The Cinematheque

“One of the most original and provocative films of the 1970s … Arguably Roeg’s finest achievement … Walkabout is set in terrain stranger and more awe-inspiring than that of any science fiction film.”

James Monaco, The Movie Guide

Cinematographer Nicolas Roeg’s first solo effort as director (he had previously co-directed, with Donald Cammell, 1970’s Performance) is a ravishingly-filmed work set in the remote Australian outback. Stranded in the wilds after a horrific occurrence, two English children, a 14-year-old girl and her six-year-old brother, cross paths with an Aboriginal adolescent who is on a ritual ​“walkabout,” an initiation into manhood. The latter is played by noted Yolngu actor David Gulpilil, here in his breakthrough screen role. This mysterious, mystical coming-of-age tale displays the visual dazzle and narrative daring we have come to associate with Roeg’s sensuous cinema.