For his follow-up to 1975's Picnic at Hanging Rock, Peter Weir did a good job of crafting a new film that utilizes some of the same themes but stands on its own. The Last Wave is one part courtroom drama and one part disaster flick with some supernatural horror and a lot of suspense mixed in.
The cinematography is excellent, an early scene involving a hail storm in the desert particularly stood out. The acting is good if not spectacular, I thought Charlie (Nandjiwarra Amagula) was particularly essential even though he doesn't speak much and isn't a professional actor. Overall the story isn't quite as mesmerizing as PaHR, Weir might have benefited from periodically relieving the building suspense as proof against losing the audience.
As an American I found the movie's look at the racial climate of Australia in 1977 quite interesting. In particular the white Australians' understanding and acceptance of Aboriginal beliefs is called into question.
Having just recently experienced, through the news at least, a catastrophic tsunami this film seemed especially vital. I think I can still get away without a spoiler warning if I say The Last Wave deals with man's relationship to nature and the idea that at any time a civilization may be wiped out.
The cinematography is excellent, an early scene involving a hail storm in the desert particularly stood out. The acting is good if not spectacular, I thought Charlie (Nandjiwarra Amagula) was particularly essential even though he doesn't speak much and isn't a professional actor. Overall the story isn't quite as mesmerizing as PaHR, Weir might have benefited from periodically relieving the building suspense as proof against losing the audience.
As an American I found the movie's look at the racial climate of Australia in 1977 quite interesting. In particular the white Australians' understanding and acceptance of Aboriginal beliefs is called into question.
Having just recently experienced, through the news at least, a catastrophic tsunami this film seemed especially vital. I think I can still get away without a spoiler warning if I say The Last Wave deals with man's relationship to nature and the idea that at any time a civilization may be wiped out.