High Ground

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source: High Ground

This is a raw story of invasion conflict between the people of Arnhem Land and British colonists. It also tells the story of the conflict within individuals, and their lasting trauma. It's painful to watch, but the raw truths are offset with the breathtaking scenary of Western Arnhem Land. I would encourage people from any country to watch this movie. It's only one example of what happens during an invasion where guns meet spears and clubs.

I don't know whether to recommend this film or not. No doubt there is authenticity to this sort of story but it does leave you, the viewer at sea. I walked out not knowing how to process it, other than feeling the horror. What I do know is that the East Alligator River setting is impressive and the aboriginal actors are powerful. On the white side, apart from the obvious stars, the film suffers from a lack of real acting ability in the bit-part actors, something Australian films tend to suffer from. Even the big names can't do a lot with their parts in terms of convincing characterization. They tend to fall back on caricature. Simon Baker is intended to be enigmatic, I think, but it doesn't really come off (which is the fault of the screenplay). It does create a level of tension in terms of anticipating who is going to shoot whom (answer : everybody shoots everybody). At the end of the film you are left with a pretty empty stage, a bit like a Shakespeare tragedy. It leaves you with an empty heart too. Maybe the thing to consider if wondering whether to see the film is to decide if a) you want to support Australian films, or b) you want to be entertained. Thumbs down if the latter.

Just can't get through the political indoctrination and the general cliches. The story is boring and generic. The dialogs are stale. Not much action either. Overall the feel of a B movie with a political message. I was bored out of my mind. 2 stars for the scenery.

High Ground is going to be inevitably compared to Jennifer Kent's The Nightingale, but both films are ultimately distinguishable. What's clear about High Ground is that it's no easy watch at all. It's a confronting look at post-colonial Australia, the inherent racism and corruption in the Australian law enforcement, and the atrocities committed against Aboriginal Australian tribes. It's important that we reflect on the horrors of our history to learn from our mistakes, so I'm glad that High Ground has a heightened focus on the Indigenous Australian perspective and received a wide release. It's a film that's certainly angry, but it also has important intentions and themes in mind, reminding us how violence begets violence and shows us the consequences of cultural division. As such, High Ground strives with authenticity and grit. It has excellent acting from first-time performers Jacob Junior Nayinggul, Witiyana Marika and Esmerelda Marimowa, and it's great to see Indigenous Australian representation. There's also equally strong performances from Simon Baker, Callan Mulvey and Jack Thompson, and while Caren Pistorius and Ryan Corr do their best, they are given little material to shine. Andrew Commis's cinematography is spectacular, which highlights the beauty and harsh nature of the Northern Territory, and the decision to include a fully Aboriginal soundtrack is smart. From graceful direction to handsome production values, everyone involved in High Ground worked hard to create a strong representation of Aboriginal culture and it's what shines most in this film. High Ground's themes were working well for me and I was invested in the buildup... until the last 20 minutes. That's where the tension fizzled out, as the writing lost track of logic, failed to utilise the importance of its character roles and muddled the film's thematic depths to the point that it rubbed me off the wrong way. While I'm starting to see the intentions behind the ending, its sense of incompleteness and narrowness just doesn't sit right and undermines the strengths of High Ground. It was where I realised how much I didn't care about the shallow supporting character work, it messed up the slow burn and there was also questionable editing. It's an ending I found to be so disappointing that it almost ruined the film. Don't get me wrong, High Ground is one of the better Australian films out there that has good intentions in mind and its authenticity and representation are enough to warrant a watch. It has enough to fuel some much-needed conversations in our Australian society, but these could've been driven greatly by a stronger impact, which High Ground doesn't fully reach. Plot and Characters (5/10) Presentation and Direction (7/10) Acting (9/10) Script (4/10) Setting/Locations (9/10) Tone (8/10) Cinematography/Visuals (8/10) Sound/Music (9/10) Editing (5/10) Pacing/Length (6/10) Score: 70/100. LIKES: +Authentic portrayal of Aboriginal culture +Overall powerful presentation +Brilliant performances +Beautiful, harsh locations +Stunning cinematography +Realistic sound design, great music choices +Gritty, bleak tone that provokes the film's themes DISLIKES: -Disappointing conclusion almost undoes everything -Abrupt, distracting editing -Some shallow character work

A visually stunning film with breathtaking performances In language! Deep, though provoking and action packed! A must watch Australian film!

This is a generic revenge killer plot and dropped it into a 1920's colonial outback Australia setting and slowed down to a snail's pace. The problems begin with the opening scene. A group of Aboriginals bathe in a picturesque stream. A bunch of soldiers show up and start shooting them. Without any lead up or backstory it just feels like comical violence for the sake of it. Wind forward 12 years and a couple of the survivors are out for revenge. Bang bang bang everyone shoots each other. The end. Seriously the cinematography is the only good thing about this movie. But while stunning scenery makes for a great documentary, it can't save a lackluster script filled with paper thin characters and no reason to care if they survive. 3/10.

The timing of this movie's release is of no coincidence, and the story conveyed within it is far from simple. Seen by itself it could be easy to view it as a simple story. But seen in a wider context it has the potential to bridge great divides that stand between us. With so much division and conflict in the world, it is time to forgive and heal "High ground" presents an opportunity to serve this process when seen it the proper context. During my conversations with senior elders from the central desert, I was shown what is required for true healing to occur in Australia between its many peoples and the first tribes. The famous apology by Kevin Rudd in parliament in 2008 did not heal the wound. What is required is more personal, like an exercise you might do at school. Imagine that you are the sole survivor of the massacre, that you are the last of your tribe, your family. Those who you have seen cut down in front of you are your uncles and aunties, your brothers and sisters, your nephews and nieces, your mother and your father. Allow yourself to feel this fully, do not hold back. Put yourself right into the depth of it. Suffer it, conduct this pain in silence, because no one is going to listen to you, no one is going to come and save you, and no justice is going to be served on your behalf. If you do this exercise fully, it will break you and wound you. You will act differently and behave differently. And when you stand in front of the real elders, they will see it in your eyes, see it in your body. Words will not be required, handouts will not be necessary. Understanding and compassion will be the case. Forgiveness will be its sign. This is how we heal, this is the way of the heart. The 1992 movie "Thunder Heart" staring Val Kilmer, documents the massacre of Sioux Indians at Wounded knee in south Dakota. This movie should be seen before you see High Ground. This pattern that has played out through history, is as old as the story of Cane and Abel, whereby we would kill our brother to possess his land. Yet even after all this blood shed, the death of so many innocent, the true spirit of a living man and living woman, still shines forth. Unblemished by the suffering of this world, we call out to our brothers and sisters. "we are one family, time to stop behaving as if we were not!" This is the unspoken message of "High Ground" and the many movies that have portrayed similar stories. Australia is entering a time of prophecy and many great events will soon transpire that will restore hope and joy into the hearts of all Australians. This movie can be the catalyst to great change, we are waiting for your response and we will see the answer in your eyes and hearts.

There are certain things that will either be enticing to the viewer or annoying to boring. In this case we are talking about a more or less simple story, with clear "bad guys", but also a lot of shading when it comes to the good people (and some of whom we'd call bad). So while we have some cliche and paper thin morals at certain moments, they do not feel fake. Quite the opposite it feels as real as possible, especially the people who play the natives, who also have different layers to them and different reactions to the invasion and provocation. This really is gritty and therefor not to everyones taste - it does what it says though and in a very engaging way! Not just decent, but really good!