hilarious family truths. It also clearly shows how photogenic our Aboriginal teens are, and with young-Elvis-like Rocky Mackenzie as Willie in a screen debut with gorgeous Jessica Mauboy as the focus, we are swept along for raucous dusty fun. It will appeal to cinema audiences as PRISCILLA did in revealing the beauty of Australian deserts and with top stars Geoffrey Rush and Magda Szubanski as key white talent in showstopper roles, the film has the broadest possible appeal. The songs are memorable and the imagery truly beautiful. BRAN NUE DAE is a tad edited down and short at 88 minutes, but that only means I wanted more. It is by turns hilarious, poignant and always visually stunning whether it be the faces or the landscape. If this is that start to a new decade in Oz film making, then I want more. No more dumb desert murder films. Lets go for fun and happiness and music music music. Ernie Dingo plays it like Uncle Remus and scores the best laughs.

Bran Nue Day has its heart in the right place it just doesn't quite pull it off! Its basically a musical road movie but its just a bit too silly for my tastes. There are some good elements - it moves along nicely, there are some good performances (Jessica Mauboy for one, Ernie Dingo is OK too), reasonable songs, its bright & paints Australias Broome in an attractive light. Other parts really could have done with some work though. The Tom Budge character (he plays Missy Higgins hippie boyfriend) is a complete joke & Geoffrey Rushs character is over the top too. Some of the choreography & miming are so bad, characters pop in & out with little relevance & the finale is woeful. With all that it is a pretty reasonable excuse for a mindless popcorn movie, it thats what you are looking for, this is your film.

With all the hype in the Aussie media about this, I expected an Australian equivalent to Cabaret, but this is closer to a "Road to..." movie with a black Crosby and Hope. This is farce with a touch of social comment, and when seen in that light could be funny and enjoyable. Personally I could not because of the gushy reviews I'd heard. One day I hope to not rush along, lemming-like, to see a movie because of a Julie Rigg exultation! Like many musicals, Bran Nue Dae has a barely believable plot, one dimensional characters, a resolution which makes a deus ex machina look believable and moderately interesting music.

Within these parameters director Rachel Perkins does a good job, but the star turn of the piece for me was Ernie Dingo as Uncle Tadpole. He's worth the ticket price on his own.

"Bran Nue Day" was one of the most magical nights I ever had in the theatre. The young Aboriginal cast was a delight and although the young experienced cast may not have had the polish of more seasoned performers it was still a warm engaging production. I had reservations about seeing the movie; I was worried it would become too slick and too polished. Director Rachel Perkins has assembled a cast of slick professionals such as Geoffrey Rush and Ernie Dingo and both give fine over the top performances but she has also gathered some new faces such as Jessica Mauboy and Rocky McKenzie who hold their own really well against the seasoned performers. Dingo carries the film and gives a fabulous performance in what is a purposely corny contrived plot. The contrivances worked superbly with a live audience but I am not sure if a film audience will enjoy it. Wisely the director has kept the film character driven rather getting carried away with location. .The only jarring note is Missy Higgins who seems wooden and uncomfortable. I have always found her to be a mediocre singer but she is an even worse actress. Still there is plenty to enjoy in the feel good musical. I warn you it is contrived but that's its charm and there is plenty of energy in the film. Rocky McKenzie is a real scene stealer and one of the most delightful young actors I have seen

The people who say this film is badly acted and cheesy just do not understand it. Just like Grease, it is meant to be a musical comedy and has aspects of great parody. Even as Missy Higgins is acting the wide eyed hippie, she's poking fun at hippies and the hippie era, as well as being affectionate towards it. I think she's brilliant in this film. There are some pretty dark themes such as alcohol abuse, deaths in police custody and homelessness -- and humour is used as an effective tool. Rather than trivialise the issues, it makes us look at them in a different way. Rather than state that all Europeans or all Aborigines are bad, the film shows us that people are often a mixture of good and bad. I think it's beautifully shot and directed and the actors, who clearly had a ball making it, do a fantastic job.

