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Stewart (Gabriel Byrne), Carl (John Howard) and Rocco (Stelios Yiakmis) come to a traditional ceremony, where the dead girl’s family and friends are gathered to mourn. Stewart apologises to the girl’s father, who throws dirt on him and spits on the ground. Stewart joins his wife (Laura Linney), who’s holding their son Tom (Sean Rees-Wemyss). Carmel (Leah Purcell) takes Tom to walk through the smoke, ‘so the spirits won’t latch onto us’.
Curator’s notes
Audiences in Australia couldn’t fail to appreciate the wider significance of this scene, given the controversy throughout the decade preceding the film over whether white Australia needed to apologise to black Australia for the injustices of 200 plus years of shared history. There is no scene quite like this in Australian film before Jindabyne. Nor does the film let Stewart off easily. The father’s response to his apology seems to be a kind of formal shaming, rather than a full reconciliation. The film leaves us with a sense that a lot more time will have to pass before these four men are forgiven. The film is dedicated to Kevin Smith, who plays the father (see also Two Hands).
