Ten Canoes - 2007

Directed By: Rolf de Heer, Peter Djigirr
Cast: Crusoe Kurddal, James Gulpilil, Richard Birrinbirrin, Peter Djigirr, Peter Minygululu, Frances Djulibing, David Gulpilil, Johnny Buniyira,

Ten Canoes tell the story of a young Aboriginal as he takes part in his first Goose Hunting. As he journeys with his fellow hunters, he father tells him a story. The film is broken down between the contemporary tale, told in black and white, and the story of their ancestors, shot in colour. Intercutting between the black and white and colour we explore these characters and the traditions which make up their culture. The contemporary Aboriginal characters are playing the characters in the colour flashbacks.

The film itself is gloriously well shot and acted film which derives great humour from the films story. As the contemporary hunters search for goose eggs and build canoes from tree bark, teasing one another, the father imparts some knowledge, which becomes the colour back story.
This flashback tells the story of a tribal leader whose brother is in love with one of his wives. As the story unfolds, and Dayindi (Jamie Gulpilil) is taught to hunt for goose eggs, he also learns a valuable lesson about life, and love.

What is remarkable about this film is that it explores ancient methods of story telling and male bonding and captures it so enjoyably on screen. Cinema is a modern form of storytelling and as such has struggled at times to convey the qualities of other forms of storytelling. In the early sound era, some believed that sound would rob cinema of its uniqueness in being a visual way of telling stories, yet cinema adjusted and its language evolved. So for director Rolf de Heer, who shot natives of Australia using a native language, he has captured, in a truly beautiful way this ancient form of storytelling. The most strikingly noticeable example of this is that the contemporary setting is in black and white, yet the flashback occurs in colour. Usually in cinema it would be the flashback that is in black and white, but that would diminish the significance of the story and its message. It is the everyday life that is black and white, for these natives, the past, their ancestors and the stories passed down are those which offer the most vibrancy.

Stylistically the film is very simple, wide angle shots, and simple close ups lay out the story in a simplistic form. This works to the films advantage. The use of the same actors in both stories also helps create a truly native form of storytelling. Aboriginals did not so much believe in ancestors as in themselves being the actual reincarnations of their ancient relatives so the casting makes perfect sense and also works to reinforce the events and draw parallels between the two.

A superb look at the Aboriginals and their ancient storytelling. De Heer uses a great array of cinematic techniques to explore these characters and their storytelling. Engaging, visually stunning and fantastically performed.