BRAN NUE DAE surprisingly tolerable

How cleansing it felt to sit amongst fellow Aussies and enjoy a simple Aussie film that didn’t take itself too seriously. We had a good laugh at equally simple, clever Aussie humour and I actually felt a purpose again. You know what? Fuck Hollywood.

I’ve been to many films at the cinema I attended to see Bran Nue Dae and almost every one of them has been the typical Hollywood production jam-packed with international principles and their idea of a hero. Not this time. Glancing around the (surprisingly) full cinema, I noticed the crowd was very different to the normal attendance. Teens weren’t on their phones. Old couples held hands. Mums and Dads were sitting with their children. As it turns out, just taking my seat amongst this audience helped set the tone… because if I only saw this at home on DVD weeks from now, I know for sure I wouldn’t have appreciated it like I do now. My expectations were low going in. The trailer left a bad taste in my mouth and I figured I’d be in for another Aussie blunder. I was only half right.

Originally an Aboriginal musical which started in 1990, Bran Nue Dae tells the story of teenager Willie and is adventurous road trip from the city of Perth back to Broome in 1969. He encounters an interesting cast of characters as he endeavours to arrive home and ‘grab’ the girl he has fallen in love with, choosing her over his expected path of priesthood.

Director Rachel Perkins bravely adapts the stage sensation to the cinema screen, keeping the source material in tact and adding some of her own flare to kick the scenes along. What I found most appealing about Bran Nue Dae was the deliberate lack of an overly obvious political message. There is one there, for sure– and it definitely gets a white fella like me thinking about the treatment of Aborigines in my country– but first and foremost (and probably most importantly) Bran Nue Dae is about having a good, fun time. I appreciate that it didn’t try to shove a damn message down my throat before entertaining me.

In a film starring Geoffrey Rush I did not expect a talent like Ernie Dingo to steal the show, but blow me down, he does so in spades. Playing ‘Uncle Tadpole’, a drunken bum who finds purpose, Ernie makes Bran Nue Dae his own with a character portrayal that seemed sincere to him. While it’s mostly hilarious comedy bits that won me over, his overall sense of the character was never in question. Against a film heavily riddled with stiff, uninspired dialogue delivered by obviously green actors, Dingo’s performance radiates and gives a reason to put up with the rest.

Book-ending Dingo’s performance with an equally rewarding effort is Geoffrey Rush’s portrayal of Father Benedictus, complete with comedic German accent. While there isn’t a great deal for Rush to work with, he easily makes the role his own and most definitely brings us an accomplished performance to remember. I never questioned Rush’s performance like I did the others– he just takes on a life of his own with ease– testament to Rush’s talent. Without Rush and Dingo keeping pace, I doubt Bran Nue Dae would have held up.

Rocky McKenzie was apparently plucked from a Broome high school to star as lead character Willie and, unfortunately, it shows. Especially in scenes with co-star Jessica Mauboy where the two stick to their lines like glue and never seem to get a believable relationship boiling. For some reason, though, I found it easy to brush this aside and just let the plot roll along.  This might be because my expectations were already pretty low, so there was no room to be let down any further. Missy Higgins, on the other hand, I found to be surprisingly charismatic (and sexy, I might add!) in her laid-back approach to the free-life-loving-hippie role of Annie. She wasn’t nearly as frightful as I thought she would be and skips through the film with ease. However, I was very concious of the fact that it was Missy Higgins singing her musical numbers, and not ‘Annie’.

I’m not a fan of musicals so I can only be thankful that the tunes from the stage seem to be abbreviated versions in the film. Even with the film being as light-hearted as it is, the songs don’t seem to sit well amongst the narrative. What works well on stage doesn’t always translate well to screen. This was always going to a tough ask for Bran Nue Dae to achieve effectively and it comes close, but ultimately fails to be convincing. I noticed as each song piped up the otherwise forgiving audience took the chance to shift in their seats. Myself included.

It felt like cinematographer Andrew Lesnie barely got a chance to do what he does best, perhaps because of scaled back time and money compared to his work in Hollywood. Bran Nue Dae is far from ugly– in fact it has a rather glossy quality for a film set in the Australian outback– yet it is very under-par for the kind of work Lesnie is famous for. His awesome talent was demonstrated best in a dramatic dream sequence which was also accompanied by the most engaging and thought provoking song of the whole film.

The conclusion of the film involves a series of confessions and revelations from each of the characters which helps everything unravel in one swift punch– and it’s all a bit too easy and overwhelming. Seemingly aware of this, Missy Higgins’ character takes the piss out of herself with her final, humorous and bogus confession before breaking into one last song. And it was then, more than ever, that Bran Nue Dae winked back at me with tongue in cheek and an Aussie smirk.

Being an independent filmmaker in the State this was shot (Western Australia), noticing some recognisable locations, and even having worked with some of the people listed in the credits, made this a memorable viewing experience. It’s the kind of experience I can’t normally have with the usual Hollywood/international productions and I believe that helped make Bran Nue Dae tolerable.

The film had me bellow with laughter a couple of times thanks to raw Aussie humor and a lively crowd aiding laugh-cues. That doesn’t justify the rest of the film not holding up, but at least there was something to work with.

It certainly isn’t a masterpiece by any stretch, but Bran Nue Dae feels comfortably quaint and definitely right at home.

BRAN NUE DAE
score 55/100