Directed by Brendan Fletcher
TJ (Dean Dally-Jones) lives in Perth and he is a mad bastard. He’s spent time in prison because of his violent tendencies, his mother and ex-wife don’t want anything to do with him and his estranged 13 year-old son Bullet (Lucas Leeda) is well on the way to becoming a mad bastard as well. Bullet’s grandfather used to be a mad bastard but now Grandpa Tex (Greg Tait) is the local cop in the outback town of Five Rivers and he wants to change things for the men in his community. When TJ journeys to the Kimberley country in the northwest to make things right with the son he has never met, an interesting story unfolds of three generations struggling to find meaning in their troubled lives.
There is a certain authenticity about Brendan Fletcher’s powerful film and the reason for this is revealed as the final credits roll – the characters are not actors, but people actually telling their stories. Dean Dally-Jones moved to the Kimberley to escape the chaos and the crime of the city. Greg Tait is pretty much the person he plays in the film who realised that he didn’t have to be a mad bastard but could start believing in himself and become a role model. Yiriman is a program run by Old Johnnie that takes troubled Kimberley youth across tribal lands, trying to give them a new perspective on life and put them in touch with their culture. The Pilgram Brothers who supply an Aboriginal Greek chorus are a legendary Broome band.
As director Brendan Fletcher says, this movie does justice to the tough men of The Kimberley who have transformed their lives by tempering their wildness, and channelling their strength into their kids, their families, their communities. It is very real and very inspiring.
Lezly Herbert
***
