We of the Never Never

Plot synopsis:
The film focusses on the life of Jeannie, a woman from the upper classes of society, and her story of adapting to life in the outback of Australia. Following her marriage to Aeneas Gunn who has just bought a 1 million acre cattle station near Mataranka, called Elsey Station, Jeannie follows him from Melbourne in 1902. Some of the drovers were unhappy at first because they believed that the bush is no place for a white woman. As such, they were both wary of her and made fun of her when both she and her husband arrived. However, Jeannie was determined to prove them wrong.
While her husband was away with the other men herding the cattle, Jeannie begins making friends with the Aboriginal people. Her husband and the other white men treated the local people (and Chinese workers) as inferior to them, often regarding them as lazy, indifferent, as well as unreliable. Jeannie however is sympathetic, often giving them food, or trying to stop domestic disputes.
Later, Aeneas goes on a cattle muster and asks Jeannie to come along, which she does gladly. However the trip is difficult for her, riding side-saddle, she is also nearly attacked by a rogue bull. However, as time passes, things improve at the station - the house is expanded, a new Chinese cook arrives, a garden is planted, as well as her belongings finally arrive from Melbourne.
But boredom sets in as she assumes her place - that of the station master's wife. She is asked not to help a feverish yet dying man, or to interfere with the balance of things, or to give the Aboriginal people goods meant for the working men. As a result, she spends more time with the locals, since she longs to learn and understand more about their ways. Jeannie even takes a semi-orphaned mixed-heritage child called Bett-Bett under her wing, much to the dismay of her husband.
Over time Jeannie gains the respect of the Aboriginal people and they slowly open up to her. At one point, Goggle Eye, an elder Aboriginal male, allows her to watch an Aboriginal dance. The stockmen however interrupt the "heathen" dance, shooting and shouting "God save King Edward". Later, Bett-Bett goes on walkabout and Goggle Eye becomes ill and feverish. Believing that he has been affected by a singing curse Goggle Eye passes away. The stockmen feel some mixed remorse, acknowledging their role in his death.
Soon it is Christmas and the Aboriginal people are treated a little better after what happened. In the spirit of Christmas, many of the provisions are given away and a large traditional Christmas meal is prepared for the westerners. It is here that Aeneas announces his intention, after their first year, to stay on at the station. Just when Jeannie thinks she is accustomed to the life in the harsh outback, Aeneas also becomes feverish and dies, leaving her alone on the station. However, Bett-Bett returns from walkabout and asks to stay with her in the house.

