The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1978)

Odd Man Outback

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith on DVD

This legendary Australian film has been unavailable on video for far too long, and in late 2008 this problem finally has been corrected. Writer/director Fred Schepisi brings us the story of Jimmie (Tommy Lewis), a young half-caste Aboriginal man who has had religious training and now seeks his way in the legitimate world, looking for jobs and hoping to marry someday. He finds work as a fence maker, but finds that his employers are all too eager to cheat him. And he finds his wife, but only when the daughter of his white boss gets pregnant and claims that Jimmie is the father; the white baby eventually proves that he's not, but he sticks with the marriage anyway. Finally, Jimmie has had enough and goes on a killing spree, making all the whites pay for the way they treated him (he becomes something of a folk hero). The film was based on a novel by Thomas Keneally (who also wrote Schindler's List), which was in turn based on a true story that took place sometime around the turn of the century. Schepisi directs with an immediate energy and crisp cutting that reminded me of films like The Harder They Come (1972). At the time, the material caused great discomfort in its native Australia, and though the film was well received elsewhere in the world, it was a flop at home. Schepisi later directed such excellent Hollywood films as Roxanne (1987), The Russia House (1990), Six Degrees of Separation (1993) as well as the British film Last Orders (2001). Many subsequent films eventually dealt with the same material, such as Baz Luhrmann's new Australia, without the repercussions.

DVD Details: There's a Region 1 American DVD available, but the good folks at Umbrella Entertainment sent me the Australian two-disc special edition (it's not region coded, but is in PAL). It comes with a commentary track by Schepisi, as well as various interviews with the cast and crew, stills, a trailer and a featurette. Sadly, no optional subtitles or captions.

With: Tommy Lewis, Freddy Reynolds, Ray Barrett, Jack Thompson, Angela Punch McGregor, Steve Dodds, Peter Carroll, Ruth Cracknell, Don Crosby, Elizabeth Alexander, Peter Sumner, Tim Robertson, Ray Meagher, Brian Anderson, Jane Harders, Bryan Brown, Michael Carman
Written by: Fred Schepisi, based on a novel by Thomas Keneally
Directed by: Fred Schepisi
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 120 minutes
Date: December 17, 2008