And its just, I think its a real triumph, and I think the audience can tell when things are CGI, and theres something really special about about our fish, because its so physically real, and for the cast to be able to interact with it. Blueback. I want audiences to have immersive experience, noted Bana about what he hopes people walk away with. Publisher's Summary. Blueback PG. Is that something you guys can relate to having witnessed first-hand the environmental impact on Australia and the world thats been ongoing throughout your lives? He did two weeks [in] quarantine to play a supporting role. Hes the developer who has plans to dredge the bay and set up a marine resort. Then, curious, she hand-feeds it another. I think its one that if you sit down as a family, youll really enjoy. https://libguides.spx.nsw.edu.au/EnglishYear5. So what did Bana whose international career goes back to 1997s The Castle bring to the project, when cast and crew found themselves filming off Ningaloo Reefs warm waters with whale sharks and oceanic manta rays? On the other hand, however, the English teacher may find themselves . You can email him here Tim WintonMessages to Tim "I was brought up in the suburbs, but it seems in retrospect as if I spent Read more. An inspiring story for the whole family, Tim Winton's best-selling novel comes to life on the big screen. 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. a master of language who writes unadorned sentences that build in power and 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. Thats incredible. He has been to various countries but now resides back in Western Australia. 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. Photo: Roadshow, This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google, InDaily uses cookies. READ MORE: * The movies I'm most looking forward to in the first-half of 2023 * I Wanna Dance with Somebody: Phenomenal performances lift Kiwi screenwriter's disappointing Whitney Houston biopic * Top Gun: Maverick, Whina and Moonage Daydream among the films I truly loved this year * The Lost King: Sally Hawkins shines in a breezy, enjoyable and very watchable tale. But no really, really excited. Blueback is a novel written by Australian author Tim Winton. "And if we lose these places, we've lost everything.". Toggle navigation Pocetna Filmovi Filmovi Akcija Avantura Animacija Biografija Komedija Krimi Dokumentarni Drama Wasikowska plays environmentalist Abby as an adult Abby returns home upon hearing of her mother, Doras, stroke. One day he meets Blueback, the biggest and most beautiful fish he's . It gives to us, and we give to it. Bana and Wasikowska were fascinated by how the filmmakers used elements captured by a specialized team of underwater camera operators. Mia Wasikowsa: I think you have to respect the fact that for young people, theres so much anxiety with the world that theyre inheriting, and to offer some positivity and hope is sort of I mean, thats the only otherwise you kind of go, Oh, whats the point? And I feel like thats really important for young people. 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. 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. he helps his mother each day and loves to dive. And I think its worth it. I've never really had that experience before. behave; the other is in terms of community - what are we prepared to give up Winton at this address are forwarded to him by his publisher. So I just hope its inspiring for people. That "frickin' book" won him his third Miles Franklin, and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Local arts needs local journalism. notion that you have to earn belonging, to earn some kind of comfort and ease In the book, for example, Abby is a 10-year-old boy, Abel. give only this print interview. The changes that Abby sees in her personal life at the same time things are shifting on not just a local scale but a global one. promote-and-negotiate overseas tour - but he remains at best a diffident awkward in that I don't know who it's for. Written by Tim Winton. He's quickly become one of my favourite film-makers working anywhere today. They do this by: The fish has a profound impact on Abel and Nora's lives. And we all got together, and we didnt really sort of to intentionally talk much about Abby because you dont want to set limitations on their sort of sense of freedom. Theirs is a simple life. Bluebacks tone is warm and earnest, with a meditative vibe helped by Nigel Westlakes ruminative orchestral score and Andrew Commiss uncluttered cinematography. by Tim Winton December 1, 2022. Growing up in a working-class family in suburban Perth, Winton understood that he lived on "the wrong side of the wrong country in the wrong hemisphere". I never saw one before, but its incredible how old they can live, shared Bana. And after others told him they were moved to tears by the tale, he thought Blueback is about people learning from nature.' (Source: Trove) Exhibitions He had just completed his recently-published Lockie Leonard ms, and sat down to "scribble some notes on a yarn that had half-formed in my head". This film is more single-minded. "It was odd because I think all of us were conscious of the connection; as if we were inhabiting some fictional reality.". She's initially alarmed when the fish snatches an abalone from her hand. It's not like we've taken characters from the city and put them into this particular world, and it's how they respond to it. later. And I was like, Okay, and then the fish kind of got bigger and bigger! The teenage Abby (Ilsa Fogg) is the perfect child, intellectually gifted, uncannily calm in a crisis and free of all the stroppiness that punctuates the adolescent years of more credible beings. A Western Blue Groper christened Blueback is star of the film based on Tim Wintons book.Credit:SMH. Related: Best Mia Wasikowska Movies, Ranked. Blueback is now screening in cinemas nationwide. Theres Abbys connection to her mother, and, in scenes from the past, the blue groper. 