There are two recent Aussie films that I imagine would be by now available in your DVD rental shop, via Netflix, etc. or downloadable; both deal, in very different ways, with coming-of-age in the indigenous Australian culture.

Samson and Delilah (2009) is probably the most powerful and upsetting movie I’ve seen in Australia.  With very little dialogue and achingly slow movement, this film follows two aboriginal teenagers who have grown up in a small, isolated indigenous town in central Australia.  The movie begins with Samson’s growing awareness of the girl-next-door.  Actually, the movie begins with Samson waking up and reaching for his bedside can of petrol, for his first huff of the day.  But through his fumey fog we can see Samson’s boy-brain shift and stutter into gear as he watches, follows and pesters good-girl Delilah.  When Delilah’s grandmother dies from illness, the community blames her, and force her to leave.  Samson and his only possession, his petrol jug, follow.

The rest of the movie follows the pair’s journey into the city of Alice Springs, and their sad dealings with the wider world, both white and black.  Don’t be fooled by the trailer, this is not a sweeping love story.  Rather, this is the story of how two people stumble into one another and stay together for lack of knowing what else to do.  There is something so natural and unaffected about the young actors that one forgets he is watching a movie.  The director’s treatment seems so un-sentimental that he might have just wandered under a bridge and followed two homeless teens for a few days (with an amazing soundtrack and gifted cinematographer in tow).

As a (white) (non-Australian) person who has never dealt with Aboriginals, I don’t know what to say.  I’m extremely uncomfortable passing any judgement on the issue.  What I like about this film is that the story personalizes some of the problems of Indigenous/White culture clash, without making heroes or heroines of its principal characters.  Watch it – what do you think?

Thankfully, on the far, far, faaaar side of the silly-serious spectrum, we have Bran Nue Dae (2009) – a feel-good rom-com razzle-dazzle musical road movie about growing up black in Western Australia.  Set in the late sixties, Willie, a young boy from Broome, has been called to the priesthood but dreams of his sweetheart Rosie back home.  After getting caught stealing cokes and Cherry Ripes from Father Benedictus’ personal stash, Willie ditches his boys’ school in Perth.  With the help of his “Uncle” Tadpole, an elderly tramp who’ll do anything for grog, Willie hits the road for home.  He meets strange and interesting people along the way.

It’s campy and cheeky, but not in the Baz Luhrman way, thank God.  Like Samson and Delilah, Bran Nue Dae deals with Aboriginal youth issues and stereotypes, and maybe not in the most sensitive way, but if you put all that aside, it’s funny as.  Geoffrey Rush hams it up as a German priest, and sweet Rosie is played by a real Australian Idol (4th season).  Ernie Dingo, an aboriginal actor and raconteur plays Uncle Tadpole, and two other principle women (Willy’s mother, and Roxanne, the lusty, bawdy wench of the movie (my favourite character, of course)) in the film are well-lauded actresses.

Two bona-fide musicians lend their talents to the films.  Dan Sultan, an up-and-coming singer/songwriter whom I’ve been paying some attention to lately, plays the dashing, rockin’ rake who might steal Rosie’s heart (or something else precious).  Little bit of a crush there. Missy Higgins, an Australian pop/R&B/soul singer (for lack of a better classification) (whom I also love) plays a dippy hippie chick on the path to enlighten… something…

And lastly, we have a near-perfect cameo by Magda “Hot… Chicko…Roll…?” Szubanski, a comedienne and TV actress most famous for her role as ever-unlucky Sharon on Kath and Kim (an Aussie TV classic).  She is awesome.

What I love also about this movie is its unpolished cheer.  Originally staged as a musical, Bran Nue Dae feels like a pretty-good high school effort.  The elder, established, proper actors seem all too happy to lose their diginity for the sake of the show; the younger kids, despite awkward dance moves and slightly-off timing, shine with exuberance.  It’s a fun movie, hands down, and we don’t get a lot of those lately.

Another fun fact – this movie was set and filmed in WA, in and around Perth, and on the road to the north.  There are scenes relatively early in the movie where Willie, having just run away from school, convinces his Uncle to take him to Broome.  These scenes were filmed in Fremantle, around Notre Dame University; I hang out there.  You can see a High Street street sign.  It’s weird to see my town – if you can call it that – on the big screen.