In theory, all cultures should be able to communicate, sharing as they do big concerns like life, death, love and kinship. All we have to do is hold hands and understand each other.
The reality is that bridging cultural gulfs is hard work. And with Ten Canoes, his sweet filmic exercise in the Aboriginal storytelling tradition, Australian director Rolf de Heer (The Tracker) has pulled off one of the hardest tricks in the book -- making people with two utterly different languages and mindsets laugh at the same things.
And really, what could endear you more to a paleolithic culture than to discover that they, too, appreciate a good fart joke?
De Heer is, to a large extent, the author of this meandering fable-within-a-fable, yet it has the feel of an authentic oral history, as related by a culture that would have no use for the words "to make a long story short." And the shooting site, the crocodile-infested wetlands of Australia's Northern Arnhem Land, is like another planet -- a perfect template for a trip back in time.
Cast entirely with Yolngu Aboriginal locals who act out the story as if it were real (they apparently have no concept of fiction), Ten Canoes tells the story of a goose-egg hunting expedition 1,000 years ago (shot in black and white) in which Minygululu (Peter Minygululu) discovers his brother Dayindi (Jamie Gulpilil) is in love with one of his wives. Nonplussed, he tells Dayindi a story from the mythic past (shot in colour) of another party whose leader Ridjimiraril (Crusoe Kurddal), who must also deal with a brother who covets one of his three wives.
What follows is a series of plot threads that encompass murder, kidnapping, mistaken identity and even a remarkably reasonable Stone Age code of justice, punctuated by a moral that very clearly translates as "be careful what you wish for." It's all delivered with good humour, even in the face of tragic events.
And the supporting players are easygoing and smoothly convincing in their characterizations -- best among them, the "honey man" Birinbirin (Richard Birrinbirrin), who eats so much honey, he's attained the nearly-impossible physical condition known as "fat." As well, Ridjimiraril's wives -- Banalandju (Sonia Djarrabalminym), Nowalingu (Frances Djulibing) and Munandjarra (Cassandra Malangarri Baker) -- are an interesting study in polygamist dynamics, the alpha wife, the jealous beta and the self-effacing, sweet-natured omega.
Although the idea of a story told about the telling of a story takes a bit of getting used to at first, de Heer's use of black-and-white versus colour makes it ultimately easy and makes the jumps in time (is it 1,000 years? 10,000?) all the more stark.
It underlines the timelessness of an unchanging culture perfectly suited to its place. Ten Canoes is a feel-good rumination on human experience, and the connections we share not only from place to place but across time.
(This film is rated 14-A)
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