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WALKABOUT 1971
(TRANSCRIPT BY JORGE SLIPAK)
DISOLVE IN TITLE: (We read in withe letters over black B.G.)
In Australia, when an Aborigine man-child
reaches sixteen, he is sent out into the
land.
For months he must live from it.
Sleep on it.
Eat of its fruit and flesh.
Stay alive.
Even if it means killing his
fellow creatures. The Aborigines call it
the WALKABOUT.
This is the story of a "WALKABOUT".
FADE OUT:
FADE IN:
Tewnty Century Fox Film Logo
FADE OUT:
FADE IN:
Over a rock formation in withe letters
Sound of radio static.
TITLES IN:
SI LITVINOFF
MAX L.
RAAB
PRODUCTION
TITLES OFF:
TITLES IN:
JENNY AGUTTER
LUCIEN JOHN
DAVID GUMPILIL
TITLES OFF:
TITLES IN:
WALKABOUT
CUT TO
A brick wall. Camera tracks right to reveal a modern urban
street scene. We hear Aborigine music.
Shots of people walking on the street
(focus on their legs), or tall
buildings. In these shots we see the
father (John Meillon) walking.
Shot of teenagers all in school dress
in classroom-all panting lightly, as if for exercise.
Focus on a fourtheen years old girl
(Jenny Agutter).
CUT TO: street scene shows little boy
(Luc Roeg/Credited as: Lucien John) in school uniform watching soldiers walk
by.
This
montage continues with more cuts of father and daughter.
CUT TO: Brick wall, camera right, and
we see the vast outback.
CUT TO: Man (The father) taking a break
outside an office building. More shots now
of the son, daughter, and father.
Then a crane shot up to show the
family’s apartment building, the black VW parked outside, the water in the
distance.
INTERIOR. APARTMENT.
DAY
The wife moves about the kitchen
preparing some food and listening the radio.
RADIO: ... The Ortolan is the name given to a European
singing bird. It is extremely rare. When fattened for eating, they are left in
dark cardboard boxes, and packets of grain are pressed to a hole in the box,
through which a light is shone. The bird
picks at the grain in the hope of penetrating through to the light, which he
mistakes for the sun. This goes on for
several weeks. When it has eaten itself
so full that it cannot stand or see, it is drowned in cognac. Gourmets regard it as an exceptional
delicacy. You will find vinegar is an
acceptable substitute for cognac ...
EXTERIOR. BALCONY.
DAY
The husband walks out on to a
balcony. He watches the son and daughter
in the building’s swimming pool. The
father watches them quietly. We see the
swiming pool since the balcony.
BOY: Stay there. Don't move.
GIRL: Come on. Swim out.
Come on. Further. Go on.
BOY: Help! Stop.
GIRL: Swim back.
BOY: Not far. Watch, Dad.
RADIO: Although there are a few of them
available in tins in the better shops now.
CUT TO: Brick wall a third time. Track right and there is the vast outback-and
the little VW. Inside the car there are
the father, the daughter, and the son.
INTERIOR. CAR.
DAY.
GIRL: (To the boy) Give me the radio.
RADIO: ... So you have to learn to tell a fish knife
from a meat knife, and a fish fork from a meat fork. If there's no fish knife and fork, use the
smaller knife and fork for the fish.- If you make a mistake, just continue
eating ...
BOY: This one's red.
RADIO: Don't put the silver back on the
tables.
BOY: This one's yellow.
RADIO: ... Be nonchalant. The place for the napkin is on the lap.
BOY: This one's brown.
FATHER: Please don't speak with your
mouth full, son.
RADIO: The fish or meat will be served
to you on your left side.
BOY: This one's green.
RADIO: Take the serving fork in your
left hand...
BOY: This one's white.
RADIO: And the serving spoon in your
right.
BOY: Oh, there's another red one.
RADIO: Don't use your fingers...
The father turn off the radio placed
over the girl’s legs and start the engine.
The car go away.
CUT TO:
The car stops in the midle of nowhere
GIRL: You stopped again. (The boy jump out of the car) Come back!
FATHER: He's all right. Don't go out of sight! ... We'll eat now.
The father is preoccupied reading about
structural geology. The girl sets up the
picnic blanket and food.
BOY: Bang! