I too, wanted to blog about the mysteriously enchanting boy who played Nullah...but Kerry beat me to it. So now I will write about another face from the film, someone we should all recognize: David Gulpilil.
I had no idea David was in this film, so when I saw him I was very excited. I'd always assumed he was of Aboriginal descent (as opposed to an actor who had learned to play an aboriginal) but hadn't confirmed it before now. So if that was in question for any of you, yes he is a legitimate Aborigine. And he has played an Aboriginal part in over 20 films and television series since his debut in Walkabout in 1971. Talk about type casting. He even has his own webpage, although he's not the one who created it or keeps it running, found at www.gulpilil.com.
No doubt that David has become one of Australia's most recognizable faces, maybe not internationally, but certainly within his own country. And now, thanks to Baz Lurhmann, maybe he will finally be able to claim international success as well.
The aspect of his career that intrigued me the most was what Aboriginal culture might think about his portrayal of their people. Is it frowned upon by other Aborigines for David to use their way of life as a means to make money? What do they think of his choice of career? And how has it affected him? Sadly, I could not find much in the way of an answer to my questions. Though I did find a short article on a film he made in 2002 titled Gulpilil: One Red Blood that may hold some answers if anyone is interested in seeing it. Here's the link:
http://www.australianscreen.com.au/titles/gulpilil-one-red-blood/
As far as Australia goes, I thought his performance was wonderful (as always) and seemed to be an honest representation of Aboriginal culture. The way he moves and speaks can be very haunting at times. His grace (and perhaps balance, he always seems to be on one leg in this movie) can be attributed to the fact that he is an extremely accomplished Aboriginal dancer. I dug up this youtube video of him performing a few traditional dances. You should check it out:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=L08e91HxX-w
Maybe David Gulpilil's legacy will open doors for new Australian actors, Aboriginal and otherwise, like Brandon Walters.
...and I never did figure out how to embed those links, my apologies for that.
-Megan R.
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