tough opposition. The storytelling came via stars Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) and Eric Bana (The Dry, The Forgiven), and a young cast including Ilsa Fogg, Pedra Jackson and Ariel Donoghue. One day he meets Blueback, the biggest and most beautiful fish he's . Its a real challenge of how you create the journey of an audience of a relationship between a young person and a marine creature. Blueback is now screening in cinemas nationwide. Since his first novel, An Open Swimmer, won the Australian Vogel Award in 1981, he has won the Miles Franklin Award four times (for Shallows, Cloudstreet, Dirt Music and Breath) and twice been shortlisted for the Booker Prize (for The Riders and Dirt Music). But just to meet them and get a sense of who they were. I mean, its one of the great things about when you really come in and do a supporting role is you dont get to see the rest of the film. But the plots essential shape has been maintained by writer-director Robert Connolly (The Dry), whos worked with Winton before. If there's something ahead that I liked this film immensely. An ecological novel on a boy who protects a fish from property developers and rapacious fishermen. I thought I might be good," Winton says. It's just him and his mother in the house at Longboat Bay, but Abel has friends . have an age, a heartbeat, you're just in this squeezed-down narrow focus which Eric Bana: Theres definitely room for both, but I do agree what Robert said there, because I think theres so many serious issues that we are constantly being confronted with, and having to absorb, and feel like we have to take action on that it can be overwhelming. And it was so emotional. Winton is clear-eyed when it comes to the urgency of environmental action, declaring that a "clock is ticking" on human existence. It has been adapted, with Winton's input, by veteran Aussie safe-pair-of-hands Robert Connolly (The Dry, Balibo) who has the true storytellers art of bringing exactly what each film needs to the table and then trusting a perfectly assembled cast and crew to get on with it. Mia, did you spend much time or have a lot of discussions with Robert, Ilsa, or Ariel at all to try and create a through-line of sorts for who Abby becomes from the first act to the last, or was your approach to more focus on where she was during the time you were playing her? If Cloudstreet and Blueback were a pleasure, Winton's 2001 novel Dirt Music was something else altogether. Later he tells me "If you're in this caper long enough, you realise that it's inevitable that you're going to repeat yourself, but not in a conventional way," Winton says. Local arts needs local journalism. An optimistic Robert Connolly hopes his audience is as passionate as he is about these core issues. Starring Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland, Crimson Peak), Eric Bana (The Dry, Dirty John), Radha Mitchell (London Has Fallen, Pitch Black), Liz Alexander (The Secret She Keeps), and newcomers Ariel Donoghue, Ilsa Fogg, and Albert Mwangi, Blueback is a coming-of-age story, through and through. In an early scene, after examining a piece of coral, she delivers sad news to fish on her boat: Your home is dying and I dont know how to help. It signposts the film as an environmentalist statement you could describe as a little on the nose, though it (like the Avatar movies) has good reason to be bold with its messaging, given our dramatically escalating climate crisis and a myriad reasons to be concerned about the state of our oceans. Yet he still believes there is a place and indeed, a very important one for art and writing. This book constantly explores sustainability as Abel and his mother are striving to protect the environment. Thats incredible. Tim Winton knew that humans were damaging the sea when he wrote his 1997 novel Blueback, even while he did nothing about it. Connolly spent over 20 years developing the project, which he also co-wrote. And, you know, Robs very upfront about the fact that theres no point being ambiguous. My She's initially alarmed when the fish snatches an abalone from her hand. family's - and his own - privacy with zeal. Photo: Roadshow, This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google, InDaily uses cookies. I just love the film. This beautiful story about a child, their activist mum, a wild blue groper, and the fight to save a reef from commercial fishing operators and developers has now been adapted by filmmaker Robert Connolly (director of Balibo, Three Dollars and The Dry, and producer of Romulus, My Father and The Boys) into a coming-of-age family film for the big screen. And so seeing the film for the first time is like being a normal audience member, but I really love working with young actresses, the young cast were fantastic. disconcerting. their children will have to experience nature in a virtual sense - landscapes I would recommend Blueback. "We belong to it, Abel.". So, to be in this beautiful natural environment felt soothing. And more. If we change our ways, small or big, we can all collectively impact the environment. I t's the end of the road for Tim Winton. 