Roger Ferns

This is the third film David Gulpilil has made with director Rolf de Heer. Ten Canoes was a 'Dreamtime' folklore reverie, and The Tracker a historical drama. Charlie's Country brings their vision to modern times, and a man's journey back home. The way that alcohol is still obtained by the aboriginal community in Darwin, even against strenuous prohibitions, shows government intervention to be futile. Gary Sweet is the shopkeeper who sells it to Charlie and sets off a chain of troublesome events. Sweet also played the sadistic colonial officer in The Tracker, so have things changed in 100 years? David Gulpilil is old now but his extraordinary grace and physical ease is still present, especially when he starts to teach the children traditional dancing. He has been a sentinel for his people in his many films and perhaps concludes a great career here, with Charlie's character typically a mixture of pride and resignation.