Walkabout

In celebration of The Loft Cinema’s Golden 50th Anniversary, Essential Cinema presents free screenings of some of our most popular hits from years past!

In Nicolas Roeg’s dreamy, hypnotically primal tone poem, a teenage girl (Jenny Agutter, An American Werewolf in London) and her younger brother (Luc Roeg, the director’s son) flee into the rugged Australian Outback after their father has a deadly nervous breakdown. Lost and completely removed from civilization, the siblings face numerous dangers and an uncertain future until they meet an Aboriginal boy (David Gulpilil, Rabbit-Proof Fence) on his “walkabout,” the ritual separation from home and family that serves as a test of survival and resourcefulness.   The trio forms an initially uneasy alliance as the Aboriginal boy teaches his new charges how to survive in their new environment, in the process underscoring the disharmony between nature and modern life.  Will the siblings ever want to return to civilization?  Featuring gorgeous, otherworldly cinematography by Roeg himself that brilliantly captures the mystery and grandeur of the Australian Outback, and a haunting score by James Bond composer John Barry, Roeg’s first solo directing credit is one of cinema’s most original coming-of-age movies, as well as a haunting portrait of cross-cultural experience and sexual awakening.  (Dir. by Nicholas Roeg, 1971, UK/Australia, in English/Aboriginal/Czech/French with English subtitles, 100 mins., Rated PG)