Tags: romantic

Review:
Only the Aussies do it this well..
I had never heard of this film and spotted it on a shelf at a rental store some years ago.
I started watching it (first few minutes is need to get you to the outback) and suddenly was engulfed by it's brilliance.
I watched it all the way through then called three friends and threatened them if they didn't drop what they were doing and get to my house.
We all watched it.
They all paid the late fees so they could take turns having friends over to watch it.
You think life is rough now?
Wait till you see what this woman endures and conquers with her incredible husband, the ranch hands and the aborigines..
Excellent portrait of a 19th century white woman trying to cope in the Australian outback..
Despite its rather rambling structure, this is movie is a great achievement - as a portrait of a 19th century, white Australian woman trying to cope with life in the outback.
It's beautifully photographed, written and acted, with the exception of the male lead, who is astoundingly miscast.
Such a shame, as otherwise this would have been a completely absorbing and accurate depiction of conditions faced by a woman, married to a typical man of the land; the only white woman in a very male world, and inn a world in which indigenous people are treated as third class citizens.
I recommend this to schools and educators and to film historians - as an example of how to make a great movie with not much money and a lot of commitment.
See the extras on the DVD - even in those, the male lead reveals himself to be completely out of step with the spirit of the film..
Outstanding Australian Movie.
A remarkable movie about a woman overcoming sexist and racial prejudice in outback Australia.
McGregor is very convincing as Jeannie Gunn as she battles constantly to be seen as an equal amongst the menfolk on the station on which she lives with her husband.
The fight seems a losing battle however as the views held by the men (regarding both women and indigenous people) are hard to overcome.Anyone outside of Australia who is interested in an accurate portrayal of the early relations between Australian Aborigines and white Australian's then this movie is for you..
Australia before Hollywood.
"We of the Never Never" is a rare film.
A near-epic made by and starring people from Australia.
I can't really say whether no Hollywood people were involved, but it doesn't seem so.Most Americans will have a some trouble understanding dialogue here and there.
I have spent time in Oz and N.Z. and I didn't catch some of it.
Just another reason why it's a true Australian production.And it's quite upfront for 1982.
The interaction/friction between Aboriginals and Whites is not most of the film, but a large part of it.But to see it is to see something uniquely Australian, IMHO.
Got to read the book!.
A great film!.
This is an excellent film based on true experience in a harsh environment.
So much better than most of the films of today.
We need more of this type of film.
It is not a feel good film only either as it is based on facts.
True aborigines are fantastic people and it is a pity more and meaningful assistance wasn't provided way back then.
They were a skillful and talented race from which we could have learned much and should have been treated with much more dignity.
If only they had been incorporated in the decision making of how they would liked to have been treated things for them today might be different.
The acting in the film is great and the casting excellent.
The beginnings of some of the earlier acting careers of later familiar faces is great to witness.
The comradeship and values (apart from those towards the aborigines) of the time is something that is not always evident today..
Allure of the Outback.
Agreeing to live with her cattle rancher husband in the Australian outback circa 1900, a young woman finds her preconceptions and views on the world at large changed in this iconic drama, based on actual events.
Having never lived outside the suburbs and finding herself with no Caucasian female company at all, 'We of the Never Never' at first seems predictable with lead actress Angela Punch McGregor undergoing many trials and tribulations adjusting to her new life.
The plot soon thickens though as she befriends the local Indigenous Australians and finds herself at odds with her Caucasian companions (including her husband), who treat the Aborigines as second class citizens.
Particularly compelling are the maternal instincts that swell up inside her as she bonds with a young Indigenous girl without strong parental figures in her life.
The question then arises of whether she actually has the girl's best interests at heart by taking her away from her family and basically trying to adopt her.
Further questions of inference arise with an Indigenous man who she tries to force to take medicine, and it is all endlessly engaging as we witness a character with more moral fibre than those around her wrestling with whether or not her generosity is in fact beneficial.
The less said about the strained relationship with her husband and Arthur Dignam's hardly remarkable performance the better, but this is Punch McGregor's film all the way with a special mention to the breathtaking majestic landscape photography that makes the outback seem more alluring than ever..
An average film based on a great book.
Watching the film straight after reading the book made for a very poor viewing experience.
Where the characters in the book were alive and so multi-dimensional, they sadly lost most of that in the film, which chose to diverge from the book in so many places that it became unrecognizable.
Key events in the film did not happen in the book and others that I considered important were omitted from the film.
The book was set as a narrative, you were following her thoughts, listening to her voice and I wish they had transferred this concept to the film.
Too many key characters were omitted from the movie and those that remained seemed to have lost their voices by being given too few lines.
All in all a nice movie, and beautifully shot and acted, but not a true representation of the book or the true events..
Glorious adaption of a famous factual-based novel.
One of Australia's most famous novels of the outback "We of the Never Never" ('Never never', as in once there you'll either never never want to leave - or never never want to return!) has been filmed to perfection by a great crew and faultless cast of actors.This is as close as you'll get to the Outback, as it's changed much since the movie was made over two decades ago.
All the equipment had to be hauled in from Melbourne, many thousands of miles overland.
Jeanie Gunn was a woman far ahead of her time; she only wanted to learn from the Aboriginies and like them was marginalized.
The only woman for hundreds if not a thousand miles, her story is one never forgotten.Now available as a special edition DVD with a retrospective 'making of' and a memorable documentary..
Good movie.
Excellent film showing how collective Socialism is a failure and robs the Aborigines of their freedom.
Wonderful scenery and recreation of turn of the Century station life.
Australians make good movies...
take that Hollywood.
The "fever" they refer to is likely a Plasmodium falciparum infection, a form of malaria with high mortality rates when untreated.
Unfortunately the little fellow is becoming resistant to many drugs and due to its great ability to change, attempts to develop a vaccine have not been too successful either.
They should be showing this film in our schools instead of fiction like Al Gore's climate change film.
Gee...
in this movie, it is hot, long before airplanes and trucks infiltrated the area.