This movie was a pleasant surprise providing insights and realism of aborigines life and treatment. The musical numbers were quirky and entertaining. The two minute dance scene near the beginning, starting at 04:00 minutes to 06:00 minutes, is amazingly fantastic. I have watched it dozens of times. The camera work, the editing, the characters all combine to make a mesmerizing sequence. The characters seem like you could find them there today if you went to Broome, Western Australia, right down to the white folk sitting around in the periphery. And it looks like Jimmy Chi himself (author of the musical) is right up on stage playing with the band the Kuckles.

I was lucky enough to see a review screening of this movie. I have to say it is one of the best movies i've ever seen. What i would like to know is, when will it be shown at the cinemas for all to see? I recommend it to everyone. It showed so much more of Australian then the movie 'Australia' and it left you feeling so energised in your seat. The casting is fantastic, I was a little hesitant about a few, especially as they're many first timers for movies. At the end we were left wanting to sing some of the songs, and one could describe it as an 'Australian Bollywood' in the way it is brought together with so many songs throughout. Absolutely brilliant. I haven't seen the 'musical' version, but i wish i had! Wow what a movie. The time flies by so quickly!!!! Too quickly if you ask me!! Cant wait to see it again!

Bran Nue Dae is an Australian musical comedy based on a stage work of the 1990s. Set in 1869, it tells the story of Willie, a teen Aborigine from Broome whom his mum wants to become a priest, who runs out of his boarding school in Perth after a rebellious act against the priest-director of the school.

This is a very light-hearted movie, with a cheeky and somewhat absurd plot, very charming and unpretentious, with a bit of road movie and coming of age story. The characters are very real and warm, the Outback landscapes are fantastic, and the music is terrific, with catchy songs that, however, have lyrics that are relevant for Australian culture and indigenous Australians.

What is wonderful about the story is that Aborigines are the main actors, but they are not marginal people, they are normal characters, proud to be Australian and Aborigines, and that nothing is taken seriously or dramatically.

The acting by all the newcomers (singer Lisa Maubay, singer Missy Higgins, singer Dan Sultan, and HS student Rocky McKenzy) is decent enough to carry the story on, while Geofrey Rush, Deborah Mailman and Magda Subanski are terrific in their humorous small roles. Tom Budge is delightful as a German young man searching for his father. Ernie Dingo is also good in his role of uncle Tadpole, as well as Ningaly Lawford-Wolf as Willy's mother, Theresa.

The scene with the Aboriginal elders is truly terrific and magical and somewhat gets the spirit of the Australian Outback.

Lots of fun and a great vibe.

Bran nue dae is one of the best Aussie made feature films I've seen. The songs are natural and help to move the story along at a good pace. The camera work also works well to help tell the story of where our main character is heading along his journey back home to broome. The landscapes in the film are great and it has a lot of vibrant warm coulours. Even in the chapel scene when the priest is punishing the boys the director and costume department choose bright yellow shirts to give the scene a bit more of a warm comedic feel to it. The story is well written and well directed. The only thing I have to take marks off for is the clasification of the film. I think it should have been M rated due to a certain song sang in the bar scene. Other then that it is a well made Aussie film.

I rarely feel the need to walk out of a cinema mid film, or embarrassed that someone might recognise me viewing this film. It wuold seem Bran Nue Dae breaks all sorts of barriers.

I had high hopes that this would be a cleverly shot quirky comedy. What I got was a poorly shot, poorly scripted and poorly acted adaptation of a musical which should never have been made. Honestly some of the worst acting I've seen come out of this country in a long time (I'm looking your way Missy Higgins). There were some moments which I really enjoyed - Ernie Dingos performance was fantastic as was Dan Sultans. Both of these actors really added some depth to a very shallow film.

You'll feel awkward watching some characters, and even more awkward when they burst into song with poorly lip-synced numbers that seem to come out of nowhere. This is a fine example of how not to adapt a musical to the screen there's no lead up, no emotional evocation, just BAMN and you're assaulted with singing that's both irrelevant and uninspiring.

