Walkabout (1971) – Film Review

Louis Belden

Figure 1. Walkabout theatrical poster

This review will be analysing Nicolas Roeg’s 1971 cult classic survival drama, Walkabout, specifically
focusing on the transformative elements of the film. Key sources include, ‘Criterion Confessions –
Walkabout’ an article by Jamie S. Rich talking about the influence of the film and, Gregory Stephens
article, ‘Confining Nature: Rites of Passage, Eco-Indigenes and the Uses of Meat in Walkabout.’ talking
about the growing up elements of the film. Based on the novel of the same name, Walkabout tells the
story of a pair of school students who become lost and stranded in the Australian Outback and their
encounter with an Aboriginal boy.

Other than being a survival drama and a slight romance, Walkabout, can be identified as a coming of age
story showing the rights of passage of two people, the girl through her experience of going up and sexual
awakening and the aboriginal boy on his walkabout, which is the trial for manhood in Aboriginal Australian
culture.

The film depicts the walkabout for the lost children as a sort of transformative journey in which the
characters’ lives are changed through the events of this almost childlike journey. Even though to the
audience is aware to the dangers, the use of wild creatures, lack of water and the blazing sun seem like
hardships, although not having fun the pair never seem to be in any adherent danger. The young boy
especially seems to see it as a bit of fun, with little regard for the situation he is in, playing with his toys
and splashing in the pool like he’s on an adventure in the back garden. The aboriginal seen as an
instant playmate and brotherly figure. The use of the hot dessert sun almost links it to the idea of an
endless hot summer of fun, long days filled with adventure in the garden, this idea is further identified
by Rich who says, “The contained dreamscape of the three youths is so effective. Roeg and Bond
construct their joint walkabout as a kind of magical journey. They aren't restrained by time. In one
scene, they are dressed in normal clothes; in the next, they are stripped down and wearing detailed
tribal make-up. These leaps add to the fantastical quality that blurs the edges of their reality.” (Rich
2010) This idea of a dream like timeless experience also relates to the idea of a summer holiday in the
way the time almost feels unlimited, anything can happen and the only goal is to have fun and explore.
 Figure 2. The boy having fun

This experience is a complete contrast to the life they would normally lead and the lives they will
eventually go on to live and because of that it seen as this transformative life changing experience that
they forever yearn for upon arrival home. Even though they grow up through the movie the experiences
they have show them the childhood freedom they could be having and shows them the comparison
between the life they could be living and the life they live. When they do eventually meet another
person and find more civilization it appears worse than the magical existence they leave behind. This is
demonstrated when Stephens says, “The visual narrative of Walkabout suggests that confinement is a
precondition to a sort of delusional acceptance of the illogic of modernized urban societies, which
promise freedom but enforce a deforming conformity.” (Stephens 2009) This demonstrates how the pair
never knew what they were missing until they experienced the freedom, and once normal life continued
the confines of clothing and everyday life count compare. This is further demonstrated when Ebert
says, “The movie is not the heart-warming story of how the girl and her brother are lost in the outback
and survive because of the knowledge of the resourceful aborigine. It is about how all three are still lost
at the end of the film--more lost than before, because now they are lost inside themselves instead of
merely adrift in the world.” (Ebert 1997) The film presents an almost sad ending where the feelings are
almost switched, the once desolate landscape of the dessert had a feeling of being lost, but by the end
of the film that idea is swapped and the confines of the real world is the one that feels trapping and
lonely

.
Figure 3. The girls longing
The experience of the aboriginal Is also seen to been changed throughout the film. Already
experienced and well versed in the way of the dessert he knows everything the children don’t, for him
the walkabout Is about proving himself to his people. In many ways his walkabout was a success he
already has the skills and proves himself a survivor, however like the children his experience shows
him something more. He meets the girl, the pair seem to have a sort of coming of age romance
however it wasn’t meant to be, Stephens explains how because of this the boy’s rite of passage is
defeated “The aborigine’s rite-of-passage was unsuccessful, in a literal, monocultural sense. He has
not been re-integrated into his society and he has failed if he aspired to integrate into the world of the
girl. However, the question of the “success” of his coming of age is more complex.” (Stephens 2009)
This demonstrates how his life was also change and was show something he didn’t know he wanted
until he experienced it this is further demonstrated when Ebert says, “The aborigine, for his part, lacks
the imagination to press his case--his sexual desires--in any terms other than the rituals of his people.
When that fails, he is finished, and in despair.” (Ebert 1997) Further adding to the idea of the failed rite
of passage he experienced.

Figure 4. The Aboriginals dance

So in conclusion both the transformative elements of the children and the boys experience have a bitter
sweet feeling while both succeeded the goals the unintentional meeting in the dessert gave them a
feeling of longing for what could have been, almost transforming their lives.
Illustration list

• Figure 1: Wikipediaorg. 2019. Wikipediaorg. [Online]. [19 March 2019]. Available from:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walkabout_(film)
• Figure 2: Flickminutecom. 2013. Flick Minute. [Online]. [19 March 2019]. Available from:
http://flickminute.com/walkabout-masterpiece-obscure/
• Figure 3: Youtubecom. 2019. YouTube. [Online]. [19 March 2019].Available from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9w41F_f9cs
• Figure 4: Gulpililcom. 2019. Gulpililcom. [Online]. [19 March 2019].Available from:
http://www.gulpilil.com/walkabout_dance.htm

Bibliography

• Luke Buckmaster. (2014). Walkabout rewatched – a wilderness of the mind as much as of the land. Available:
https://www.theguardian.com/film/australia-culture-blog/2014/jul/11/walkabout-rewatched-a-wilderness-of-the-
mind-as-much-as-of-the-land. Last accessed 19/03/2019.

• Roger Ebert. (1997). Walkabout . Available: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-walkabout-1971.

Last accessed 19/03/2019.

• Jamie S. Rich. (2010). Walkabout. Available: http://www.criterionconfessions.com/2010/05/walkabout-10.html.

Last accessed 19/3/2019.

• Gregory Stephens. (2009). Confining Nature: Rites of Passage, Eco-Indigenes and the Uses of Meat in
Walkabout. Available: http://sensesofcinema.com/2009/towards-an-ecology-of-cinema/walkabout/. Last accessed
19/3/2019.