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Walkabout is incredibly slow and uneventful. The acting is surprisingly good and the cinematography is solid for the time (although there are quite a few still frames that stick out and don't mesh), but as a film, it wasn't a fun watch. Walkabout isn't really about enjoyment, though. Walkabout has a message it wants to convey and it does it very well. David Gulpilil, the aboriginal actor, only ever says one word in English and he's hardly an actor at this point in his career, but his body language and his eyes convey more emotion and storytelling than any words could have. I don't imagine this would be a film people watch 20 times, but it is a solid vessel for an important message. I hate preach films and I usually detest movies that try and coast by on being "an important film". Just that phrase "important film" I find nonsensical, but while Walkabout is primarily about its message, everything else works well enough to still be a real film. If you can tolerate the slow pace and aren't turned off by the constant hunting scenes (which I can only assume are real) Walkabout is look into a culture we hardly see and a beautiful nature film.
By : Greg Mueller | Date : 5 years ago
