this has been an extraordinary year for australian films .
" shine " has just scooped the pool at the australian film institute awards , picking up best film , best actor , best director etc .
to that we can add the gritty " life " ( the anguish , courage and friendship of a group of male prisoners in the hiv - positive section of a jail ) and " love and other catastrophes " ( a low budget gem
about straight and gay love on and near a university campus ) .
i ca n't recall a year in which such a rich and varied celluloid library was unleashed from australia .
" shine " was one bookend .
stand by for the other one : " dead heart " .
> from the opening credits
the theme of division is established .
the cast credits have clear and distinct lines separating their first and last names .
bryan | brown .
in a desert settlement , hundreds of kilometres from the nearest town , there is an uneasy calm between the local aboriginals and the handful of white settlers who live nearby .
the local police officer has the task of enforcing " white man 's justice " to the aboriginals .
these are people with a proud 40 , 000 year heritage behind them .
naturally , this includes their own system of justice ; key to which is " payback " .
an eye for an eye .
revenge .
usually extracted by the spearing through of the recipient 's thigh .
brown , as the officer , manages quite well to keep the balance .
he admits that he has to ' bend the rules ' a bit , including actively encouraging at least one brutal " payback " .
( be warned that this scene , near the start , is not for the squeamish ) .
the local priest - an aboriginal , but in the " white fellas " church - has a foot on either side of the line .
he is , figuratively and literally , in both camps .
ernie dingo brings a great deal of understanding to this role as the man in the middle .
he is part churchman and part politician .
however the tension , like the heat , flies and dust , is always there .
whilst her husband - the local teacher - is in church , white lady kate ( milliken ) and her aborginal friend tony , ( pedersen ) have gone off into the hills .
he takes her to a sacred site , even today strictly men - only .
she appears to not know this .
tony tells her that this is a special place , an initiation place .
he then makes love to her , surrounded by ancient rock art .
the community finds out about this sacrilegious act and it 's payback time .
the fuse is lit and the brittle inter - racial peace is shattered .
everyone is affected in the fall out .
to say more is to give away the details of this finely crafted film .
suffice to say it 's a rewarding experience .
bryan brown , acting and co - producing , is the pivotal character .
his officer is real , human and therefore flawed .
brown comments that he expects audiences to feel warmth towards the man
, then suddenly feel angry about him .
it was n't long ago that i visited central australia - ayers rock ( uluru ) and alice springs - for the first time .
the wide - screen cinematography shows the dead heart of australia in a way that captures it 's vicious beauty , but never deteriorates into a moving slide show , in which the gorgeous background dominates those pesky actors in the foreground .
the cultural clash has provided the thesis for many a film ; from the western to the birdcage .
at least three excellent australian films have covered the aboriginal people and the line between them and we anglo - saxon ' invaders ' : " jedda " , " the chant of jimmie blacksmith " and " the last wave " .
in a year when the race ' debate ' has reared up in australia , it is nourishing to see such an intelligent , non - judgemental film as " dead heart " .
the aboriginal priest best sums this up .
he is asked to say if he is a " black fella or white fella " .
Output: P