Bran Nue Dae

The people who say this film is badly acted and cheesy just do not understand it. Just like Grease, it is meant to be a musical comedy and has aspects of great parody. Even as Missy Higgins is acting the wide eyed hippie, she's poking fun at hippies and the hippie era, as well as being affectionate towards it. I think she's brilliant in this film. There are some pretty dark themes such as alcohol abuse, deaths in police custody and homelessness -- and humour is used as an effective tool. Rather than trivialise the issues, it makes us look at them in a different way. Rather than state that all Europeans or all Aborigines are bad, the film shows us that people are often a mixture of good and bad. I think it's beautifully shot and directed and the actors, who clearly had a ball making it, do a fantastic job.

I watched this film with little knowledge of its content apart from a vague recollection that there was a play by the same name from many years ago. I was pleasantly surprised by the movie and thoroughly enjoyed its humour and wackiness. I am northern European heritage but even I wanted to be an Aborigine for a day (watch the movie and you will know what I am talking about). Given the Indigenous population in Darwin where I live and the proximity of us to Broome there was always going to be some forgiveness for the inherent weaknesses in the movie. Hell, even though I haven't met Jess Mauboy personally, I know some people who were/are important in her life. I also have met and enjoyed a bit of time many years ago with Uncle Tadpole, Ernie Dingo. So I suppose you could say that I am more inclined to be supportive of this movie than not. That being said, I was in a cinema 80 per cent full and there was standing applause at the end by some. My 17 year old daughter who I thought would seriously savage the movie came out saying she really enjoyed it. Clearly, Geoffrey Rush is a standout, as with anything he delivers on screen. But this is not a movie about standouts. It delivers in the true Indigenous philosophy of a collaborative effort. The sum of the collaborative efforts is far greater than the individual parts. Go see it with no preconceptions and enjoy. I reckon the reason this quirky movie is so interesting is that it defies genre, unlike another poster that didn't seem to enjoy it because it didn't seem to fit a pre-defined mould.

This movie was a pleasant surprise providing insights and realism of aborigines life and treatment. The musical numbers were quirky and entertaining. The two minute dance scene near the beginning, starting at 04:00 minutes to 06:00 minutes, is amazingly fantastic. I have watched it dozens of times. The camera work, the editing, the characters all combine to make a mesmerizing sequence. The characters seem like you could find them there today if you went to Broome, Western Australia, right down to the white folk sitting around in the periphery. And it looks like Jimmy Chi himself (author of the musical) is right up on stage playing with the band the Kuckles.

Bran Nue Day has its heart in the right place it just doesn't quite pull it off! Its basically a musical road movie but its just a bit too silly for my tastes. There are some good elements - it moves along nicely, there are some good performances (Jessica Mauboy for one, Ernie Dingo is OK too), reasonable songs, its bright & paints Australias Broome in an attractive light. Other parts really could have done with some work though. The Tom Budge character (he plays Missy Higgins hippie boyfriend) is a complete joke & Geoffrey Rushs character is over the top too. Some of the choreography & miming are so bad, characters pop in & out with little relevance & the finale is woeful. With all that it is a pretty reasonable excuse for a mindless popcorn movie, it thats what you are looking for, this is your film.

With all the hype in the Aussie media about this, I expected an Australian equivalent to Cabaret, but this is closer to a "Road to..." movie with a black Crosby and Hope. This is farce with a touch of social comment, and when seen in that light could be funny and enjoyable. Personally I could not because of the gushy reviews I'd heard. One day I hope to not rush along, lemming-like, to see a movie because of a Julie Rigg exultation! Like many musicals, Bran Nue Dae has a barely believable plot, one dimensional characters, a resolution which makes a deus ex machina look believable and moderately interesting music.

Within these parameters director Rachel Perkins does a good job, but the star turn of the piece for me was Ernie Dingo as Uncle Tadpole. He's worth the ticket price on his own.