I liked it so much Click a picture to enhance it. Blue text = a clickable link.This week I watched on Netflix the 2012 movie Satellite Boy. I liked it so much I decided to write about it. Books, I've written about before but this is the first time I've written about a film. To get us started here's the official trailer. With the sound switched on, just hit the arrow. The story - part 1Ten year old Pete lives with his grandad, Jubi, in a disused, delapidated drive-in theatre on the edge of the desert in Kimberly, Western Australia. Pete's mother has fled to the city to train in the hospitality industry in order, so Pete thinks, to return to open a restaurant. The story - part 2Jubi, as part of his grandfatherly substitute mother care, continually talks to Pete about language, land, and tribal history. Pete gets bored with it, but, despite himself, absorbs more than he realises. The story - part 3One day a construction company representative arrives with an ejection order because a mining company has bought the land and plans to build a storage warehouse. With the help of the local shopkeeper Pete discovers the name of the company and persuades his mate Kalmain to bike with him for two days to the nearest city to try to persuade the company not to go ahead. The story - part 4The boys go but when they see a police car approaching they dump their bikes and take off into the countryside, because Kal is wanted by police for being a destructive nuisance in the community. Scared to return to the road, they proceed on foot. This gives the camera opportunity to show endless desert, bush, caves containing ancient drawings, savannah type country, and the unique Bungle Bungle rocky sandstone formation. The story - part 5Without food and water Kal becomes distraught but Pete, drawing on the traditional wisdom he has absorbed from his grandfather, believes the land will look after those who respect and trust it. With the help of a miles-from-anywhere satellite dish, it does. Meanwhile back home Jubi is imploring the Milky Way to preserve his grandson. By way of a rare river and an isolated but open homestead, where they take food, and where Kalmain finds a handgun. the boys survive. The story - part 6Having reached the city the boys attempt to talk to the construction company but a confrontation errupts in which Kal’s gun goes off, bringing the police. Pete's Mum arrives and takes him, while the police arrest Kal. Pete's Mother urges him to go to Perth with her and her partner but Pete persuades her to let him go back to Jubi – the traditional over the modern – and she lets him go. A values filmThis is a beautiful, engaging little film. No wonder it featured in film festivals, such as the Berlin International Film Festival where it won the Crystal Bear Special Mention Award for Best Film and the International Jury Award for Best Feature Film; or at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival where it won the International Critics' Award. On top of that, it's also what I call 'a values film'. It raises values questions. Values issues to think aboutLand needs to be valued and respected. If it is, it will treat you well. It looks after the two boys. At present in New Zealand, as parts of our country suffer huge damage from a cyclone and rain storms, some of our land, not respected by having forests harvested without due care, has bitten back by the sending massive amounts of slash (discarded timber) down the rivers to destroy bridges and cover farms and orchards with silt. The two boys in this story trust each other when they are lost. Mateship persists. They don't blame each other for their situation. Pete helps Kalmain when he gives up. Kalmain floats Pete across the river when he realises Pete can't swim. Lack of trust is a bother in Aotearoa New Zealand today. Country and city seem to be following different paths. Maori often say they feel disregarded and ignored by Pakeha. Pakeha sometimes resent what they think is special treatment for Maori. Can trust across divisions be gained? Spiritual, mystical understanding plays an important part in this film. Jubi, the grandfather embodies it. Is there a spiritual dimension to life? That question this movie poses. I think it's a question worth exploring. □ John McInnes Friday 3 March 2023 Film credits: Writer and Director - Catriona McKenzie Cast - David Gulpilil as Jagamarra (known to Pete as Jubi); Cameron Wallaby as Pete Joseph Pedley as Kalmain; Rohanna Angus as Lynelle (Pete's mother) ##########
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