Review: Samson and Delilah (2009)
By Matt Ravier on Mar 2, 2009 in Reviews
The biennial Adelaide Film Festival is not – like Rotterdam or Pusan – a festival of world premieres, but rather a collection of select titles from the international circuit. One exception is the Australian program: thanks in part to the Festival’s own film fund, a number of high profile local titles have their first outing in Adelaide. One such title is Alice Springs-born filmmaker Warwick Thornton’s impressive debut feature Samson and Delilah, an early contender for best Australian film of 2009. Following its world premiere at the Adelaide Film Festival, expect to see the film pop up at major festivals around the world this year.
15 year-old Samson lives in a small isolated Warlpiri community in the Central Australian desert. The film opens with a typical day in Samson’s repetitive life. Awakened to the reggae riffs of his brother’s ambition-less band, he reaches for the can of petrol for a long morning sniff. There’s nothing to do, no work, no friends, no school. Instead, Samson follows young Delilah around as she cares for her nana. He is clearly smitten, though his communication skills are somewhat limited: as proof of his affection, Samson is prone to throwing rocks as Delilah walks past or writing “S4D” on the walls with a permanent marker.
In a few silent tableaux, director Warwick Thornton artfully conveys the dead-end stillness of this isolated blackfella community while endearing us to his two teenage characters. In the early scenes we are already exposed to the competing forces which will shape Samson and Delilah’s destiny. The first is the vicious cycle of poverty, exploitation and drug use which hangs like a shadow over them, and which in Samson expresses itself as a nameless anger increasingly directed inwards: at the community, at his body, at his soul. The second is the burgeoning affection which brings the adolescents together, their only barrier against isolation and loneliness.
Rejected as irresponsible misfits by their own community, Samson and Delilah embark on an aimless, silent road trip, first by stealing a car, then on foot. On the way, the vulnerable pair learn to care for one another even as they come under the increasingly frequent threat of violence, starvation and addiction.
From the deadpan humour of the first scenes to the grueling bleakness of the road trip that follows, Thornton’s film never breaks the bond of empathy between the audience and his characters. That he is able to connect us to these wayward teens across cultural boundaries and without the use of dialogue is testament to his skill as a storyteller. It also speaks volumes about the talent of his two young leads, Rowan McNamara and Marissa Gibson.
In this muted dance of desire and despair, looks take on immense significance, as does music and visual composition. Showing an uncanny skill (already obvious in his shorts Nana and Green Bush) for making his point visually, writer-director Warwick Thornton’s confident storytelling is unencumbered by narrative aids. His trust in the intelligence of his audience is rewarded by our full, undivided attention. Using all the means cinema puts at his disposal, he spins a riveting yarn which is all the more powerful for its refusal to tug at our heartstrings or point the finger.
That’s not to say Samson and Delilah isn’t political. By placing these kids and their plight front and center, and on the big screen, Thornton is calling attention to the tragedy of an exploited and largely ignored rural Aboriginal community. Religion, government and passive onlookers - with whom the white, privileged film-goer might well identify - are not portrayed in a positive light, seemingly uninterested as they are in the drama unfolding in Australia’s backyard. In a manner which is neither condescending nor accusatory, yet without pulling any punches, the filmmakers let the audience come to their own conclusions.
Despite the good intentions which went into parliament’s recent apology to Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders for the stolen generations and the abuses of the White Australia policy, most Australians’ contact with Aboriginal culture is extremely limited. Much like the dot paintings which Delilah and her nana paint in exchange for a few bucks, and which the white man then sells for thousands of dollars, Aboriginal stories come to us out of context and filtered through appropriation and misinterpretation.
Beyond its undeniable worth as a piece of top-notch filmmaking, Samson and Delilah’s value also resides in its ability to share with a wide audience, and in a language we can all understand, a largely untold story steeped in the painful truth of this country’s bloody history.
Review by Matt Ravier
Director: Warwick Thornton
Screenwriter: Warwick Thornton
Cast: Rowan McNamara, Marissa Gibson, Mitjili Napanangka Gibson, Scott Thornton, Matthew Gibson, Steven Brown, Gregwyn Gibson, Noreen Robertson Nampijinpa
Australian theatrical release: 30 April 2009
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Wow, about time - sounds like an angry poetic story, and if the promo still is what it’s all like, it looks great. Well done to everyone involved.
Hugh M | Mar 4, 2009 | Reply
Yeah, I’ve heard good things. Looking forward to it.
Taylor M | Mar 9, 2009 | Reply
Such a great review Matt.. I’m going to a screening of this tomorrow, I’m pretty excited to see it
Ryan Nance | Mar 10, 2009 | Reply
I saw this film at the Adelaide Film Festival along with twenty-three other films most of which were excellent international films. This was the pick of the lot. Had it been entered into competition for the Natuzzi Award, I am sure it would have won hands down. It won the BigPond Audience Vote. If this is not the best film I will see in 2009, I look forward to viewing the film that is going to beat it.
Dylan W | Mar 11, 2009 | Reply
http://www.samsonanddelilah.com.au/
You might be interested in the new website for this movie
tanith glynn | Mar 18, 2009 | Reply
one of the jury in adelaide told me the reason it wasn’t in competition is that it might play in cannes, or that at least that was the expectation.
syms | Mar 21, 2009 | Reply
A very powerful film deserving of all the kudos it will no doubt receive.