This film screams wasted potential, it could have been so much better. It really is the little details that spoiled this film. I regret sitting through the whole film. I should have walked out at the 30 minute mark but I stayed, hoping for some level of improvement.

Where the heck did Rocky McKenzie come from? Someone must have forgotten to tell him that unknown indigenous boys with no previous film experience don't upstage the likes of Geoffrey Rush, Magda Szubanski and Ernie Dingo in their debut, because that is exactly what he has done. From the moment McKenzie appears on screen he lights it up. The aforementioned Aussie heavyweights all provide superb support though, as does ex-Australian Idol Jessica Mauboy in a role that should see her offered some more in the future. Fellow singer Missy Higgins, Tom Budge and well-respected aboriginal actress Deborah Mailman don't fare as well mind you.

Rachel Perkins has said that when she saw the stage musical of the same name she knew she would have to bring it to the big screen one day. Her obvious adoration of the source material is a blessing, the light-hearted and enthusiastic atmosphere seeps onto the audience and makes her paean a sure-fire Summer smash. Perkins has delivered what so many Aussies - indigenous or otherwise - have wanted for so long, a movie where all Australian races are poked fun at. It is the ideal anecdote to the current trend of Oz productions dealing with issues both serious and heavy.

The musical numbers are of varying standards. The finest of them – a booming Ernie Dingo-led traditional piece and an opening number in the Roebuck Bay Hotel with Mauboy and co which kicks the film off with a blast – are not only enjoyable but set the tone at their respective parts of the flick. Others don't progress the story quite as well – Higgins idyllic hymn to the 'dusty road' or her alluring melody to boyfriend Slippery – and have a distinct 'video clip' feel to them, however they're still excellent songs.

Credit goes to Perkins for proving that Aussies can still have fun on celluloid.

4 out of 5 (1 - Rubbish, 2 - Ordinary, 3 - Good, 4 - Excellent, 5 - Classic)

Sadly, this film needs much tighter editing and better musical direction, also the dubbing and Foley are amateurish. There are some OK performances: Geoffrey Rush and Magda Szubanski are good (no surprise there), Ernie Dingo is charming (again, no surprise) and the scenery is terrific - this is a part of Australia that's not well-known yet is very photogenic. The songs are just OK, not fabulous but they serve the story, however the backing music is often jarring and like a 70's sitcom in its lack of subtlety. I think the musical has all kinds of potential as a film, but this version misses out. It's a shame, more attention to detail could have made this a real winner.

I didn't know the story of this movie - but was completely sucked in by the previews. What a fabulous movie. It's incredibly funny and odd and there is just some amazing cinematography.

It's a musical and the premise is that Rocky is studying to be a priest - we know from the outset that he's in love with Rosie (Jess Mauboy who is just going to be a superstar after this). After standing up to the head priest, Rocky takes off and heads home to Broome.

On the way he meets his 'Uncle Tadpole', and two hippies touring WA, a drunken prostitute who all end up on his journey home - all whilst the head priest is chasing him down.

There is one scene in particular which just blew my mind, jumps on the back of truck with a bunch of Aboriginal Footballers. Zorba the Greek starts playing and the footy team begin doing an amazing traditional dance which had the audience whooping with delight. Amazing! It's the little things in this movie that work so well and are so touching. And one point our hapless road gang are arrested after Uncle Tadpole steals from a Roadshop. Whilst the whites and the inexperienced Rocy fight the cops - Roxy and Uncle Tadpole walk to the cells without fight or comment.

Whilst the ending is ridiculous, who cares - at my screening the audience burst into applause. Everyone walked out on a high. If you're a Muriel's Wedding fan and you like your movies kinda kooky - then you'll enjoy this. This is feel good stuff.

Cheers!

