22 Sept 10
Director: Warwick Thornton
Australia
2009
101 min
This near-silent, sun-bleached love story focuses on a rundown community in the Australian desert. Barely a word is spoken between disaffected, petrol-sniffing Samson and wary, sensible Delilah from start to finish; they communicate primarily in looks and gestures. This Oscar-winning exposé of the shocking methods behind a highly lucrative dolphin entertainment industry plays out more like a thriller than a documentary. Running from tragedy and violence, the teens escape to town in a stolen car, but a worsening solvent habit soon threatens to ruin their lives entirely. Aboriginal Australian director Thornton captures the isolation that marks his
characters’ lives and invites us to see the tenderness behind their rough exteriors. The film plays a clever game with sympathy, bringing us closer and closer to Samson and Delilah without demanding that we feel sorry for them.