We of the Never Never (film)
Encyclopedia
We of the Never Never is a 1982 Australia
n drama film
, directed by Igor Auzins, based on the autobiographical novel We of the Never Never
by Jeannie Gunn
. It was nominated for five AFI awards and won one award for best cinematography.
While her husband was away with the other men herding the cattle, Jeannie begins making friends with the Aboriginals. Her husband and the other white men treated the local people (and Chinese workers) as inferior to them, often regarding them as lazy, indifferent, and unreliable. Jeannie however is sympathetic, often giving them food, or trying to stop domestic disputes.
Later, Aeneas goes on a cattle muster, and asks Jeannie to come along, which she does gladly. However the trip is difficult for her, riding side-saddle, and she is nearly attacked by a rogue bull. However, as time passes, things improve at the station - the house is expanded, a new Chinese cook arrives, a garden is planted, and her belongings finally arrive from Melbourne.
But boredom sets in as she assumes her place - that of the station master's wife. She is asked not to help a feverish yet dying man, or to interfere with the balance of things, or to give the Aboriginals goods meant for the working men. As a result, she spends more time with the locals, since she longs to learn and understand more about their ways. Jeannie even takes a semi-orphaned mixed-heritage child called Bett-Bett under her wing, much to the dismay of her husband.
Over time, Jeannie gains the respect of the Aboriginals, and they slowly open up to her. At one point, Goggle Eye, an elder aboriginal male, allows her to watch an Aboriginal dance. The stockmen however interrupt the "heathen" dance, shooting and shouting "God save King George". Later, Bett-Bett goes on walkabout, and Goggle Eye becomes ill and feverish, believing that he has been affected by a singing curse, and passes away. The stockmen feel some mixed remorse, acknowledging their role in his death.
Soon it is Christmas and the Aboriginals are treated a little better after what happened. In the spirit of Christmas, many of the provisions are given away, and a large traditional Christmas meal is prepared for the westerners. It is here that Aeneas announces his intention, after their first year, to stay on at the station. Just when Jeannie thinks she is accustomed to the life in the harsh outback, Aeneas also becomes feverish and dies, leaving her alone on the station. However, Bett-Bett returns from walkabout, and asks to stay with her in the house.
at Elsey Station and Mataranka - the same setting as the novel. It was produced with the assistance of the Northern Territory Government, the Film Corporation of Western Australia, and the Victorian Film Corporation.
The film soundtrack by Peter Best
was initially released on LP. Years later it was released again on compact disc along with "Devil in the Flesh". It features a simple but beautiful melody; part of a haunting score which is one of the best in Australia film history. The soundtrack recording was produced by Peter Best and released by Festival Records and 1M1 Records
.
Time Out London comments:
nominations for 1982.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
, directed by Igor Auzins, based on the autobiographical novel We of the Never Never
We of the Never Never
We of the Never Never is an autobiographical novel by Jeannie Gunn. Although published as a novel, it is an account of the author's experiences in 1902 at Elsey Station near Mataranka, Northern Territory in which she changed the names of people to obscure their identities. She published this book...
by Jeannie Gunn
Jeannie Gunn
Jeannie Gunn OBE was an Australian novelist, teacher and Returned and Services League of Australia volunteer.- Life :...
. It was nominated for five AFI awards and won one award for best cinematography.
Plot
The film focusses on the life of Jeannie, a woman from the upper classes of society, and her story of adapting to life in the outback of Australia. Following her marriage to Aeneas Gunn who has just bought a 1 million acre cattle station near Mataranka, called Elsey Station, Jeannie follows him from Melbourne in 1902. Some of the drovers were unhappy at first because they believed that the bush is no place for a white woman. As such, they were both wary of her and made fun of her when both her and her husband arrived. However, Jeannie was determined to prove them wrong.While her husband was away with the other men herding the cattle, Jeannie begins making friends with the Aboriginals. Her husband and the other white men treated the local people (and Chinese workers) as inferior to them, often regarding them as lazy, indifferent, and unreliable. Jeannie however is sympathetic, often giving them food, or trying to stop domestic disputes.
Later, Aeneas goes on a cattle muster, and asks Jeannie to come along, which she does gladly. However the trip is difficult for her, riding side-saddle, and she is nearly attacked by a rogue bull. However, as time passes, things improve at the station - the house is expanded, a new Chinese cook arrives, a garden is planted, and her belongings finally arrive from Melbourne.
But boredom sets in as she assumes her place - that of the station master's wife. She is asked not to help a feverish yet dying man, or to interfere with the balance of things, or to give the Aboriginals goods meant for the working men. As a result, she spends more time with the locals, since she longs to learn and understand more about their ways. Jeannie even takes a semi-orphaned mixed-heritage child called Bett-Bett under her wing, much to the dismay of her husband.
Over time, Jeannie gains the respect of the Aboriginals, and they slowly open up to her. At one point, Goggle Eye, an elder aboriginal male, allows her to watch an Aboriginal dance. The stockmen however interrupt the "heathen" dance, shooting and shouting "God save King George". Later, Bett-Bett goes on walkabout, and Goggle Eye becomes ill and feverish, believing that he has been affected by a singing curse, and passes away. The stockmen feel some mixed remorse, acknowledging their role in his death.
