High Ground

The thing I really love about Australian movies in 2020/21 is they are all brilliant. Director Stephen Johnsons' "High Ground" is no exception. It's the little things...always the little things like the sound effects of a bird eating its prey or a lizard scratching on the bark of a tree, and even green ants munching on flora that make this film so intimate and at times feels like I'm watching a Clint Eastwood cowboy flick. The break out role for Indigenous actor Jacob Junior Nayin ggul as Gutjuk (which means Hawk) is outstanding and not to be overshadowed by legendary actors like Simon Baker, Jack Thompson, Callan Mulvey or fellow Aboriginal actor Aaron Pederson. "High Ground" is a brutal retelling of our First Nations Peoples horrific treatment at the hands of the British Colonists to their country...all in the name of the Crown. Its Australia's answer to similar action in other countries like the British colonisation of the Americas and their treatment of the Natives. It's a familiar story around the globe. None of it is pretty, except the Country itself. This is up close and personal from the perspective of both the Colonials and the local tribes and the disastrous results of these encounters. "High Ground" is set against the stunning landscape of 1930's Arnhem Land. Sacred land for Northern Territory tribes that live there to this day. Bakers' Travis and Gutjuk are out to track down warring wild tribesman and Uncle, Baywarra, played by Sean Mununggurr. Whilst his own Granfather Dharrpa (Witiyana Marika) is trying to make peace and seek justice for the deaths of his family by the Colonial Soldiers. On this journey in the outback who can you really trust? Simon Baker in his 50's is making superb movies including Breath (Netflix) This movie was first screened in an open air theatre in Western Australia with a near full capacity crowd. Made all the more remarkable because not many places in the world can host large crowds during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Cinemas around the world are in desperate need of content to fill their big screens right now and Australia is delivering the goods with first class films for the world to watch. Movies like "High Ground" make you understand why some people are uncomfortable with Australia Day (the official national day of Australia) and protest its anniversary. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 raising of the British flag at Sydney Cove by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration in New South Wales by the First Fleet.

High Ground is one of those really good films that seemed to have got lost in the Covid Pandemic. Released last year to an open air audience in Perth Australia it's seems to have gone under the radar since . Which is a shame

In a bid to save the last of his family, Gutjuk, a young Aboriginal man, teams up with ex-soldier Travis to track down Baywara, the most dangerous warrior in the Territory, his uncle.

The first thing that hits you about the film is the setting and cinematography. Kadadu , Northern Territory looks absolutely stunning and a big credit must go to the Director Stephen Johnson and Cinematograper Andrew Commis.

The second is the acting . There are good performances all round but the stand outs are definitely Jacob Junior Nayinggul who plays Gutjuk and Simon Barker who plays Travis .

The story is about revenge but the problem is both sides want it .

You watch this and you release how the Australian police didn't care about aboriginal life at all and it's a real eye opener .

Recommended.

High Ground is going to be inevitably compared to Jennifer Kent's The Nightingale, but both films are ultimately distinguishable. What's clear about High Ground is that it's no easy watch at all. It's a confronting look at post-colonial Australia, the inherent racism and corruption in the Australian law enforcement, and the atrocities committed against Aboriginal Australian tribes. It's important that we reflect on the horrors of our history to learn from our mistakes, so I'm glad that High Ground has a heightened focus on the Indigenous Australian perspective and received a wide release. It's a film that's certainly angry, but it also has important intentions and themes in mind, reminding us how violence begets violence and shows us the consequences of cultural division.

As such, High Ground strives with authenticity and grit. It has excellent acting from first-time performers Jacob Junior Nayinggul, Witiyana Marika and Esmerelda Marimowa, and it's great to see Indigenous Australian representation. There's also equally strong performances from Simon Baker, Callan Mulvey and Jack Thompson, and while Caren Pistorius and Ryan Corr do their best, they are given little material to shine. Andrew Commis's cinematography is spectacular, which highlights the beauty and harsh nature of the Northern Territory, and the decision to include a fully Aboriginal soundtrack is smart. From graceful direction to handsome production values, everyone involved in High Ground worked hard to create a strong representation of Aboriginal culture and it's what shines most in this film.

