The
Chant of Jimmie
Blacksmith
(1978)
The
Chant of Jimmy
Blacksmith is a drama
set in the late 1800s.
It focuses on half-caste
Aborigine Jimmy
Blacksmith (Tommy Lewis,
who was in last week's
Australian Classic), who
is brought up by the
local reverend (Jack
Thompson) in his
orphanage. Once he
becomes old enough,
Jimmy sets off into the
world, taking jobs where
he can find them. The
racism against
Aborigines is shocking
and Jimmy has it hard,
but he fights on
nonetheless. After
meeting a white woman,
Gilda Marshall (Angela
Punch McGregor), at a
new job, he gets her
pregnant and is happy to
be a father because he
might be accepted more
by the community. He is
for a while, even given
land and his own place,
but when his brother and
uncles join him on the
land, Jimmy's boss sees
red and bans Jimmy and
Gilda from getting
supplies. They also
offer Gilda a way out by
leaving Jimmy. This sets
Jimmy off and, after a
confrontation with his
boss goes wrong, Jimmy
goes berserk. With the
help of his uncle, he
takes revenge on some
women, killing four and
seriously injuring one
other. On the run with
his brother, Jimmy
decides to take revenge
on everyone who wronged
him to the point where
he seems like a 'devil'
to his brother. But the
posse are not far behind
and are bloodthirsty in
their revenge.
Tough,
uncompromising drama
based on the book by
Thomas Keneally that is
a hard watch, even
today. Jimmy is a
likeable lad and the
racism against him is
very ugly, but his
crimes are brutal and
are of the worse kind.
On the other hand, his
pursuers are not exactly
a likeable lot and are
looking for any excuse
to kill a black man.
There's no winners here
and under the direction
of Fred Schepisi, this
is an expertly told
story that is well worth
a look.
Roadgames
(1980)
Roadgames is a thriller
from director Richard
Franklin (The True Story
of Eskimo Nell, Patrick,
later Psycho 2, Hotel
Sorrento, Brilliant Lies
and Visitors) about a
truck driver Quid (Stacy
Keach) who has to drive
a load of meat from
Melbourne to Perth.
Along the way, after
hearing news on the
radio, he gets
a feeling that he might
have come across a
murder. After picking up
a woman from the side of
the road, he takes a
short cut and spots who
could be the killer
possibly burying
something. This starts a
cat and mouse chase on
the way to Perth that
builds momentum when
another hitchhiker Quid
picks up, who he labels
'Hitch' (Jamie Lee
Curtis), is kidnapped by
the possible killer.
He's also a pretty good
match for the killer
himself.
Can
Quid save Hitch in time?
Can he get the load to
Perth in time? A pretty
good Hitchcockian
thriller that has some
pretty tense scenes and
some pretty good set
pieces. And Keach is
pretty damn good as a
rambling, barely sane
driver trying to
alleviate the boredom of
driving cross country.
Angelic
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