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). For 55 days and nights he rewrote Dirt Music, "while my wife looked on, like I was a ticking bomb", he says. Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2013. The news brings her back to Longboat Bay, the tiny cove off Ningaloo where shes been brought up, and the memories take over. It's an unlikely story for any author, and would have been unimaginable for a young Tim, who decided at 10 years old that he was going to be a writer. Oh, this one! then it's our source, our ancestral life and we are obliged to nourish it.". Were working to restore it. And I was like, Whats with the polystyrene fish? And, and somebody in my office said, Ah, thats Robs next project.. 'idealist' is a perjorative term - a lifetime of journeying in a religious But we were very lucky, because Western Australia where we filmed was completely separated from the rest of the country. I would recommend Blueback. Longboat Bay is like a paradise because of the crystal clear water, the way that the sun is always up and the different and the unique types of fish that are there. Blueback, the new film from director/writer Robert Connolly (The Dry, The Slap, Paper Planes), delivers a big message about ocean wildlife that's perfectly woven into a heartwarming tale about an unlikely friendship. 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. you be a fool to discuss such ideas. And then one day he turned up with this polystyrene fish. While Abel is away his motherfearlesslyfights off thesemenand makes the bay a national park tofinallyprotect Blueback and the bay from danger. And more. 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. An optimistic Robert Connolly hopes his audience is as passionate as he is about these core issues. This story was first published on The New Daily. Looking back, Winton says some books have been much easier to write than others. 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. It should be required reading in creative writing classes: Winton is The story follows Abel Jackson as he and his mother earn a living by finding and selling abalone. Which has tended to obscure the real And I knew I knew I was determined. 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. Mia Wasikowska: I mean, I hope its inspiring. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning. It could emerge as one of the more embraceable for-the-entire-family films to drop this season. "Our culture is obsessed about belonging, but people haven't grasped the obligation of stewardship, which requires sacrifice.". Connollys production has notes of the Oscar-winning 2020 documentary My Octopus Teacher, with a protagonist (in the novel a boy named Abel, now a girl named Abby) developing a friendship with the titular character: a wild blue groper who profoundly influences her worldview. You expect a fish to sort of run away, but the groper is like a dog fish. 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). Photo: David Dare Parker. Winton says he learned a valuable lesson from this "dark, dark time". "One area is the environment, in giving up certain liberties to deliver "My wife left for work at eight o'clock in the morning, and I was wrapping it up to send it to my publisher," Winton says. Throughout his childhood, Abel and his mother Dora have depended on Longboat Bay for all that they need. As Winton and his wife held his mother in the ocean, they were both very aware that this was a scene that Winton had imagined, and committed to paper, more than 20 years earlier. This was entered for The Australian/Vogel Awardin 1981. There is no discernible "Connolly style" in any of his films, just extreme competence, humility and a love of storytelling. '," Winton says. 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? 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Abel swims with Blueback whenever possible and finally the big red jet boat comes into Longboat Bay, both him and his mother are very worried. In one of the most moving scenes of Winton's 1997 novel Blueback, the protagonist Abel cradles his ageing mum in the water that she loves. "And I don't think it's worth going mad over, or tormenting your family.". Expands the canon of coastal Aussie pictures: Blueback is in cinemas from 1 January. Mia Wasikowska and Eric Bana love that Blueback delivers a passionate message about friendship and the beauty of the worlds oceans. Eric Bana: Yeah, I have to recommend Blueback today. Read it now. commercially feted, from the first, An Open Swimmer, which was joint "far more than for other fatter books". https://www.penguin.com.au/products/9. (including five prize-winning children's novels) have been critically and It's a beautiful piece of old school craft. cover-awkward-bases tactic. each of my first three books, and that was for years and years of my life, for But in some ways, only just. it is about things close to my heart.". His love for the natural world is echoed in his conservation work. Blueback. He laughs, denies he's a romantic. [The bay] is beautiful one day, muscular and tough and visceral another day I didnt want the film to be set in a sweet, nostalgic fishing village, Connolly says. it," he allows, "probably more fun than anything I've written for years. idyllic childhood, a strong matriarchal figure, deeply-held values amid a Like to send a message to Tim? 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