utravel
A fine and tight retelling of the Mabo story, significant for Australia history, drama and our future directions. Both lead actors did a fine job, particularly in the early scene of Eddie life on the railways. This period is rarely depicted, and many opportunities exist for further exploration of the war and post-war period, from say 1940 to 1990. As a writer of historical fiction, please review for example, Xavier Herbert, Hal Porter, Frank Hardy and many other authors. At present I am completing Forgetting and Remembering, a novel with indigenous and other characters, with events paralleling the Brewarrinna 'riots' of 1987, events that led directly to the creation of the Royal Commission to Indigenous Deaths in Custody. I welcome enquiries, especially from Susan Smith!!
rdchamberlain
This was a very disappointing program. - It is the story of a man of courage and determination who changed the course of history for the indigenous Australian. The writing and direction in this program is weak, often leaving many important points unexplored, and questions hovering in the ether remain unanswered - Why did Eddie Mabo become so politicised? How did his commitment really impact on his family and his wife? Even one incident where he hits his wife does not have the power to shock. Nor did this program appropriately provide a context. It presented as an isolated story of one man. Questions such as what was the society of the Torres Strait Islanders really like? What was Australia doing at the time such important legislation was being passed? How did the family financially survive whilst all this was going on? I believe that there was not enough time for such a big subject. It was superficial and appeared to be written to fit into a short program. I can't help but feel if this had been treated like the "Packer" program was treated and given the time to forage into the real story and sub-stories then the result would have been more powerful and insightful. The acting was OK - there were many good performances. Overall the program felt very amateurish. I personally feel this story should be told again. It is too important a story to be left with this. Despite the power and conflict of the real story, this program fails to get this across.it seems it is restricted by time -e.g The Court Hearing, this held no tension, The Relationship with his wife did not come across as the deep supportive and often challenged relationship it was. This is too important a story for all Australians to be left like this.
cocosmooth
I think the summary says it all. Dramatised as it is, everyone in Australia should watch this film to understand, and maybe even feel the very, ordinary human side to the Mabo story. Though Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders only make up a tiny proportion of this great country's population, and have little visibility in day to day life ... it's 20 years since the Mabo decision and I think we owe it to ourselves to do better, faster! It's a joke that peoples that have lived here for at least 40 thousand years don't have much of a say, even in a token way, in regard to their their ancestral territories and resources. My only criticism is the use of Deborah Mailman in the main female role. Yes, she's a great actress, and I'm sure that will help give the film legs ... but it would've been nice to see another Aboriginal or Torres Strait actress for a change. Poor woman seems to be every female Aboriginal character in every local film that requires one!
cblittle
This is a pleasing recount of one of the landmark moments that started to change Australia's thinking about its indigenous people. If it has a deficiency is that it tries to cover so much and doesn't seem to know if its focus is Koiko's (Eddie) life story, his love story or the court case. Some small components are over played, whilst other intricate details about the major issues are omitted leaving large gaps in the story. I never quite connected with anyone nor the depth of the hardship of struggling to run a court case and as a marginalized indigenous person at that. The performances of Jimmy Bani and Deborah Mailman are wonderful - as are many of the other cast members. The script has some delightful moments with all the characters showing truly believable behaviours; the good and the bad! This is an enjoyable movie. Its a good tribute to one of the turning points in Australian culture and I would recommend a viewing. And finally it does remind us to say thank goodness for the dedication and stubbornness of the Eddie Mabo's of the world.
AD
