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clip 1Clip description
The news of what the men did has hit the media and the victim’s Aboriginal relatives charge that it was racism that kept them from reporting it immediately. Billy (Simon Stone) and his girlfriend Elissa (Alice Garner) are woken in their minibus by a brick through the window, thrown by young Aboriginal men. Rocco (Stelios Yiakmis) has his office trashed and Stewart (Gabriel Byrne) finds the walls of his garage daubed with paint. Carl (John Howard) wants the police to act, but Stewart won’t file a complaint. Carl’s wife Jude (Deborra-lee Furness) criticises the local cop (Stephen Barker) for political correctness. Primary school teacher Carmel (Leah Purcell) attacks Claire (Laura Linney) for going to the hospital to view the body.
Curator’s notes
In a sense, the film is about correctness, political or otherwise – and the idea that this is never an absolute. No-one in the film has the same idea about what is ‘correct’ and what isn’t. It’s a constant argument, but beneath all this argument, there’s a plea for respect – especially for Aboriginal cultural beliefs about death and bereavement.
