Sadly, this film needs much tighter editing and better musical direction, also the dubbing and Foley are amateurish. There are some OK performances: Geoffrey Rush and Magda Szubanski are good (no surprise there), Ernie Dingo is charming (again, no surprise) and the scenery is terrific - this is a part of Australia that's not well-known yet is very photogenic. The songs are just OK, not fabulous but they serve the story, however the backing music is often jarring and like a 70's sitcom in its lack of subtlety. I think the musical has all kinds of potential as a film, but this version misses out. It's a shame, more attention to detail could have made this a real winner.

This musical is set during the 1960s with an Aboriginal boy named Willie (Rocky McKenzie) living modestly with his mother in Broome. Willie's mother wants him to become a priest so that he will have a better life but he is more interested in pursuing a beautiful girl named Rosie (Jessica Mauboy). The day before Willie is sent to boarding school, he asks Rosie if he can see her at a movie but he fails to reach her in time and she is left with an aggressive white thug. Willie arrives at the boarding school in the city. It is run by Father Benedictus (Geoffrey Rush), who is inviting to Willie as he sees his potential for a greater future with the Church and names him as a prefect. Yet when Willie later admits to stealing he escapes from the boarding school and flees back to Broome to find Rosie. He enlists the help of Uncle Tadpole (Ernie Dingo), a hobo who says he is Wilile's uncle and they start a road trip together. Along the way they meet a number of wacky characters, including a German hippy and his girlfriend Annie (Missy Higgins)One of the most celebrated Australian films last year was Samson and Delilah. It was a gruelling and powerful representation of the living standards faced by Aboriginals in a desolate community in the Northern Territory. For some, the grittiness portrayed in Australian films like this has deterred them away from local films. Bran Nue Dae, directed by Rachel Perkins, is very much Samson and Delilah's antithesis, as this is a joyous and upbeat film, light on story and depth but soaring in its energy and its exuberance. The film is based on a stage play written by Jimmy Chi and regardless of setting the play or film in the 1960s, the messages are timeless. This is not just a musical but a coming of age story about a boy who must decide for himself what he is going to do with his life and embrace who he is, not what other people want him to be. A line from one of the films main songs reflects this: "There's nothing I would rather be, than to be an Aborigine". The narrative, from the love story, to the road trip, is certainly formulaic but there is no doubting that it is highly spirited and sometimes very sweet, played with humour and optimism for much of its duration. As a musical it succeeds because of a number of enjoyable toe-tapping songs, with some occasionally cheeky lyrics, and also more soulful ballads, which are surprisingly touching. This is a film that just about everyone can enjoy and there are few excuses now for anyone suggesting that Australian films are overly grim.One of the real assets to the film is the likability of the cast and the range of talent on display. Newcomer Rocky McKenzie is competent without being brilliant. The delivery of some of his lines might be a bit wooden, but at least he looks like a schoolboy and is a sympathetic lead. It is a promising debut for him. Geoffrey Rush has so much fun with his loopy character and so too does Missy Higgins, with her long overdue debut in film. Her efforts as a singer and thoroughly welcome here. Jessica Mauboy from Australian Idol is a really beautiful inclusion and a great singer as well. The biggest surprise though is the transformation of Ernie Dingo who not only looks and sounds different but is completely believable as Uncle Tadpole. He is funny, tender and most surprisingly, he even sings. Some critics have felt that the minor characters and cameos, like the two loose women in Magda Szubanski as a sex starved shop owner and Deborah Mailman as Roxanne who Willy meets under a condom tree, are included just for their own celebrity, rather than for any significance in the narrative. To an extent they are indeed caricatures, but the way that these characters mirror each other and relate in a more literal sense by the end, is a reflection of the film's most significant message of how everyone is connected and related, regardless of nationality, religion or skin colour. This notion comes out most prominently in the film's climax which is slightly bizarre but still hilarious.Bran Nue Dae might not be the most memorable or thought provocative Australian film this year, but it unlikely that there will be as many that are so bright, funny and uplifting. This is a real celebration of local talent and culture, with a cast that has as just as greater a time as the audience. Even if the narrative seems lightweight and formulaic, the film is still worth seeing for its messages, as well as its quirky characters and jovial musical numbers. This is a promising start to the year for Australian cinema.

My wife is a musical nut, I am not. When this finally came out on DVD she forced me to endure what I was expecting to be another boring musical. Instead I was treated to a light hearted and very fun look at segregated Australia of the mid 60's.The story revolves around a young Aboriginal boy named Willie (Rocky McKenzie) who is going to learn to be a priest. He is whisked off to Perth where he realizes that he would rather be with the girl that he loves rather than a man of the cloth. He then runs away after an altercation with the head priest and sets out on the journey back home.The songs were a great mix of country, bush ballads and musical numbers. The characters very funny (Deborah Mailman was for me the highlight) and the story highly enjoyable.For a person that really doesn't like musicals, I give this a 9.

This might just have been another road movie. It could have been another Broadway-style musical. It could have been another Priscilla or La Ronde. Or, perhaps, an expression of black freedom. Who cares, really, because what we get is a load of foot-tapping laughs. Plot? What do you expect in a musical out of Hollywood? Story? Yes, there's a story stitching the episodes together. Rachel Perkins does a fine job, with tight direction, and a clever choice of leads. How many films rely on all of the cast for top performances? We get Ernie Dingo, as sharp as ever in his characterization. We get Deborah Mailman, one of the most fetching faces on film. And we get Magda Szubanski, a comic who seems to be able to step into any role. Here we have her handling a Lee Enfield .303 rifle with ease. I expected to see another Annie Get Your Gun, but Magda is no crack shot. Luckily, she misses. I thought Magda might turn out to be the token white in a black movie, but she and the black Deborah Mailman are equally libidinous in an hilarious way. Is this black equality or an expression of female power? Perkins doesn't go overboard with the Australian landscape, even though her cinematographer must have been tempted. When you see it, make sure you get the full-width screen. The empty distances are just that. I love the way we get groups of dancers springing out of nowhere, choirs appearing as if by magic, and the entirely predictable ending. OK, Hollywood thought of it first. With all its flaws, this is a fun hour-and-a-half.