Rating: 4/5
Cult Movie Challenge 2017 | 1/52 | Ozploitation
The vast emptiness of the Tiboonda outback greets us. A line of railroad tracks cut through the township, with a single stop, a hotel, and a tiny school. Bored middle school children watch their teacher, John Grant, in silence while they wait for the six-week Christmas holiday to begin. The government assigned John to this post through a financial bond—he got a university education but had to work a two-year stint at a school of their choosing. Hence, Tiboonda. John dismisses the class and has a middy at the hotel bar with the barkeep, Charlie, before handing over the keys. He hears the train whistle and rushes out to catch it.
A small pack of hooligans drink beer on the train and sing songs together. Kids from John’s class wave the train off. John pulls out a wallet photo of his girlfriend, Robyn, whom he’s traveling to see for the holidays. He dreams of drinking a Tooth’s KB Lager and watching Robyn swim in the waves. The train stops in Bundanyabba, where John will fly to Syndey the following day.
John hits a nearby pub at 8:25 PM that is supposed to close at 6:30 PM. The place is packed, but John finds a wall to lean against. He befriends local policeman Jock Crawford. They polish off a middy, and Crawford orders them another. John tries to move along, but Crawford chugs his beer and orders them another. Once Crawford gets John properly sloshed, he takes him to an RSL club (think VFW if you’re American) and introduces him to two-up, an illegal gambling game that may be John’s chance to pay off his bond early.
The film puts middle-class John, intelligent, well-bred, and allergic to hospitality, in a space where he feels superior to everyone around him. His arrogance becomes his downfall, and he learns the difference between simple and safe.
The film tests Western notions of “progress” and “respectability” against a wild world made of Westerners trapped in the purgatory of the outback. What does progress mean when every day looks the same? How does civility sustain itself under brute force? It doesn’t. It’s a lesson neoliberalism refuses to learn.
The film has an uncanny quality — John meets his fair share of characters. Small towns know how to breed them, and the barren expanse of the outback is as small as it gets. It reminds me of Blue Velvet, but it’s not the same.
Gary Bond is hot. We get to see his swimming trunk tanlines if you know what I mean. He’s also a tremendous actor—it makes sense he mostly did stage work. He originated the role of Joseph in Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat.
I love Chip Rafferty. When I saw him, I said, “Now, THIS is an Australian.” I looked at his Wikipedia page, and they called him “the living symbol of the typical Australian.” Sadly, he died of a heart attack shortly after completing this role.
Donald Pleasence appears as Doc Tydon, an alcoholic who understands that discontent is a luxury available to the well-off, so he might as well appreciate where he is. This performance might be his most unhinged.
I should warn you that this film includes actual animal deaths. The filmmakers filmed a kangaroo hunt. I’ll spare you the details, but it’s a bloodbath. I hate kangaroos, but it’s one of the most upsetting scenes I’ve seen. The kangaroo is now a critically endangered species because of hunts like this—this movie didn’t originate it and isn’t the most heinous example.
What a relentless nightmare.