Walkabout

The cinematography in this film is genuinely up there with Paris, Texas for me. The Australian outback is such a vast and beautiful landscape and I feel like this film really captures the essence of that and shows it in the most down-to-earth way possible. What really brought it up for me though was the close up shots of the animals/shots of the wildlife and scenery. There are so many beautiful animals in Australia's wildlife and this film captures them so naturally; and what I love is that the film isn't congested with it, but they come in at just the right moments. There are shots of dead animals but I feel like it's just a reminder that this is the real world and that everything that happens is based around life and death and that we should come to terms with that. And I mean it goes for anywhere but nature is amazing and if you take the time to look you'll find lots of peace around you. I also really liked the scene of the girl swimming, not in a lustfull way, but it just felt so free and I feel like it's something everybody should experience (I'm yet to do so). I really liked towards the end of the film, how Roeg shows how bad colonisation is and mans inhumanity to the world. It was devastating seeing the (I think they were) water buffalos just being treated like they're inferior and being shot for fun; it was really sad seeing them later on. But I like how when we saw the animals during the shooting, that the camera was shaking, and it made me uneasy and put me on edge, like it was my nerves rattling. Those animals would've never heard of anything like it, and it would've been fucking scary. It's so sad that there are poachers and hunters that don't care for the world that they live in. Just completely soulless and un-empathetic. But to brighten up the mood a little, the music in this film is just perfect. Perfect perfect perfect. There's something about symphonic music that just makes me feel so whole as a person. It's fascinating how you can get all these instruments and splice them together and just make such a cool sound: it really makes me want to dive into more classical music. Another thing I really appreciate is the scene where the kangaroo was just killed and the guy on the radio is talking about maths. I love the contrast of how what we're taught in school and life is that maths and studies are important, whereas what's important in nature (everything the world knows) is survival and how we make use of our surroundings. I remember I was watching an episode of a cook's tour with Anthony Bourdain and it showed how when some countries use an animal for food, nothing goes to waste. It was interesting seeing how real people use real things around them for once in my life. And then in the next scene the kids bragging about multiplication and the lady's worrying about her hair (which is fine, it's what they've grown up to know) but the man's crafting spears. Not sure if this was entirely deliberate and that it's the message Roeg's trying to say but I feel like it's quite emphasised with these. I also really liked the flashback scenes of the car and their father etc. It's a great representation of what grief and trauma and how easy it is for your brain to be triggered back to its state at the time. And the rock art was also so cool and it's crazy to think that people did that tens of thousands of years ago. But yeah no flaws; beautiful cinematography, beautiful compositions. Nothing bad to be said. p.s. all of this was written when I was watching the film and I haven't been bothered to edit it so do what you will.