Soon it is Christmas and the Aboriginals are treated a little better after what happened. In the spirit of Christmas, many of the provisions are given away, and a large traditional Christmas meal is prepared for the westerners. It is here that Aeneas announces his intention, after their first year, to stay on at the station. Just when Jeannie thinks she is accustomed to the life in the harsh outback, Aeneas also becomes feverish and dies, leaving her alone on the station. However, Bett-Bett returns from walkabout, and asks to stay with her in the house.
Cast
- Angela Punch McGregorAngela Punch McGregorAngela Punch McGregor is an Australian actress.As "Angela Punch" she acted in television serial Class of '75 and had a guest role in situation comedy Alvin Purple ....
... Jeannie Gunn - Arthur DignamArthur DignamArthur Dignam is an Australian character actor.Dignam was born on Lord Howe Island. He attended Newington College in Sydney as a boarder 1955–1956....
... Aeneas Gunn - Martin Vaughan ... Dan
- John JarrattJohn Jarratt-Early life:Jarratt was born and grew up in Wongawilli, a small rural town near Wollongong, New South Wales and later in the Snowy Mountains area. Jarratt's father was a coal miner and later concreter, who worked on the Snowy Mountains hydroelectric scheme. Both his parents were of Irish origin....
... Dandy - Tony BarryTony BarryTony Barry is an Australian actor who has performed in 55 feature films and 45 television series, across a four-decade career.-Filmography:He is known for his roles in the 2008 film Australia, Return to Snowy River, Never Say Die, the 1988 film Surfer and The Coca-Cola Kid.After acting in...
... Mac - Tommy LewisTommy LewisThomas Lewis was a British trade unionist, local councillor and Labour Member of Parliament ....
... Jackaroo - Donald Blitner as Goggle Eye
- Mawuyul Yanthalawuy as Rosie
- Cecil Parkee as Cheon
- Sibina Willy as Bett Bett
- Tex Morton as Landlord
- Kim Chiu Kok as Sam Lee
Production
The film was shot on location in the Northern TerritoryNorthern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
at Elsey Station and Mataranka - the same setting as the novel. It was produced with the assistance of the Northern Territory Government, the Film Corporation of Western Australia, and the Victorian Film Corporation.
The film soundtrack by Peter Best
Peter Best (composer)
Peter Best is an award-winning Australian film composer who has contributed to such films as Doing Time for Patsy Cline , Muriel's Wedding , Crocodile Dundee , Crocodile Dundee II , Bliss and The Adventures of Barry McKenzie...
was initially released on LP. Years later it was released again on compact disc along with "Devil in the Flesh". It features a simple but beautiful melody; part of a haunting score which is one of the best in Australia film history. The soundtrack recording was produced by Peter Best and released by Festival Records and 1M1 Records
1M1 Records
1M1 Records is an Australian record label formed in 1988 as oneMone Records, to promote and archive Australian film soundtracks. It was the creation of Australian film music recording producers Philip Powers and James McCarthy, both of whom were previously Director of Music at the Australian...
.
Box Office
We of the Never Never grossed $3,112,000 at the box office in Australia, which is equivalent to $9,055,920 in 2009 dollars.Reception
The New York Times of 11 February 1983 commented:- If We of the Never Never sounds simple, old-fashioned and as suffocatingly noble as its heroine, it is. It's a film of far more anthropological than dramatic interest, since much of the action involves aboriginal characters, and since it was filmed in the thinly settled region Mrs. Gunn actually visited. There is adventure here... that children will enjoy, and the scenery is unusual. But otherwise, little of interest goes on. And the film, in depicting Jeannie's relations with the aborigines, celebrates her open-mindedness with a pride that's dated and unseemly.
Time Out London comments:
- Down under, We of the Never Never is a well-loved turn-of-the-century classic by a Mrs Aeneas Gunn, who as a genteel Melbourne bride was expected to add a woman's touch to her husband's isolated cattle station. Phlegmatic British audiences, not much in touch with the pioneer spirit, will find in this adaptation an unashamedly old-fashioned celebration of corseted pluck as Jeannie Gunn rolls up her lacey sleeves and wins the grudging respect of the hitherto misogynistic stockmen. It's a pleasurably predictable formula, kept afloat by plangent orchestration, glorious cinematography, and a continuous supply of death-beds and simple outback funerals. The film's real difficulty lies in Jeannie's treatment of the Aborigines. She's nice to them but patronising... Is Auzins inviting us to make up our own minds about her naive colonialism, or just dodging what could have been the film's central issue?
Awards
The film received six Australian Film Institute AwardAustralian Film Institute Awards
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award, known as the AACTA Award , is an accolade presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts . The awards recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry and television industry, including directors,...
nominations for 1982.
Won
- Australian Film InstituteAustralian Film InstituteThe Australian Film Institute was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry...
1982:- AFI Award - Best Achievement in Cinematography: Gary Hansen
Nominated
- Australian Film InstituteAustralian Film InstituteThe Australian Film Institute was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry...
1982:- AFI Award - Best Achievement in Costume Design: Camilla Rountree
- AFI Award - Best Actress in Lead Role: Angela Punch McGregorAngela Punch McGregorAngela Punch McGregor is an Australian actress.As "Angela Punch" she acted in television serial Class of '75 and had a guest role in situation comedy Alvin Purple ....
- AFI Award - Best Film - Greg Tepper
- AFI Award - Best Original Music Score: Peter Best
- AFI Award - Best Screenplay: Peter Schreck