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y separately published work icon Walkabout single work   criticism  
Issue Details: First known date: 2003... 2003 Walkabout
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Nicolas Roeg's Walkabout opened worldwide in 1971. Based on the novel of the same name by James Vance Marshall, it is the story of two white children lost in the Australian Outback. They survive only through the help of an Aboriginal boy who is on walkabout during his initiation into manhood. The film earned itself a unique place in cinematic history and was re-released in 1998.

In this illuminating reflection on Walkabout, Louis Nowra, one of Australia's leading dramatists and screenwriters, discusses Australia's iconic sense of the outback; and the peculiar resonance that the story of the lost child has in the Australian psyche. He tells how the film came to be made and how its preoccupations fit into the oeuvre of both its director and cinematographer Nicolas Roeg, and its screenwriter Edward Bond.

Nowra identifies the film's distinctive take on a familiar story and its fable-like qualities, while also exploring the film's relationship to Australia and its implications for the English society of its day. He recognizes how relevant the film is to the contemporary struggle to try and find common ground between blacks and white.' -- Currency Press (2003)

Notes

  • Book launched by Rachel Perkins as part of 'The Persistence of Vision Film Festival Symposium' marking the 50th anniversary of the Sydney Film Festival on 3 June 2003, Seymour Theatre Centre, Chippendale.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

VIEW PUBLICATION DETAILS FOR ALL VERSIONS ()

Works about this Work

The Aboriginal Trauma Narrative and Roeg's Walkabout Philip Hanson , 2017 single work criticism
— Appears in: Studies in Australasian Cinema , vol. 11 no. 2 2017; (p. 85-101)

Marshall's Walkabout and Nicolas Roeg's adaptation of that novel appeared at different points in Aboriginal trauma narrative constructions. Works often appear before a trauma narrative is complete. In this article, I employ an analysis of the imperial gaze as a way of evaluating the two works. I investigate Nicolas Roeg's 1971 adaptation of the novel in the context of the evolving Australian Aboriginal trauma narrative and also in the context of the Aboriginal narrative being one narrative among many in the larger global civil rights narrative. The source novel is itself the product of a stage in the Aboriginal trauma narrative. As the trauma narrative evolves, it opens up new definitions of the experience represented in the novel. Roeg examines and engages these developments in his adaptation. Roeg revises the racial and domestic logic of the novel, exposing its civil rights ethics as a product of arrested development. His film is best understood if one understands that it exists as part of the building of a larger trauma narrative.
Skimming the Surface : Walkabout by Louis Nowra Dan Edwards , 2004 single work review
— Appears in: Senses of Cinema , July - September no. 32 2004;
— Review of Walkabout Louis Nowra , 2003 single work criticism ; Walkabout Edward Bond , 1971 single work film/TV
Criticism Without Myth? Richard Smith , 2004 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Humanities Review , April no. 31/32 2004;
— Review of The Devil's Playground Christos Tsiolkas , 2002 single work criticism ; Walkabout Louis Nowra , 2003 single work criticism ; The Mad Max Movies Adrian Martin , 2003 single work criticism
Walkabout : Seeking the Silenced Voice Alexis Wright , 2003 single work review
— Appears in: Realtime , December-January no. 58 2003; (p. 23)
— Review of Walkabout Louis Nowra , 2003 single work criticism 'In this illuminating reflection on Walkabout, a leading Australian dramatist and screenwriter Louis Nowra discusses the iconic status of the Outback in Australia and the peculiar resonance of the lost child story in the Australian psyche. He tells how the film was made and how its preoccupations fit into the oeuvre of director and cinematographer Nicolas Roeg and screenwriter Edward Bond. Nowra identifies the film’s distinctive take on a familiar story and its fable-like qualities, while also exploring its relationship to Australia and its implications for the English society of its day. He recognises the film’s relevance to the contemporary struggle to find common ground between blacks and whites. ...'
Looking Back, Looking Forward : the Sydney Film Festival at 50 Tina Kaufman , 2003 single work criticism
— Appears in: Senses of Cinema , May-June no. 26 2003;
Critics on Classics Terry Oberg , 2003 single work review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 26 July 2003; (p. 8)
— Review of Walkabout Louis Nowra , 2003 single work criticism ; The Devil's Playground Christos Tsiolkas , 2002 single work criticism ; The Mad Max Movies Adrian Martin , 2003 single work criticism
Screen Printing Craig Mathieson , 2003 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 21 October vol. 121 no. 6395 2003; (p. 98)
— Review of The Devil's Playground Christos Tsiolkas , 2002 single work criticism ; Walkabout Louis Nowra , 2003 single work criticism ; The Mad Max Movies Adrian Martin , 2003 single work criticism
Ageing with Film Brian McFarlane , 2003 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 254 2003; (p. 30-31)
— Review of Walkabout Louis Nowra , 2003 single work criticism ; The Devil's Playground Christos Tsiolkas , 2002 single work criticism
Criticism Without Myth? Richard Smith , 2004 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Humanities Review , April no. 31/32 2004;
— Review of The Devil's Playground Christos Tsiolkas , 2002 single work criticism ; Walkabout Louis Nowra , 2003 single work criticism ; The Mad Max Movies Adrian Martin , 2003 single work criticism
Skimming the Surface : Walkabout by Louis Nowra Dan Edwards , 2004 single work review
— Appears in: Senses of Cinema , July - September no. 32 2004;
— Review of Walkabout Louis Nowra , 2003 single work criticism ; Walkabout Edward Bond , 1971 single work film/TV
Looking Back, Looking Forward : the Sydney Film Festival at 50 Tina Kaufman , 2003 single work criticism
— Appears in: Senses of Cinema , May-June no. 26 2003;
The Aboriginal Trauma Narrative and Roeg's Walkabout Philip Hanson , 2017 single work criticism
— Appears in: Studies in Australasian Cinema , vol. 11 no. 2 2017; (p. 85-101)

Marshall's Walkabout and Nicolas Roeg's adaptation of that novel appeared at different points in Aboriginal trauma narrative constructions. Works often appear before a trauma narrative is complete. In this article, I employ an analysis of the imperial gaze as a way of evaluating the two works. I investigate Nicolas Roeg's 1971 adaptation of the novel in the context of the evolving Australian Aboriginal trauma narrative and also in the context of the Aboriginal narrative being one narrative among many in the larger global civil rights narrative. The source novel is itself the product of a stage in the Aboriginal trauma narrative. As the trauma narrative evolves, it opens up new definitions of the experience represented in the novel. Roeg examines and engages these developments in his adaptation. Roeg revises the racial and domestic logic of the novel, exposing its civil rights ethics as a product of arrested development. His film is best understood if one understands that it exists as part of the building of a larger trauma narrative.
VIEW ALL WORKS ABOUT (8)
Last amended 27 Jul 2015 13:25:21
Subjects:
  • Walkabout Edward Bond , 1971 single work film/TV
  • Australian Outback, Central Australia,
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