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Night Cries: A Rural Tragedy (1989)

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clip A baby cries education content clip 2

Original classification rating: G. This clip chosen to be PG

Clip description

A mother sits holding her daughter, cradling her on her lap. A soft light falls over them. Beyond the light is darkness. Then the woman, now older, lies on her back, her daughter in a foetal position curled by her side. There is only the sound of an iron lung, and the crying of a baby.

This scene, perhaps more than any other, revisits Chauvel’s Jedda. The white mother and Aboriginal baby side by side – both though are now older. The daughter, reaching up to cover the old woman’s face, tells us that the old woman is dead. And perhaps with the passing of the old woman, a part of the daughter dies also. Again reminiscent of Jedda, when Jedda exclaims to Marbuck, if you die, I shall die too. This scene speaks of a dependency – though one forged perhaps unintentionally and regretfully – it is a relationship none the less.

Thanks to the generosity of the rights holders, we are able to offer A baby cries from the short film Night Cries: A Rural Tragedy as a high quality video download.

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nightcri3_bb.mp4 Medium: 7.9MB Medium Can be displayed full screen. Also suitable for video iPods.

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Thanks to the generosity of the rights holders, we are able to offer this clip in an embeddable format for personal or non-commercial educational use in full form on your own website or your own blog.

You must read and agree to the following terms and conditions before embedding the clip:

australianscreen is produced by the National Film and Sound Archive. By using the website you agree to comply with the terms and conditions described elsewhere on this site. The NFSA may amend the 'Conditions of Use’ from time to time without notice.

All materials on the site, including but not limited to text, video clips, audio clips, designs, logos, illustrations and still images, are protected by the Copyright Laws of Australia and international conventions.

When you access australianscreen you agree that:

  • You may retrieve materials for information only.
  • You may download materials for your personal use or for non-commercial educational purposes, but you must not publish them elsewhere or redistribute clips in any way.
  • You may embed the clip for non-commercial educational purposes including for use on a school intranet site or a school resource catalogue.
  • The National Film and Sound Archive’s permission must be sought to amend any information in the materials, unless otherwise stated in notices throughout the Site.

All other rights reserved.

ANY UNAUTHORISED USE OF MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY RESULT IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY.

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