Young John Anderson is captivated by jazz musician Billy Cross when he performs on the remote airstrip of his Western Australian outback hometown after his plane is diverted. Years later, now a family man and making a meagre living tracking dingoes and playing trumpet in a local band, John still dreams of joining Billy on trumpet and makes a pilgrimage to Paris.
Score
Miles Davis composed and performed the entire haunting soundtrack
Acting
Colin Friels carries quiet desperation like a second skin
Direction
Rolf de Heer makes the outback feel cosmically lonely
Director
Rolf de Heer
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was Miles Davis's only feature film acting role, and he insisted on doing his own trumpet playing throughout.
The film captures a specific Australian anxiety: the tyranny of distance and the intoxicating, damaging dream of European cultural validation.
FR
AU
