Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Ten Canoes & Samson & Delilah

I have watched a few really good aboriginal films recently (not including Rabbit-Proof Fence that I blogged about earlier).  They are Ten CanoesSamson & Delilah.  Both are set in the Northern Territory in native language with English subtitles. I actually watched them on you-tube on my days off after having them recommended.

Ten Canoes (2006) is a story within a story and is set pre-European.  We are told a story of an older man, Minygululu, who had three wives, and realizes that his younger brother Dayindi may try to steal away the youngest wife. So he tells another story of times past to try to teach his younger brother better ways.

It really gives you an idea of how each 'mob' (aka tribe) had there own set of values, rules and language. It shows how payback was an accepted part of culture for most mobs.  I think it also shows how woman were (and still are) possessions. When I talked about the movie to one of the Sergeants where I work, he thought it was a true reflection though he also had mixed feelings about it, as he has sadly arrested a number of the male actors for serious domestic violence over the years. Below is the tralier.

Ten Canoes


While I think Ten Canoes is an excellent film that really reflects culture, the next movie I watched Samson and Delilah (2009), is set in the present time. The movie doesn't have a lot of talking but when it does, it's again in native language, with English subtitles. The movie shows the living conditions of a typical remote community nowadays and features the issue of solvent abuse in teenagers. It also shows some of the 'sorry business' which happens when someone dies in Aboriginal Lore. I find it really interesting the influence Missionaries have had on the name changes of aboriginal people since Ten Canoes. The below is the trailer for the movie.


Samson and Delilah

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