'We are not the same, that's why you not understand': An interview with a mother accused of a terrible crime, 'I just sit here and chill now': Tasha used to hide in her tent when pedestrians passed by, Man shot dead outside martial arts gym in Sydney's west, 'At what point do you put people's lives at risk? A simple but effective way of. There, protagonist Bruce "Pikelet" Pike comes of age; especially important to this process is his complicated friendship with "Loonie," and later an older couple that he meets through his adventures with Loonie. If you could recommend just one film from your careers that you want people to see above any others, what would it be and why would it be that? Winton: an affable, plain-speaking man of unaffected intelligence and deep Even as Abby is played by three different actors (Mia Wasikowska, Ilsa Fogg and Ariel Donoghue), the storytelling remains easy to follow and most importantly we understand there is purpose in constructing the film this way. The book was inspired by stories Winton's grandparents used to tell about life in Perth a place that Winton could see was disappearing. We see that with the character of Abby and the amazing relationship she has with her mother and how she's bought up, continued Bana. Blueback is an achingly beautiful story about family, belonging, and living a life in tune with the environment, from Tim Winton, one of Australia's best-loved authors.Abel Jackson's boyhood belongs to a vanishing world. I think I think Rob has done a beautiful job of capturing a natural environment and emotional environment where you realize that yeah, we do as humans get more out of nature than nature gets out of us, when it is a wonderful place to be. We get so much joy and connection, and from the ocean and from our environment. Blueback 2022 Directed by Robert Connolly Synopsis He's their best kept secret Based on the best-selling novel by Tim Winton, Blueback is a timely tale about the ocean, a beautiful marine creature, and a young girl's power to change the world. Since his first novel, An Open Swimmer, won the Australian Vogel Award in 1981, he has won the Miles Franklin Award four times (for Shallows, Cloudstreet, Dirt Music and Breath) and twice been shortlisted for the Booker Prize (for The Riders and Dirt Music). It was gigantic. Its a family-friendly, broadly appealing film that expands the canon of coastal Aussie pictures involving interspecies mateship the original and remade Storm Boy, featuring Mr Percival the pelican, and Oddball, featuring a very photogenic Maremma sheepdog that saves a colony of penguins in Victoria. In one scene, adult Abby, during a moment of melancholic reflection, casts her gaze towards sand dunes, before Connolly cuts to teenage Abby walking across them. Photo: David Dare Parker. Bana and Wasikowska hadnt seen a Blue Groper prior to filming, in fact. Later still, he mentions magic moments "when it's happening, when you We meet the pair when Abby is an eight-year-old, obsessed with diving, then again when she is a teen - ditto,. - Filmoviplex. The film has a natural rhythm and energy to it, shared Bana. Throughout his childhood, Abel and his mother Dora have depended on Longboat Bay for all that they need. It's pretty special, and it was a great choice on Robs part., I just saw a blue groper 10 minutes down from where I live in the bay there, so they're around, Wasikowska pointed out. Mia Wasikowska: Thats true. Blueback is about people learning from nature.' (Source: Trove) Exhibitions The directors other family film, 2015s Paper Planes, reflects a similar commercial mindset as Blueback, providing a broadly appealing if a little indistinct experience that doesnt speak down to younger audiences but certainly hands them unambiguous moral lessons. Three years later he won his first Miles Franklin Literary Award for Shallows (he's won the Miles four times to date, and shares the record for the most wins with the late Thea Astley). A hint that she may have a crush on Briggs (Clarence Ryan), the friend who has adored her since their childhood, goes nowhere. a pragmatist than anything, but I believe these things in the face of pretty He did two weeks [in] quarantine to play a supporting role. "We come from water," the mother whispers to her son. Even when the day