'Satellite Boy' (2012) at 24th PSIFF. A review!
Director Catriona McKenzie’s Australian film ‘Satellite Boy’ (2012) made its US premier at the 24th Palm Springs International Film Festival in the ‘New Voices/New Visions’ section.
Set in the dry and expansive Australian Outback, the film is a perfect arrival for the theme and mood of the synergetic Aquarian Age, confronting the issues of past, present and future for Australia and the world at large. A young Aboriginal boy, Pete (played by Cameron Wallaby), is caught between a bygone past, a contemporary present and an uncertain future. Standing at the threshold of an atavistic dying world and an ever forward-moving future, Pete must choose either one or the other, or somewhere in between.
This is a microcosmic story to the macro-cosmic global schizophrenia of unstoppable modernism and reliance on progressive technology in the face of a forgotten and decaying traditional past. While we rush ahead with science and 'progress', no matter how much we try to do away with or ignore the roots of our past, everything remains somewhere rooted deep in the collective unconscious of a people; this is what Pete’s grandfather Jagamarra (played by David Gulpilil) imparts upon his beloved grandson Pete.
While Jagmarra holds onto the ways of his primeval Aboriginal ancestors- the art of hunt and survival in the Outback’s harshest elements- his daughter (Pete’s mother) dreams of a life in the city with all the modern conveniences and materialism that comes with it, as far away from the mystical life and land as possible. Pete must choose between both worlds, that of the ancestral mythical past with guidance from his grandfather or that of dependent city life with his mother.
'Satellite Boy' is a stunning film that starts out lyrically to depict the mystical ways of Outback indigenous life, then turns into an arresting real life drama. The film ends with a bridge somewhere between two worlds and offers a suggestion for synergy, to hold on as tight as possible to tradition and primeval past while embracing the inevitable changes of present and future.
Written by Vanessa McMahon
DIRECTOR: Catriona McKenzie Producer: David Jowsey, Julie Ryan Editor: Henry Dangar Screenwriter: Catriona McKenzie Cinematographer: Geoffrey Simpson Music: David Bridie Principal Cast: David Gulpilil, Cameron Wallaby, Joseph Pedley, Rohanna Angus, Dean Daley-Jones Filmography: Debut Feature Print Source: Celluloid Dreams - www.celluloid-dreams.com
visit film's official site here: http://satelliteboymovie.com/
