Review of Walkabout (1971) by Sean S — 07 Apr 2008

Two children are left to fend for themselves in the Austraillian wilderness where they meet an aboriginal boy on a Walkabout, an initiation ritual. The story itself is unremarkable, but the film making particularly the editing is what tells this films story which is far grander in scope than it would initially lead you to believe.

Civilization, technology, innocence, sex, communication, death, rebirth, the cyclical nature of time, are all illuminated in this film through visual and auditory juxtapositions, so many mirror images and sounds end up in this film that it almost overwhelms the story, thankfully it walks that razors edge with a grace, daring, and sense of purpose you just don't see today, at least not at such a technical level.