The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (Schepisi, 1978):
Hampstead Film Society, Interchange Trust, 213 Haverstock Hill, London, 7pm
Chicago Reader review:
'Fred Schepisi's 1978 Australian film adheres to the
classical form of the national epic, with its rhyming, foreshadowing
passages, its inclusive journey motif, and its charismatic hero, whose
actions bring forth the new country. But all of the values have been
inverted: Schepisi's hero is half white, half aborigine; all of his
honor, sacrifice, and earnestness bring him only scorn and disaster, and
finally he revolts. It's the death of Jimmie, the last quixotic
revolutionary, that gives birth to modern, white Australia. The film is
formally precise and visually stunning, with strange, hollow interiors
and eccentric, original wide-screen compositions against brooding
landscapes. A complex experience, brewed equally from myth and irony.'
Dave Kehr
Here is the trailer.
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