'The Balanda and the Bark Canoes' is an incredible documentary. It is complex, beautiful, dare I say educational, compelling and unexpectedly hilarious. It is about the making of the amazing and powerful Australian film, 'Ten Canoes' which is directed by one of Australia's most magnificent directors, Rolf de Heer who also made 'Bad Boy Bubby', 'The Tracker', 'Alexandra's Project' and many others. We are treated to a deeply intimate and authentic glimpse into the headspaces of a group of indigenous Australians who reveal e.g., an acute, initial shyness about having to be nude in the film, modern versus traditional takes on their culture, much irreverence and hilarity and the fact they use the word 'humbug' quite a lot. We're also treated to a glimpse into Rolf de Heer's directorial process where we find a kind, insightful, patient guy who is extremely skillful on many levels. (No surprise as to why he's such a great director then). I loved this doco nearly as much as the film itself. All hail Rolf de Heer and all those involved in the making of this documentary and the film. May he make many more films to enrich our lives.
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