MamaGravity good back-story, and good acting

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Art Vandelay There's probably a poignant film in the footage they shot. Maybe they were hitting the bong a little too hard in the editing room. Because the result is a choppy, disjointed, self-indulgent mess. But that's not why I'm reviewing this movie. Since the clowns who run this site eliminated the discussion boards I'll register here my amusement over the self-described geniuses, aesthetes and other self- important reviewers who were mortally offended by the nudity like it was some kind of kiddie p-rn crime. A marginally interesting film to see once. Too shallow to be memorable.

AndyUK1 This film has just appeared on the BBC Iplayer. For its age I thought it was quite good and stood the test of time quite well. It is however totally let down by the voyeuristic content, primarily, but not limited to, Jenny Agutter. She may have been 17 when filming this but why on earth does she wear such a short skirt, why does the director dwell on her legs so much much (i started to get concerned when there was the view of her getting the picnic out of the car) - she is presumably playing a schoolgirl and these shots are totally inappropriate and add nothing to the film whatsoever. I get the swimming scene and what these add, but it too is far too long and the shots dwelling on her bottom are a total disgrace. It really made me feel quite concerned. I'm not a film buff and have joined IMDb today just to register my comments. Some of the nonsense on these posts supporting the film in this regard are really quite deluded.The UK film board had an opportunity to ban this film and that was a missed opportunity.

SnoopyStyle A schoolgirl (Jenny Agutter), her little brother (Luc Roeg) and their father (John Meillon) from Sydney drive out into the Australian outback for a picnic. The father is disturbed and starts shooting at his kids. He sets the car on fire and kills himself. They walk off into the wilderness. With dwindling supplies, they find a watering hole and a fruit tree. When even that has gone, an Aboriginal boy (David Gulpilil) encounters them.This is visually arresting. It's about the life in the desert more than any rolling sand dunes. The story is about Jenny Agutter's character. This is her walkabout. It's her coming of age with her sexuality. It's also her protective instincts with her brother. The movie starts with her protecting her brother from her father and her father's death. It also lays out the differing cultures. The intercutting between various sequences delivers its powerful message. It's a truly memorable movie.

Benjamin Cox Other than spawning a franchise of Aussie-themed pubs/clubs in the UK, the only thing I associate this movie with was the sudden (and it has to be said, sustained) interest in Jenny Agutter in male viewers across the land. But "Walkabout" is like many of the dramas that emerged during the early Seventies in that it's well made but doesn't always make a lot of sense. It reminded me, weirdly, of "Vanishing Point" although there's less that happens here - the minimal cast, largely improvised script and uncomfortable setting makes for a much more visceral experience. And while its tale of cultures clashing makes for compulsive viewing, there is a sense of unease about the thing that might put you off.Driven by their father (John Meillon) into the Australian outback for a picnic, a teenage girl (Agutter) realises that he has other motives on his mind. As her father opens fire on her and her younger brother (Luc Roeg), they both run for cover before she sees her father shoot himself in the head and set fire to their car. Stranded in the desert and surrounded by the creatures that live there, they slowly wander through the terrain hoping for rescue. But they encounter a Aboriginal boy (David Gulpilil) on his walkabout - a rite of passage where they must live off the land before becoming a man. Aided by their mysterious friend and his survival skills (despite not sharing a language), the children's hopes for a return to civilisation increase."Walkabout" can, at times, be a brutal watch as animals are seen speared, shot and dismembered in graphic detail. It offers an unflinching look at a land and people largely untouched by our civilisation, one that often seems as alien to us as anything from outer space. But the film doesn't shy away from turning the spotlight on us, asking you questions that you might not like the answers to. Are we any better than the Aborigines because we hunt for sport with rifles and jeeps as opposed to spearing animals for food? Despite the lack of anything really interesting happening, the film is a compulsive watch thanks largely to the young cast. Agutter leads in a fearless performance as the bewitching schoolgirl although little Roeg (director Nicholas Roeg's son) also does well as he seems to have most of the dialogue. In between scenes, close-up shots of endless bizarre animals add to the unusual atmosphere while Gulpilil's performance feels frighteningly authentic.It can feel a bit of a head-trip but "Walkabout" is a good example of a movie working despite having little behind it. I wouldn't call it entertaining - it's much too bleak for that - but it's certainly interesting, both from a narrative and production point of view. With no effects, very little music other than what can be heard from the transistor radio the children have with them and little to explain what is actually going on, the film has to work hard to hold your attention and it succeeds, just. It's an unsettling attempt to compare our society with one that will be utterly foreign to 99% of its audience and while it's a brave thing to look in the mirror, it might have been nice with Nicholas Roeg wasn't using one he'd borrowed from a circus tent.