HIGH GROUND
*****
Director: Stephen Maxwell Johnson
Screenplay: Chris Anastassiades
Principal cast:
Simon Baker
Jacob Junior Nayinggul
Callan Mulvey
Jack Thompson
Caren Pistorius
Ryan Corr
Country: Australia
Classification: MA15+
Runtime: 104 mins.
Australian release date: 28 January 2021.
Gumatj Leader Galarrwuy Yunupingu has described High Ground as “a both-ways film, First Nations and Balanda. It depicts a time of trouble in Australia; it honours our old heroes, reminds us of the past and the truth of our joint history in the country. I hope that this film can play an important role in Australia’s national conversation towards a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution so that all our children will walk in both-worlds, never forgetting the past.” These are fine words and a fitting description of Stephen Maxwell Johnson’s film, which tells of a massacre of an Aboriginal tribe in the Northern Territory in the first quarter of the 20th century and the wheels it set in motion. As we now know, these violent acts happened all too frequently in Australia, although the one depicted here is a composite creation. Johnson explains: “This story presents the view that there really is no such thing as ‘settlement’; it’s all about conquest and High Ground exposes the shameful truth of Australia’s history. Rather than dramatizing a single historical event, High Ground draws on stories from a variety of locations, a fiction to illustrate a deeper truth.”
The first thing you’ll notice about this excellent film is the Arnhem Land and Kakadu National Park locations - they are extraordinarily beautiful, a veritable Garden of Eden. Almost immediately though, this sense of peace and oneness with nature is shattered as we observe a motley crew of Balanda (white men) surreptitiously creep up on a group of Yolgnu. As their leader, an ex-Army sniper called Travis (Simon Baker), surveils the camp from the high ground, he is appalled to see his recruits open fire on the group of mainly women, the elderly and children, the men being out hunting. Only one child escapes, a boy named Gutjuk, meaning ‘Hawk’ (Guruwuk Mununggurr first, then Jacob Junior Nayinggul as a young man), who Travis takes back to the local mission run by Father Braddock (Ryan Corr) and his sister Claire (Caren Pistorius). Disgusted by what he’s witnessed, Travis takes off, turning his back on his fellow white men but, 12 years later, he is drawn back to the area to try and capture Baywara (Sean Munungurr), the leader of a mob attacking and burning cattle stations. Gutjuk has now grown up and Baywara is his uncle, so Travis enlists his help to track down the fugitive warrior, hoping to bring a peaceful end to the conflict. But where do Gutjuk’s true allegiances lie?
High Ground is a beautifully structured movie, despite the terrible story it tells. Its scope is breathtaking, both cinematographically and script-wise. It raises pertinent issues for Australia about relations with First Nations’ people that remain undealt with to the present day and, regrettably, look like festering for some time to come; like a wound that has never been properly treated and so can’t heal. There’s still a mindset in some quarters of the country that thinks if we ignore that these massacres happened, that there wasn’t a ‘war with the natives’ as 19th century newspapers called it, then the matter will simply disappear. Patently, it won’t - some of this carnage happened in living memory. Baker, Mulvey and the rest of the ensemble cast inhabit their roles, bringing their characters to full-blooded life, but the standout performance is Jacob Junior Nayinggul’s portrayal of Gutjuk. He’s extraordinary and had never acted before, but he successfully conveys a wide range of emotions as his relationship with Travis turns from amity to enmity. He’s got a bright future in cinema if he is offered the right opportunities.
Johnson, who was raised in Yolgnu country where his father was a teacher, has wanted to tell the story of High Ground for many years. The screenplay was written by Chris Anastassiades, with whom Johnson also collaborated on his first feature, Yolgnu Boy in 2001. Together (and with considerable input from DoP Andrew Commis and Lead Editor Jill Bilcock), they have made one of the best Australian films of the year. This is a must-see.
Screenplay: Chris Anastassiades
Principal cast:
Simon Baker
Jacob Junior Nayinggul
Callan Mulvey
Jack Thompson
Caren Pistorius
Ryan Corr
Country: Australia
Classification: MA15+
Runtime: 104 mins.
Australian release date: 28 January 2021.
Gumatj Leader Galarrwuy Yunupingu has described High Ground as “a both-ways film, First Nations and Balanda. It depicts a time of trouble in Australia; it honours our old heroes, reminds us of the past and the truth of our joint history in the country. I hope that this film can play an important role in Australia’s national conversation towards a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution so that all our children will walk in both-worlds, never forgetting the past.” These are fine words and a fitting description of Stephen Maxwell Johnson’s film, which tells of a massacre of an Aboriginal tribe in the Northern Territory in the first quarter of the 20th century and the wheels it set in motion. As we now know, these violent acts happened all too frequently in Australia, although the one depicted here is a composite creation. Johnson explains: “This story presents the view that there really is no such thing as ‘settlement’; it’s all about conquest and High Ground exposes the shameful truth of Australia’s history. Rather than dramatizing a single historical event, High Ground draws on stories from a variety of locations, a fiction to illustrate a deeper truth.”
The first thing you’ll notice about this excellent film is the Arnhem Land and Kakadu National Park locations - they are extraordinarily beautiful, a veritable Garden of Eden. Almost immediately though, this sense of peace and oneness with nature is shattered as we observe a motley crew of Balanda (white men) surreptitiously creep up on a group of Yolgnu. As their leader, an ex-Army sniper called Travis (Simon Baker), surveils the camp from the high ground, he is appalled to see his recruits open fire on the group of mainly women, the elderly and children, the men being out hunting. Only one child escapes, a boy named Gutjuk, meaning ‘Hawk’ (Guruwuk Mununggurr first, then Jacob Junior Nayinggul as a young man), who Travis takes back to the local mission run by Father Braddock (Ryan Corr) and his sister Claire (Caren Pistorius). Disgusted by what he’s witnessed, Travis takes off, turning his back on his fellow white men but, 12 years later, he is drawn back to the area to try and capture Baywara (Sean Munungurr), the leader of a mob attacking and burning cattle stations. Gutjuk has now grown up and Baywara is his uncle, so Travis enlists his help to track down the fugitive warrior, hoping to bring a peaceful end to the conflict. But where do Gutjuk’s true allegiances lie?
High Ground is a beautifully structured movie, despite the terrible story it tells. Its scope is breathtaking, both cinematographically and script-wise. It raises pertinent issues for Australia about relations with First Nations’ people that remain undealt with to the present day and, regrettably, look like festering for some time to come; like a wound that has never been properly treated and so can’t heal. There’s still a mindset in some quarters of the country that thinks if we ignore that these massacres happened, that there wasn’t a ‘war with the natives’ as 19th century newspapers called it, then the matter will simply disappear. Patently, it won’t - some of this carnage happened in living memory. Baker, Mulvey and the rest of the ensemble cast inhabit their roles, bringing their characters to full-blooded life, but the standout performance is Jacob Junior Nayinggul’s portrayal of Gutjuk. He’s extraordinary and had never acted before, but he successfully conveys a wide range of emotions as his relationship with Travis turns from amity to enmity. He’s got a bright future in cinema if he is offered the right opportunities.
Johnson, who was raised in Yolgnu country where his father was a teacher, has wanted to tell the story of High Ground for many years. The screenplay was written by Chris Anastassiades, with whom Johnson also collaborated on his first feature, Yolgnu Boy in 2001. Together (and with considerable input from DoP Andrew Commis and Lead Editor Jill Bilcock), they have made one of the best Australian films of the year. This is a must-see.