This film is currently unavailable
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
Fred Schepisi’s Palme d’Or-nominated epic based on the true story of a man of half-Aboriginal ancestry who is pushed to breaking point in the Australian outback in 1900.
Director: Fred Schepisi
Overview
Forty-five years after its release, Fred Schepisi’s Palme d’Or-nominated epic is no less significant nor powerful. Based on the true story of a man driven mad with rage by racism, Tommy Lewis stars in the title role as Jimmie Blacksmith, the child of an Aboriginal mother and a white father. Crushed by relentless humiliations and harassment from his white employers, he finally unleashes his anger through a wave of violence.
Following a deeply complex character, who gains our sympathies only to flip over to horror, this is a compelling and disturbing film set in the unforgiving Australian outback.
strong bloody violence
Related
The Wind That Shakes the Barley The Wind That Shakes the Barley
Drama 2006 122 mins Director: Ken Loach
Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or winning tale of two brothers joining the fight for Irish independence in the 1920s, starring Cillian Murphy and Pádraic Delaney
Lost in the Night Lost in the Night
Drama 2023 123 mins Director: Amat Escalante
A young man seeks those responsible for his social activist mother’s disappearance, in this intense thriller from Amat Escalante (Heli, The Untamed).
Irreversible Irreversible
Drama 2002 93 mins Director: Gaspar Noé
Gaspar Noé's retina-searing shocker about an assault and its revenge, told in reverse chronology and starring Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel.
Climax Climax
Drama 2018 96 mins Director: Gaspar Noé
Gaspar Noé's visually dazzling feast of music and mayhem reveals a director at the height of his provocative filmmaking powers.
Along Came Love Along Came Love
Drama 2023 124 mins Director: Katell Quillévéré
Two lovers become entwined while both harbouring deep secrets and shame, in this epic postwar romance.
Craig's Wife Craig's Wife
Drama 1936 74 mins Director: Dorothy Arzner
Rosalind Russell’s breakout performance is a tour de force in Dorothy Arzner's high melodrama.
Mystery Road Mystery Road
Crime 2013 121 mins Director: Ivan Sen
An Aboriginal cop returns to his hometown to solve the brutal murder of a teenage girl, uncovering a web of corruption and a growing body count, in Ivan Sen's acclaimed Australian riff on the Western genre.
Goldstone Goldstone
Thriller 2016 110 mins Director: Ivan Sen
Ivan Sen follows his acclaimed Australian thriller Mystery Road with another distinctive, 'outback noir', with troubled indigenous detective Joe Swan (Aaron Pedersen) again on the trail of murder and corruption.
The Proposition The Proposition
Western 2006 104 mins Director: John Hillcoat
John Hillcoat and Nick Cave's brilliant, brutal bushranger western, with Guy Pearce as the outlaw tasked with tracking down his psychopathic elder brother (Danny Huston).
Walkabout Walkabout
Drama 1970 101 mins Director: Nicolas Roeg
Jenny Agutter plays the teenage girl reliant on a young Aboriginal for her survival, in Nicolas Roeg's stunning Australian outback drama.
Celia Celia
Drama 1989 108 mins Director: Ann Turner
Set in mid-1950s Australia, with the fear of communism in the air and rabbit plagues overrunning the countryside, Ann Turner’s debut film depicts a long, hot summer seen through the eyes and wild imagination of a young girl.
Snowtown Snowtown
Crime 2011 120 mins Director: Justin Kurzel
Justin Kurzel's shocking dramatisation of Australia's most notorious serial killings.
Motel Destino Motel Destino
Thriller 2024 115 mins Director: Karim Aïnouz
Acclaimed filmmaker Karim Aïnouz’s Brazilian erotic noir sees an escaped young hustler flee to a roadside sex motel run by a hot-headed couple.
The Wind That Shakes the Barley The Wind That Shakes the Barley
Drama 2006 122 mins Director: Ken Loach
Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or winning tale of two brothers joining the fight for Irish independence in the 1920s, starring Cillian Murphy and Pádraic Delaney
Lost in the Night Lost in the Night
Drama 2023 123 mins Director: Amat Escalante
A young man seeks those responsible for his social activist mother’s disappearance, in this intense thriller from Amat Escalante (Heli, The Untamed).
Irreversible Irreversible
Drama 2002 93 mins Director: Gaspar Noé
Gaspar Noé's retina-searing shocker about an assault and its revenge, told in reverse chronology and starring Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel.
Climax Climax
Drama 2018 96 mins Director: Gaspar Noé
Gaspar Noé's visually dazzling feast of music and mayhem reveals a director at the height of his provocative filmmaking powers.
Along Came Love Along Came Love
Drama 2023 124 mins Director: Katell Quillévéré
Two lovers become entwined while both harbouring deep secrets and shame, in this epic postwar romance.