Set in three different periods, spanning the present and prehistory, the Aborigine fable “Ten Canoes” doesn’t just address the eternal verities of myth – love, jealousy, hatred and other moral hallmarks of humankind. It’s also cheekily aware of its contemporary audience.
Amid profound statements about, for instance, the lasting wisdom of our ancestors, “Ten Canoes” is never too far from a joke about flatulence or penis size. Its mixture of wisdom and whimsy – exemplified by the movie’s unnamed and occasionally cheeky narrator – makes this Australian movie feel as timeless as it is timely. And instead of feeling dutifully cultural as we immerse ourselves in this story, we’re genuinely intrigued, touched and even amused.
Our narrative journey – courtesy of our Aboriginal storyteller (David Gulpilil, best known from 1971’s “Walkabout”) – begins in Australia 1,000 years ago, where a romantic entanglement has just taken place. A young Aborigine named Dayindi (Jamie Gulpilil) has fallen in love (or in lust, perhaps) with the youngest wife of his older brother, Minygululu (Peter Minygululu). According to tribal law, all of Minygululu’s wives will become Dayindi’s when the older sibling dies. But Dayindi’s desire has no time for patience. And he has ample reason to believe Nowalingu (Frances Djulibing), the young wife in question, shares his urgent ardor.
Oral tradition being the science, history and all-around schooling of the time, Minygululu tells a story to set his young brother straight. His fable – the story set at the dawn of man’s time – weaves a tale of similar circumstances, centered on a proud, aging warrior named Ridjimiraril (Crusoe Kurddal), his third and youngest wife and a younger brother (also played by Gulpilil) who also coveted his brother’s wife.
Unlike the 1980 comedy “The Gods Must Be Crazy,” in which natives of the Kalahari desert were exploited for visual slapstick, “Ten Canoes” – directed by Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr – presents its characters as members of a complex society where the rule of law is paramount; they are not God’s naked brown children, painted and nose-pierced for our superior delectation.
And as we watch how they solve problems – not with ooga-booga mysticism but with time-honored rules and regulations learned from the bounties, secrets and wisdom of nature, we realize “Ten Canoes” is more than a charming, mythical story about Aborigines. It’s about civilization.
A scene from “Ten Canoes.”
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