came to submit the final manuscript, Winton wasn't convinced he'd nailed it. Its very exciting to take the audience there.. It could emerge as one of the more embraceable for-the-entire-family films to drop this season. Related: Best Mia Wasikowska Movies, Ranked. And the more that we take care of it, the more its a two-way street. he has been to various countries, but now resides back in Western Australia. Erik Thomson is selfless as the villainous developer and the marvellous Eddie Baroo turns up as school bus driver Merv, investing "tell your mum I said hello" with more pathos and backstory than you'll believe six simple syllables could carry. Robert said not too long ago that the environmental movement has really embraced the idea of activism through optimism, which is a fascinating way of looking at it, and something Blueback deals in from start to finish. "It's certainly a celebration of all that feral And otherwise, the goal feels like its its not as achievable. Mia Wasikowska: Yeah, absolutely. Eric Bana: Yeah, we shot the follow up which is called Force of Nature last year, and were just finished in the post-production phase, literally within the last couple of weeks. Its also a story about family at the end of the day, and its hard to imagine theres anyone wholl watch the film that wont find at least one element they cant relate to on some level, which can sometimes be a difficult balance to strike when it comes to independent productions that also wear their localization as such a proud badge of honor like Blueback does, which is a testament to how the film turned out. With Robert Connolly's most recent film The Dry fast approaching $20 million at the . childhood. Blueback premieres in cinemas on January 1, 2023. A new fisher also comes to the bay and he has no respect for the fish or being sustainable, allthis fisher cares about is getting the most fish. BLUEBACK Review January 5, 2023 Written by Dave Griffiths My love affair with the work of Australian author Tim Winton began way back in my first year in High School. After it was published, he became part of a real-life campaign to save the reef. Tim Winton on Blueback, Ningaloo, and 40 years of writing, Australian Defence Force personnel and aircraft will be involved in the evacuation of residents from remote communities in the NTexperiencing significant flooding, Former government services minister Stuart Robert is being questioned at theRobodebt inquiry, Keep up with the latest ASX and business news. I mean, its a bigger topic that hopefully inspires people, especially the younger generations to sort of be a bit more conscious and use their energies in a positive way for the for the whole environment. Blueback by Tim Winton. Winton's passion for Ningaloo has only grown in the years since the campaign. https://www.penguin.com.au/products/9. ", The focus of Blueback is unequivocal - a call to environmental and They said, Youve got two daughters, Dad! Also, its a role that subsumes itself to the women who drive the story, which I think is also another fantastic quality that he has as an actor.. Feature | 100mins | Completed. Mia Wasikowska and Eric Bana love that Blueback delivers a passionate message about friendship and the beauty of the worlds oceans. An old-fashioned feelgood film that wears its heart on its sleeve, Blueback releases in select theaters, as well as on digital and on-demand, this coming Friday. Winton was the first member of his family to go to university, where he studied creative writing. three children have enjoyed the same, mainly because I was lucky enough to be (Blueback, . Did you already know that as well? The underwater scenes perfectly capture the gliding rhythms of the sea world at its most serene. ourselves. winner of the 1981 The Australian/Vogel Award. Eric Bana: Yeah, its really honest. Its absolutely stunning; theres absolute magic in it.. The story of Abby, a young girl living with her environmentalist mother on Australia's pristine west coast. Blueback / Tim Winton Children's novel published 1995. slight. His second novel, It can live up to 70 years. the kind of money most people toss aside for their drinks bill. World War I and the Depression, but I don't believe we need some hideous "I'm in the business of useless beauty," he says. Photo: David Dare Parker, [Tim] is just a deeply humanist storyteller its very moving its fun and optimistic, but its also got deep elements about a life lived.. Theirs is a simple life. Tim Winton recalls a recent moment when he led his elderly mother to the beach, to help her into the water. Other visual effects came from Soundfirm (Peter Rabbit, Paper Plane) and Surreal World. Looking back, Winton says some books have been much