High Ground's themes were working well for me and I was invested in the buildup... until the last 20 minutes. That's where the tension fizzled out, as the writing lost track of logic, failed to utilise the importance of its character roles and muddled the film's thematic depths to the point that it rubbed me off the wrong way. While I'm starting to see the intentions behind the ending, its sense of incompleteness and narrowness just doesn't sit right and undermines the strengths of High Ground. It was where I realised how much I didn't care about the shallow supporting character work, it messed up the slow burn and there was also questionable editing. It's an ending I found to be so disappointing that it almost ruined the film. Don't get me wrong, High Ground is one of the better Australian films out there that has good intentions in mind and its authenticity and representation are enough to warrant a watch. It has enough to fuel some much-needed conversations in our Australian society, but these could've been driven greatly by a stronger impact, which High Ground doesn't fully reach.

Plot and Characters (5/10) Presentation and Direction (7/10) Acting (9/10) Script (4/10) Setting/Locations (9/10) Tone (8/10) Cinematography/Visuals (8/10) Sound/Music (9/10) Editing (5/10) Pacing/Length (6/10)

Score: 70/100.

LIKES: +Authentic portrayal of Aboriginal culture +Overall powerful presentation +Brilliant performances +Beautiful, harsh locations +Stunning cinematography +Realistic sound design, great music choices +Gritty, bleak tone that provokes the film's themes

DISLIKES: -Disappointing conclusion almost undoes everything -Abrupt, distracting editing -Some shallow character work

Following on in the footsteps of recent Australian success stories The Dry and Penguin Bloom, locally made feature High Ground continues on a strong showing of home grown offerings that finally seem to point to the Australian film industry once more getting back to a point where we are developing quality products that can compete with worldwide produce.

Directing his first film in 19 years following the release of the well-regarded Indigenous themed Yolngu Boy all the way back in 2001, filmmaker Stephen Johnson does a fantastic job of capturing the time and place of the early 1900's Northern Territory of Australia where a small group of soldiers loyal to crown and country find themselves embroiled in deadly game of cat and mouse between a tribe of Aboriginals that have a right to be seeking retribution following a callous attack on their communities years previously at the hands of white colonials.

Amongst this group of soldiers is Simon Baker's marksman Travis, a kind-hearted if forlorn soul whose rescuing of young indigenous boy Gutjuk comes full circle when the two are asked to join forces to help track down Gutjuk's uncle Baywara who has gathered together a mob that have been responsible for various attacks on white settlements across the land.

Pulling no punches in the way it deals with past horrors and the truth of early settlement in parts of Arnhem Land in this time period, particularly with a haunting and confronting opening act that will leave many viewers reeling from its frankness and rawness, High Ground is a visceral film and perhaps one of the best products yet when it comes to capturing the beautiful but dangerous landscape of the "real" Australia courtesy of Johnson, cinematographer Andrew Commis and an undoubtedly wearied drone operator.

Allowing the sounds and sights of the land to take hold of its story and its viewers, High Ground enraptures with its visual splendor and keen eye but its familiar story and uneasy narrative flow holds it back from becoming the Australian classic it may've been, even if its cast of industry veterans and newcomers all give it there all as we are taken on a story of revenge and soul searching that never surprises in regards too where it heads.

In what is arguably his best big screen role to date, Simon Baker is on fine form as the hard to read Travis, while supports from the likes of Jacob Junior Nayinggul as Gutjuk, Sean Mununggurr as the menacing but rightfully so Baywara and scene stealer Witiyana Marika as Grandfather Dharrpa ensure that this is a showcase for local Indigenous screen talent and recognizable faces such as Callan Mulvey, Jack Thompson and Caren Pistorius round out a top notch Australian based cast.

It's a shame High Ground's various elements never create that magic spark that can be found when the stars align but as an examination of our often unspoken about past and our harsh but spectacular lands, Johnson's film is still to be highly commended.

Final Say -

An at times haunting and captivating Australian film that has an overly familiar narrative and odd flow holding it back from being something truly grand, High Ground is another solid local production from the past few months that goes to show the Aussie film industry is alive and well with talent and stories worth telling.

3 bush plums out of 5

Loved the movie! Interesting story with lots of thrilling and great acting