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Outback

High Ground: Gaining a Broader Perspective

May 15, 2021 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

Directed by Stephen Johnson, High Ground follows Travis (Simon Baker), a policeman in northern Australia tasked with supporting a local missionary amongst the Indigenous peoples. Once a sniper in WWI, Travis is meant to maintain control of the operation from above with his bird’s-eye view of the situation. Then, when the operation results in a massacre of an Aboriginal tribe, Travis leaves in disgust. However, years later, Travis is forced back into action as he and mission-raised Gutjuk (Jacob Junior Nayinggul), the only known massacre survivor, must work together to hunt down Baywara, an Aboriginal warrior intent on gaining revenge for their attack years earlier.

Drenched in the intensity of the dry heat of the Outback, High Ground undergirds its storytelling with a bubbling rage. Delving into painful historical practices such as racial injustice and conquest, Johnson pulls few punches regarding the harsh realities of the time. As a result, this is a film that wants to be felt. Unfortunately, despite the complexities of the issues at hand, the script leaves much of the cast little space to build their characters. As a result, High Ground feels like a bit of a missed opportunity, even though it both entertains and challenges.

Though the characters around them may be lacking, High Ground features some wonderful performances from leads Baker and newcomer Nayinggul. As battle-weary Travis, Baker plays his character with a dark edge that never allows him to become too safe for the viewer. Although we follow the film primarily through his perspective, Baker manages to give his character enough nuance for him to never fully take on the name of ‘hero’. (In fact, it could be argued that we only see him as a hero because those around him are so villainous in their motivations and actions.) Even so, it is Nayinggul who ultimately steals the film. For a first-time actor, Nayinggul shows incredible maturity in his performance as he brings out the soul of his young character who wishes to reconnect to his roots and family. As the film’s anchor, the complex relationship between these two actors keeps High Ground compelling, even in its lesser moments.

Ultimately, High Ground is a film about power and control. As the settlers attempt to broaden their territory, their reckless actions reveal their intent to conquer, rather than to partner with the Indigenous peoples. (“You don’t share land,” Moran groans.) Though, while it may begin with the theme of dominating the land, it quickly becomes apparent that this is much more about the power to dominate the people that make it their home. From the opening sequence, Ground establishes that the goal of the white population is to expand their culture and ideas at the expense of tribal cultures. Led by the military and a (largely ineffectual) priest, the primary interest of these settlers is to mould their surroundings into their own image. (Incidentally, this battle for cultural dominance becomes a key character arc for Gutjuk, who struggles to reconcile his indigenous roots with the values of the people who raised him.)

With this in mind, the film also uses Travis to shine a light on the relationship between control and perspective. From his perch as a sniper, Travis sees everything. However, that also makes him distant from it as well. By remaining so far away from the battle, Travis claims less responsibility for its outcome. In doing so, he can show his disdain for the actions of the settlers without ever fully disowning them either. Whereas he argues that his distance gives him control over a situation, it also provides him the chance to ‘wash his hands’ of its outcome as well. 

Having said this, his range of view also allows him to see all that’s going on during the skirmish. While he has the opportunity to disavow his involvement, so too does he recognize when wrongdoing is happening and he wants no part of that. As he grows closer to Gutjuk, Travis becomes more deeply invested in the events taking place around him and his perspectives begin to shift. Though his mind is entrenched in a European way of thinking, he starts to see the value of lifestyles other than his own.

With some fascinating conversations surrounding the arrogance of colonialism, there is a lot to like about High Ground. Although it lacks character development from anyone other than its protagonists, the film fully understands what it wants to achieve and does so effectively.

High Ground is available on VOD on Friday, May 14th, 2021.

Filed Under: Film, Reviews, VOD Tagged With: Aborigines, Australia, High Ground, Jacob Junior Nayinggul, Outback, Simon Baker, Stephen Johnson

Last Cab to Darwin: “Cab Driver’s Death Drive”

June 17, 2016 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

“I’m a cab driver. I’m going to drive my cab till I can’t drive it no more.”

When mortality suddenly becomes a reality, a cab driver in the Australian Outback decides he wants to face death on his own terms. Rex Macrea (Michael Caton), a crusty loner in Broken Hill, New South Wales, learns he only has three months to live. When he learns that a Dr. Farmer (Jacki Weaver) in the Northern Territory wants to test a new euthanasia law, he starts off on a 1,900 mile journey, hoping to use her suicide machine to end his life. But is it that easy?

Last Cab_Day 11_Broken Hill_2014

Rex has tried to live his life without attachments. He has his mates at the local pub, but he doesn’t figure they’ll miss him. He doesn’t want his indigenous neighbor (and lover) Polly (Ningali Lawford-Wolf) to have to take care of him. So without telling anyone, he sets off on his trek across the continent. Along the way he manages to collect Tilly (Mark Coles Smith), a young indigenous footballer who has let fear stand in the way of a possible career, and Julie (Emma Hamilton), a nurse from London who is backpacking Australia. When he arrives in Darwin he discovers that there is more to dying than he had expected. He also, in making the journey, discovers that there is more to life than he ever realized.

It is easy to miss the joys of life when we are in the midst of the day to day. For Rex, who has lived his whole life in Broken Hill, it is a wonder to see the various landscapes of the Outback. He marvels at the beauty of sunsets. He meets new people. Finally, he comes to discover that those he has left behind are far more special than he knew.

Last Cab_Day 36_Darwin_2014

The writer of Ecclesiastes sets his reflections within a framework of considering mortality. What do all our works, our strivings, our desires, our accomplishments really mean if we are all going to die anyway? What of the daily grind of life? Is it just one thing happening after another, or does it have rewards for us if we just recognize them?

It is just such questions that Rex faces on his trip to Darwin. He thinks he is going off to take control of his life by controlling his death. But in the end, he discovers that there is beauty and love in his life that he’s just not willing to let go of one second too soon.

Photos courtesy of First Run Films

Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: Australia, based on stage play, Ecclesiastes, emma Hamilton, euthanasia, Jacki Weaver, Jeremy Sims, Mark Coles Smith, Michael Caton, mortality, Ningali Lawford-Wolf, Outback

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