A film by Warwick Thornton
With: Deborah Mailman, Eloise Hart, Hazel May Jackson, Pedrea Jackson, Thomas M. Wright, Erroll Shand, Joe Bird, Matt Nable, John Howard, Ferdinand Hoang
1930s Australia, the colonial frontier. Two swaggering outlaws roll into a mining town and unleash a wave of cruelty, leading three kids to break free from their white masters and set off across the “sweet country” of central Australia in search of a safe home.
Our rate : ★★
Warwick Thornton, who won the Caméra d’Or in 2009, offers with Wolfram a carefully crafted, patiently constructed “Eastern” that seeks to recount, in the manner of, the creation of a nation, Australia, cousin of the United States, with its own specific characteristics. The Western genre lends itself well to this, particularly in that it allows the full violence of colonialism to be brought to the fore, as well as the mentality of the colonists who seek to establish themselves, then impose their law, in order to gradually pacify society, or more precisely, by outrageously favoring and protecting the colonists from any spirit of rebellion that might naturally arise in the face of the invasive act. In fact, the film evokes themes from the past that are unfortunately still relevant today, even returning to the forefront and now made acceptable (in authorized discourse) by conservative reflexes, particularly by emphasizing very basic and natural racism, slavery, and the hierarchization of human beings. With its patient pace, Wolfram is quite interesting to watch, even if its qualities quickly become its flaws and limitations. The film politely, wisely, and quietly distills a message, while telling its relatively unmysterious story, despite the secret revealed in its ending, which is relatively weak due to the overall setting, which is too clean and codified, like its title (Wolfram), without much depth.
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