Watch Charlie's Country

Charlie's Country is a 2013 Australian drama film directed by Rolf de Heer and starring David Gulpilil, Peter Djigirr, and Luke Ford. It tells the story of Charlie, an Aboriginal man who increasingly feels out of place in the modern world and decides to return to his traditional way of life in the bush. The film begins with Charlie living in rural Australia on a government-issued welfare payment which he uses to buy alcohol, cigarettes, and other modern luxuries. However, as he becomes increasingly disillusioned with his life, he decides to leave his town and significantly reduce his contact with the modern world. This decision is not just about his way of life, but also about his cultural identity and his place in the world as an Aboriginal man.

Charlie sets out to live off the land, using his traditional knowledge to hunt, fish, and gather food. However, he soon discovers that he needs things from the modern world in order to survive – such as a gun to hunt kangaroos and a frying pan to cook them in. This leads him to trade with other Aboriginal people who live nearby, but he finds that even they have become influenced by Western materialism.

As Charlie struggles to maintain his cultural identity and way of life, he begins to face a series of obstacles. He is arrested for hunting without a license, and later tries to steal a guitar from a music store. These events ultimately lead to his relocation to a rehabilitation center, where he struggles against the strict rules and regulations that dictate how he behaves and what he can do.

Throughout the film, the audience is presented with a powerful commentary on contemporary Aboriginal life, in which traditional culture and values are often at odds with the demands of modernity. Charlie's struggles are representative of those faced by many Aboriginal people in Australia today, who are often caught between two worlds and must find ways to reconcile their traditional heritage with the expectations of mainstream society.

David Gulpilil's performance as Charlie is exceptional, capturing the character's struggle with authenticity and depth. As an Aboriginal actor, Gulpilil brings a degree of authenticity to the role that is hard to replicate and his performance is a testament to his unique talents and the power of indigenous storytelling.

Peter Djigirr, who plays Charlie’s friend Black Pete, is equally impressive in his role, providing a strong and stoic counterpoint to Charlie’s emotional outbursts. Luke Ford rounds out the cast as a well-meaning yet misguided police officer, portraying the difficulties faced by many members of the police force in Aboriginal communities.

The film is visually stunning, capturing the breathtaking Australian landscape in all its glory. There is a distinctly dreamlike quality to the cinematography, which serves to reinforce the idea that Charlie is living in a kind of liminal space between two worlds.

Overall, Charlie's Country is a thought-provoking and emotionally resonant exploration of the intersection between traditional and modern Aboriginal life. It is a film that is both lyrical and politically charged and proves once again that indigenous storytelling is some of the most compelling and important cinema being produced today.

Charlie's Country is a 2015 drama with a runtime of 1 hour and 48 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.3 and a MetaScore of 75.