Two very different worlds collide in "Walkabout," director Nicolas Roeg's strangely beautiful film about two children stranded in the Australian Outback.
The plot of this dreamlike drama almost takes a back seat to the breathtaking scenery, which Roeg more than adequately records - especially in the newly released director's cut, which restores a little more than five minutes of footage cut from the movie's original print.
It's debatable whether the additions make "Walkabout" a better film, especially a nude swimming scene featuring a teenage Jenny Agutter that seems awfully obligatory, even by today's cinema standards.
Fortunately, the film's comparison of everyday societal life to that of a primitive environment - as well as its assertion that simple living just might be better than the stressful daily grind - is every bit as valid, even after more than a quarter-century. It's also one of the reasons the movie remains a cult classic.
The film also made a star out of Agutter, who plays Elizabeth, a teenage Melbourne schoolgirl forced to fend for herself and her impish 7-year-old brother, Bobby (Lucien John, the director's son), when a seemingly innocent picnic in the Outback turns tragic.
After they survive gunfire from their crazed father (John Meillon), who subsequently sets their car ablaze and shoots himself, the two children head off into the wild - miles from the nearest city, with few provisions and still in their school uniforms.
The two are discovered, close to despair, if not death, by a young Aborigine male (David Gumpilil) on his walkabout, a rite of passage in which Aboriginal boys are sent out into the wilderness to learn valuable survival skills.
Much to their surprise, the Aborigine - who is unable to communicate verbally with the duo - agrees to take them under his wing, sharing his kills with them and finding them water and shade.
But while Bobby begins to understand their benefactor, even communicating with him by hand signals, Elizabeth remains standoffish to a certain degree, wanting to do everything in her superior and rigid schoolgirl fashion.
As mentioned, the photography is spectacular - Roeg manages to capture some scenes of wildlife and gorgeous backdrops that many documentary films would envy. That helps give the film a curious, almost otherworldly look that matches its mystical quality.
Edward Bond's script keeps dialogue to a minimum and requires Agutter and Gumpilil, an Aborigine who was new to performing at the time, to act more physically, communicating with expressions rather than words. And both are superb.
Roeg's direction never got any better than this, although there are a couple of scenes that seem to exist solely to document how uncivilized society is, and the conclusion is rather heavy-handed for a work that is otherwise subtle in many ways.
"Walkabout" is not rated but would probably receive an R for violence, including some gory animal scenes, and nude shots of Gumpilil and Agutter.