Under the pretense of having a picnic, a geologist takes his teenage daughter and 6-year-old son into the Australian outback and attempts to shoot them. When he fails, he turns the gun on himself, and the two city-bred children must contend with harsh wilderness alone. They are saved by a chance encounter with an Aboriginal boy who shows them how to survive, and in the process underscores the disharmony between nature and modern life.
Cinematography
Every frame looks like it could kill you
Editing
Roeg's associative cuts — lizards mating, city traffic, death
Direction
Nicolas Roeg at his most uncompromising
Director
Nicolas Roeg
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
David Gulpilil was a tribal dancer discovered for this role; he became Australia's first international Indigenous film star.
Roeg's fragmented editing mirrors the Aboriginal concept of 'everywhen' — past, present, and myth existing simultaneously, which white characters cannot access.
US
