Walkabout

Courage sustains two formerly privileged youngsters lost in the Australian outback as they conserve what little strength remains to keep moving in search of sanctuary.

The boy (Luc Roeg) is too young to comprehend the crisis but the girl (Jenny Agutter) is resilient enough to diagnose, plan, proceed, and persevere.

Just as things seem hopelessly bleak, as their oasis dries up and alternatives fail to present themselves, an Indigenous youth on walkabout (David Gulpilil) appears on the horizon.

Possessing the knowledge and skills necessary to comfortably excel and thrive, he nourishes then guides them towards heavily populated lands, referred to often, as postmodern civilization.

Director Nicolas Roeg does a brilliant job juxtaposing the urban and the naturalistic throughout, showcasing at least a dozen native Australian animals, with childlike bliss and wondrous unconcern.

Can't believe I haven't seen this until recently.

Many of the animals are hunted for food however so beware.

When nature is your primary textbook, and survival your most demanding 9 to 5, you develop a relationship with your environment potentially as valuable as any University degree.

Possibly more valuable in current economies.

Walkabout provocatively elevates ingeniously living off the land, developing abilities akin to instincts, and characteristics cathartic and strong.

Possibly created to combat dismissive attitudes regarding Indigenous peoples adopted by Anglo-Australians, it certainly makes aspects of city living seem dull while lauding hearty bush living.

The unfortunate incompatibility of the two worlds as depicted in the film haunting the empathetic long afterwards, as different maturities conflict and cultures tragically come of age, Walkabout offers challenges and insights into ideal romance, coldly shattered, by prohibitive fears of the unknown.