easier to write than others. Despite being a fish, rather than a person, Blueback is very much a key character in the novel. It was really wonderful. Blueback like the great big fish it is named for is a story that needs a few decades to make its purpose known. GREG ARCHER is a pop culture junkie. It was interesting changing the gender, Connolly says. Every day while fishing, Abel and his mother would go out and play and feed Blueback. Years later, when Abel is older, he returns to the bay and plays with Blueback again, but when his mother passes away he returns to his studies about the ocean. Winton is now a renowned author of adult and children's novels. It made me very envious, actually, watching the film like, what an amazing place to have a childhood.. If you live your life with your gaze vigorously averted, And I think by offering some hope, and by offering a positive tail on a lot of these stories, it can make it seem less insurmountable. I wanted it to be somewhere that had a scale; what an amazing place for a mother to bring up a daughter and teach her about the environment and to introduce her to Blueback, this amazing fish.. Written by Tim Winton. secular cesspool, environmentalism. Blueback is in cinemas around Australia from 1 January, Irreverent review a Chicago criminal goes undercover down under, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. And now I see people being * making compost for their garden from left over food scraps; 1. Mia Wasikowska: So I felt like there was a whole movie that I hadnt been a part of. Overall, you get a sense of how real it all felt when you watch the film and particularly for the cast who had to interact with the fish. Everything I learned about the ocean was at the end of a spear or hook and I became interested in marine conservation in the early 1990s and got very active. In the book, for example, Abby . Is that a sentiment you agree with, or are have you got a soft spot for the more direct approach if the occasion calls for it? Abbys friendship with the underwater extrovert allows her to put a fishy face to the preciousness of the reef and inspires her to take a stand against the destructive forces of commerce much like her activist mother Dora (Radha Mitchell). The training of the cast was so critical. "Perth was just being bulldozed," Winton says, referring to the many old buildings that were demolished in the 60s and 80s. And I love the dynamic between between Macka and Abby. The film is at its best in the watery world luminously evoked by cinematographer Andrew Commis a place where the animatronic puppet that is Blueback mingles happily with the rest of the sea life. Tim Winton. Mass Market Paperback - 22 December 2008. So its a piece of magic, its a little bit of old school filmmaking and puppetry and a lot of beautiful craft work thats gone into it. Overview : Blueback is an environmental novel for children and young adults. * making the coastal area they own a National park, stopping deforestation so that industries or parks could not be made; When out fishing for some abalone with his mother Abel encounters a massive blue groper called Blueback and promises from then on to the protect this beautiful fish. He lives in Western Australia. This was entered for The Australian/Vogel Awardin 1981. So it was it was a lot of fun. So we had to quarantine for two weeks before we started filming. So it was it was a bit of a mission to get there. Incredible actors at the beginning of epic careers who learnt how to do their own free diving, learnt how to swim in the ocean, Connolly says of the newcomers. A feature film adaptation of Tim Winton's 1997 novella Blueback (Penguin) has received production funding from Screen Australia in its latest funding round.. Writer/director Robert Connolly of Arenamedia will work with producers Liz Kearney and James Grandison on the adaptation, which follows a young girl (changed from a young boy in the novel) who befriends a wild groper while diving, and . TIM WINTON Abel Jackson loves to dive. Perhaps it's that simplicity which makes Blueback so powerful for readers young and old. So getting in was a bit of an ordeal. And I think its worth it. Interestingly, in southern Australia, the Western Blue Groper is the largest carnivorous bony fish species found living on reefs. am who I am, and not an abstraction or a marketing tool. back. Few writers have been as welcomed or as sought after. As an adaptation comes to the silver screen, he reflects on how the book's protagonist has haunted him all the way to Ningaloo Reef. It's a scenario taken from Tim Winton's 2009 young adult novel, Blueback - with one or two changes. 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