This movie is absolutely ridiculous, random and - ultimately - confusing. Although the acting was reasonable, the film's genre alluded me: was it a musical, romance, comedy, adventure? It attempts to cross all these areas, but fails and becomes scattered and hap-hazard. Then there's the plot (or lack of!): is it about getting the girl? Defying people's expectations of you? A road trip? Getting home? Self-discovery? The film's lack of purpose leaves the viewer confused and lost, and the obviously recorded then synchronized songs don't help. And the ending!! It has to be the most laughable, you've-got-to-be-kidding-me closing scene I've ever seen: twist after twist after stupid, ridiculous twist. In conclusion, I'd recommend watching this movie if and only if you are incredibly bored, don't mind your intelligence being insulted, and want a good laugh at how hopeless the characters and plot are.

It's Australia in the late sixties and Willie (Rocky McKenzie), a young Aboriginal boy, runs away from Catholic boarding school to embark upon a musical adventure back to his hometown, Broome. Along the way he sings songs, makes new friends (including a wily hobo, a German backpacker attempting to latch onto the free spirit of the Woodstock-generation, and a tragically horny shopkeeper), and has a series of episodic (mis)adventures. The plot doesn't really get much deeper than that. There is a love story thrown in there somewhere and it verges on social commentary at times, but this feel-good musical romp doesn't even try to get close to well thought out narrative structure.

That, however, is not its mission. It doesn't want to be just another in the long catalogue of dark and difficult aboriginal dramas. It just wants to be an hour and a half of Australian reminiscence for the good old technicolour days, and this it does very well. The aesthetics throughout the film are wonderful, saturated as they are with the gaudy colours of an un-hip 1969 rural Western Australia, and all of the actors (notable Ernie Dingo's 'Uncle Tadpole') perform their roles with such a well-meaning sense of fun and good-nature that it's hard to give this film too bad a rap.

Judging this film solely on its elements of fun, however, also has its problems. There aren't enough songs and when they do appear they aren't particularly catchy and their accompanying dance routines lack energy and verve. Unfortunately the star-studded cast, full of well-known Australian singing talents (Dan Sultan, Missy Higgins, Jessica Mauboy) don't lift the scant numbers of this one out of their bland doldrums. For a musical, I've got to say that it doesn't impress very much musically.

It's moments of comedy, however, do really get the belly-laughs out. Geoffrey Rush's maniacal German priest, Higgins' spaced-out hippie, and Dingo's walking stereotype are all hilarious in their ineptitude and occasional pearls of homespun wisdom, and guest appearances by Madga Szubanski and Deborah Mailman are more than enough to cement Bran Nue Dae into the cannon of great comedies that won't translate outside of Australia.

This being said, these moments spectacular hilarity sadly still aren't enough to drown out all the of the gaping flaws in this film. The love story sub-plot makes no sense, the character development is minimal if it's there at all, and motivation for any of the action is sorely lacking, and it for these reasons that I can't really recommend it as any kind of triumph of Australian musical cinema. It has its moments of fun and the kids will love it, but I can't see it being put up there with the likes of Muriel's Wedding (1994) or The Castle (1997) any time soon.

Today I went and saw "Bran Nue Day," I have seen the trailer a few times before its release and I've got to say it looked really good and I could tell it was going to be a very good movie, My friends had a few doubts due to the fact Jess Mauboy and Missy Higgns have never acted before. But now actually seeing the movie i found that not a problem at all, I think the person who played Willie was a brilliant actor (Not sure of the actors name) and I think Erine Dingo was the highlight of the cast playing Uncle Tadpole. Myself and the rest of the cinema found ourselves laughing a lot and I couldn't help keeping a big stupid grin on my face, The music was just fantastic and if i had know the lyrics i would've sung along, but instead i just tapped my foot, It was the best movie i have seen in a long time, A feel good, Aussie, Musical, Comedy, Adventure movie. I recommend it to anyone, any age, from anywhere, The only down side is that Jess Mauboy was a tiny bit cheesy and was a bit of a let down compared to everyone else but did a very good job for her first time acting. Props to Missy Higgns for making me love the film even more, Her sining and acting, just superb.