Mr. Movie review: ‘Charlie’s Country’ is a quiet gem ... sometimes too quiet
Charlie’s Country
Charlie is an Aborigine tired of stupid laws foisted upon his people by — as he puts it — whitefellas. One line in the film tells you what you need to know about Charlie’s story. He wants a new house and is told he has one. But Charlie wants something better and wonders why the person running his village has a nice house. Charlie is told it comes with the job.
He then notes the man has a job and a house on his land and he does not. Profound. And deep. Charlie tries a number of different things to make his life better, and with all the rules surrounding how he can live his life, all are a total failure.
David Gulpilil — who wowed us as the tracker in 2002’s Rabbit-Proof Fence — co-writes the film and plays Charlie. Smiling, he silently suffers until he’s had enough. If the film has a flaw, it is that there is too much silence and too little happening in spots. Both slow this sometimes fascinating flick to a crawl.
Charlie’s Country
Director: Rolf de Heer
Stars: David Gulpilil
Mr. Movie rating: 4 stars
Not rated, probably PG-13. It’s playing Friday, Sept. 22, only at the WSU East Auditorium.
5 stars to 4 1/2 stars: Must see on the big screen.
4 stars to 3 1/2 stars: Good film, see it if it’s your type of movie.
3 stars to 2 1/2 stars: Wait until it comes out on DVD.
2 stars to 1 star: Don’t bother.
0 stars: Speaks for itself.
This story was originally published September 21, 2017 at 1:07 PM with the headline "Mr. Movie review: ‘Charlie’s Country’ is a quiet gem ... sometimes too quiet."