Walkabout main backdrop
Walkabout main poster

Walkabout

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7.3/10 • 392

1971-07-011h 35m

AdventureDrama

A boy and girl face the challenge of the world's last frontier.

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.

Directors
Nicolas Roeg
Writters
Edward Bond
Editors
Edward Bond, Antony Gibbs

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Jenny Agutter

    Jenny Agutter

    Girl

  2. Luc Roeg

    Luc Roeg

    White Boy

  3. David Gulpilil

    David Gulpilil

    Black Boy

  4. John Meillon

    John Meillon

    Man

  5. Robert McDarra

    Robert McDarra

    Man

  6. Peter Carver

    Peter Carver

    No Hoper

  7. John Illingsworth

    John Illingsworth

    Young Man

  8. Hilary Bamberger

    Hilary Bamberger

    Woman

  9. Barry Donnelly

    Barry Donnelly

    Australian Scientist

Reviews1

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Wuchak Avatar

Wuchak

Oct 24, 2021

7/10

Arty flick about survival in the Outback and coming-of-age A teenage girl (Jenny Agutter) and her little brother get stuck in the Outback, but receive assistance by an aboriginal boy (David Gulpilil) on a ‘walkabout,’ a rite of passage into manhood. Directed by Nicolas Roeg, “Walkabout” (1971) is an arty cult flick that plays like a Terrence Malick film and no doubt influenced his style (since it came out two years before Malick’s feature film debut with “Badlands”). Agutter was only 16 during shooting while her character is 14, according to Roeg. The themes about the beauty of nature vs. man-made desecration and the clash of the primitive with the ‘cultured’ & the problems of communication thereof were probably fresh at the time but are obvious and old hat now. "Dances With Wolves" tackled the same issues almost 20 years later. Still, this is an artistic piece with loads of awesome nature footage, plus it’s interesting to see Agutter so young in the bush. It’s a must if you appreciate movies like “Picnic at Hanging Rock” (1975) or anything by Terrence Malick. David Gulpilil went on to appear in such notable flicks as “Crocodile Dundee” (1986) and “Australia” (2008). The film runs 1 hour, 40 minutes, and was shot in Sydney, Finders mountain range, the red desert surrounding Alice Springs and (supposedly) areas never traveled by Caucasians up to that point. GRADE: B

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
australiasuicidesibling relationshipbased on novel or bookhunterpicnicwildernesscameltribecoming of ageflashbacksurvivalteenage girldeathoutbackgeologistrite of passageaustralian aboriginal