Tricia | Apr 16, 2009 | Reply
Amazing…. wish I lived in civilization to see this….. sounds like a historical film about the reality of life in a remote indigenous community. I live & work in a Cape York community and can relate well to the issues that are conveyed in this film…. about time someone exposed them!
Tara Zaicz | May 1, 2009 | Reply
Saw this film recently. Grossly over-rated, disjointed. If it wasn’t ‘indiginous’ and seeped in political correctness, it would be a total flop. I suspect that only the ’switched on’ will see it. It doesn’t have mass appeal, and will do nothing to pull the Australian Film Industry out of the hole its dug for itself and is digging even deeper. Not quite as pretentious as ‘Somersault’ which got 13 AFI, but is cast from the same mould…
Alex | May 7, 2009 | Reply
Despite Alex’s take, I saw the film tonight at Rivoli Cinema in Camberwell. Opening Saturday night, 9.30 session, it played Cinema One, and around 130 people in attendance.
A great result given that’s a fairly quiet session. An extraordinary piece of film, and great to see a wide variety of people taking a punt. Success by no means guaranteed, but a solid start.
via collins | May 10, 2009 | Reply
I saw this film last weekend. Fantastic. Very powerful. I wish all politicians would see it.
Hope it wins at Cannes, it deserves to
janine | May 12, 2009 | Reply
I think you may have given away the whole story!!
But a very good review of an amazing and important piece of cinema.
ummm | May 13, 2009 | Reply
Heard a lot about the movie from other Aussies-Aussie here living in New York,USA-When do we get the pleasure of seeing this movie in NYC?
John Woods | Jun 7, 2009 | Reply
I endured watching it; sad commentary on life in Aboriginal community life the time this supposedly happened; maybe petrol sniffing is no longer an issue there; however, who can change the scenario for the better?
Dana | Jun 9, 2009 | Reply
I went to see it. It is LAME. Basically no story, or very disjointed.
I guess it is OK for an eye-opener into the miserable lives of some of the poorest Aborigines of Australia.
BEST MOMENT : when they go to the supermarket (full of bruises), someone in the cinema yelled “It’s RIHANNA!” .
BEST MOMENT #2 : the guy next to me was sniffing his box of popcorn, just like the movie actor sniffed the tin can. HILARIOUS.
BEST MOMENT #3 : when she sees the paintings of her grandmother sold in the city (for more than what she got paid). IT’S IRONIC : that’s exactly what they do with the movie. They make some cheap movie with cheap actors and lots of people make money off them (advertisers, cinemas, promoters ..)
Umberto21 | Jun 11, 2009 | Reply
I saw this film earlier today and am still mulling it over…. It was a little drawn out in early scenes, but ultimately made a profound statement about an underclass who are trapped in a cycle of poverty, boredom and drugs…and who are ignored by those who are not.
janis | Jun 14, 2009 | Reply
Alex is corret. If this movies didnt deal with Aboriginals it would never have been made. Who anyone can do the review and take so much out of a movie in which essentially nothing happens is beyond me.
Alan | Jun 22, 2009 | Reply
I attended a screening last Tuesday at Collaroy when just four others were in the cinema!
It should be sent to every Fed. politician to show what it is really like to be an Aborigine in Aust. Wonderfully portrayed by the two young actors. The pace was exactly appropriate to demonstrate living with no hope and no recognition of their circumstance. In fact the pace actually generated its own rising tension in the frustration of - just existing.
geoff | Jul 4, 2009 | Reply
I have lived amongest remote indigenous communities and have witnessed the petrol sniffing, the longing for friendships but have also been made aware of the violence as well and i feel that samson and delila is a perfect film which demostrates what life would be like for indigenous children living in remote areas.
Also in remote communties more is said through action then through words and the ending of the film is sensational
Catherine | Jul 5, 2009 | Reply
Very strong, much needed…….
Baska | Jul 28, 2009 | Reply
where abouts in n.t i want to know its a bloody good show
maddo | Nov 26, 2009 | Reply
Having recently watched this film I can not see why it is getting such rave reviews unless Australian’s are feeling guilty. It would have to be the worst film I have every seen.
Hugh | Dec 31, 2009 | Reply
So moving… so powerful…
This story could be wordlessly transposed across to any culture downtrodden by western society… even the downtrodden within itself.
It shows humanity and humility exists despite the worst of hardships. It rawly shows that happiness can be carved out of anything and has nothing to do with owning stuff or having a mortgage or climbing some corporate ladder.
This film is also a call to all, black and white, to care for our kids, our neighbours kids, our community’s kids.
Everyone needs hope and love first.
Fantastic film… go see it
see it again…
Hether | Jan 12, 2010 | Reply
A must see for every Australian. How has our country left many in so much desolation and poverty?
Flocken | Jan 25, 2010 | Reply
It is useful to confront the public with the poverty and resulting social problems of Aboriginal communities. And Thornton does this with understatement and power. However, it would be sad if-and I’m sure this is the case-people get the message that this is what Aboriginal communities are all about. There are plenty of highly functional Aboriginal communities in remote areas, with communities taking charge of social problems and getting the kids to school. The fundamental deficit is with successive governments (including the Rudd government) who have refused to answer the often stated needs of community people for the regular civil services other Australians take for granted.
Sherrie Cross | Feb 14, 2010 | Reply
I believe more funding should be directed to producing and promoting films such as this in order to educate the public in a positive frame about the struggles of our indigenous population without being patronising or condascending.
Adelaide Holiday Packages | Apr 22, 2010 | Reply