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Clip description
Having evaded the police, Kev (Hugo Weaving) and Chook (Tom Russell) are driving across Lake Gairdner, a huge salt lake, in a stolen four-wheel drive. Kev has finally told the boy why they’re on the run. Chook sits for a few seconds in silence, taking in the news, before exploding in rage at his father. He yells that his uncle, Max, had been a ‘proper dad’ who looked after him. Stung by his words, Kev stops, pulls Chook out of the car and drives off across the lake, leaving the boy stranded.
Curator’s notes
Dramatically, this is where everything that has been hidden between son and father comes into the open – with explosive results. What Kev has just told Chook resolves the final part of the mystery of why they’re on the run. It brings Chook’s resentment of his Dad to a peak. His words deeply hurt Kev, which is why the latter acts so peremptorily.
This is a visually stunning scene, the blue sky and clouds reflected in the salt lake to create images unlike anything seen in Australian film before.
