One Night the Moon
Directed by Rachel Perkins
Written by Rachel Perkins and John Romeril
Featuring Paul Kelly, Kelton Pell and Chris Haywood
Music by Paul Kelly, Mairead Hannan, Kev Carmody and Ruby Hunter
At major cinemas
REVIEW BY ANGELA LUVERA
One Night the Moon has a haunting soundtrack, fantastic cinematography and a tragic story of the devastating effects of racism. It should have made for a must see movie.
Based on events that took place in 1932 in outback Australia, it is the musical tale of a young girl who one night follows the moon, never to return home. When her parents discover that she is missing, they call in the local police to organise a search party.
Albert (Kelton Pell), an Aboriginal tracker, was to head the search party but the girl's father (Paul Kelly) is blinded by his racism and declares that no "darkie" is going to help find his daughter. And so the search party heads off in the wrong direction.
The frustration of the film is that it could have been really moving. But it never really engages the audience. You never get the chance to connect with the characters — the rejected Albert who has the knowledge but is denied the opportunity to help; the desperate ignorance of the father that leads to tragic consequences; the mother who, in her grief, cannot escape the images of her little girl.
The film's running time of only 57 minutes is probably where the film fell down. Another half an hour would have allowed the film time to develop the characters more.
From Green Left Weekly, December 5, 2001.
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