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| "All the little devils are proud of hell." |
Wake in Fright (Ted Kotcheff, 1971)
Kind of ironic how what's arguably the greatest Australian film ever happens to be directed by Ted Kotcheff, a Canadian film maker, while its main actors are a couple of English pommies - Gary Bond and Donald Pleasence. This dark psychological drama, revolves around the lost weekend of John Grant (Bond), a school teacher working in the sun-scorched Australian outback. Grant isn't too happy working in such a remote location, as he feels both physically and intellectually stifled by the region and its working class inhabitants. Matters get from bad to worse for him when he unfortuanately gambles away all his money, at a mining city known as Bundanyabba, AKA The Yabba, while on his journey to meet his girlfriend in Sydney.
What's particularly great about Wake in Fright is how Grant's spiralling descent into hell plays out like a series of mini adventures, as he encounters a series of colourful characters and illuminating events along the way. This almost makes Grant's escapade seem somewhat whimsical. Especially fond of The Yabba's towering lawman, Jock, played by Chips Rafferty. There's a subliminal battle between the pair, as beneath the surface of aggresive social hospitality, Jock despises Grant's intellectual snobbery and relishes in Grant's declining mental and physical state, throughout their subsequent encounters. Kotcheff claims Rafferty refused to drink non-alcoholic beer like the rest of the cast, and drank the actual amber nectar for the sake of authenticity. Kotcheff claims that Rafferty was neckin' down around thirty pints a day. Strewth!
The fictional Bundanyabba is actually Broken Hill, in New South Wales in real life. It's a region which was also used as a location for other Aussie film classics such as Mad Max 2 (1981) and Razorback (1984), not to mention the afternoon soap opera, The Flying Doctors (1986-1992). Much like Fulci's representation of New York City in The New York Ripper (1982), Kotcheff's realisation of daily life in The Yabba appears just as repressive and almost comes across like a character in itself. Water isn't fit for human consumption, hence alcohol is the main staple for its working class population. This booze culture is what alienates Grant at first, so it becomes fitting when he befriends the alcoholic Doc Tydon, a medical professional in exile from urban society. Drinking in The Yabba is the social norm, hence Doc can work and be the pillar of the community, while keeping his disease hidden.
The film is mired with some controversy as it shows the depiction of wild kangroos being sadistically hunted by Grant, Doc and a couple of rowdy lowts. It appears exploitative to some, but Kotcheff filmed a real culling he was privvy to and edited it in with his cast. That's way less reprehensible in comparison to the unsavoury practices going on with the burgeoning Italian jungle horror scene at the time. Credit to Anthony Buckley's editing for making one scene where Grant repeatedly stabs a poor kangaroo seem so disturbingly realistic. Even for an extreme movie veteran like myself, it's still remarkably unpleasant to watch. There's also the scene where Doc rapes Grant, which culminates in the latter's sanity going from bad to worse. Grant's nightmare becomes inescapable as he appears destined to wonder The Yabba broken and lost.
Kotcheff's Wake in Fright is one of those immersive films where you're immediately contemplating a hot shower after the end credits. You can almost feel the unpleasant taint of sweat and alcohol on your body. No matter how harrowing, for a film to deliver such an immersive experience, it's to be applauded. It's a major reason why this film is a personal favourite of mine from the seventies and the most Sam Peckinpah film Sam Peckinpah never made. The competency in capturing the male psyche with such aplomb, while simultaneously addressing both intellectual and class divisions is to be applauded. Fifty years later, it still delivers and doesn't feel dated at all. The film spawned a 2017 mini-series which I hardly even knew existed. Kotcheff went on to revisit the male psyche the following decade with the Sylvester Stallone blockbuster, First Blood (1982), a classic in its own right.
Toto, I don't think we're in The Sullivans anymore.
ReplyDeleteDidn't know the director was a Canuck. That makes it all the more impressive.
Didn't know he directed Weekend at Bernie's until recently.
ReplyDeleteLinked this post to Robbie Unkut since he considers this and Idiot Box as Australia's two greatest celluloid achievements.
ReplyDeleteNever even heard of Idiot Box until now. I'll add it to the Antipodean To Watch List, along with Bad Boy Bubby and that Aussie film with Dennis Hopper in it.
ReplyDeleteOught to add Unkut to the Blog Roll while I'm add it.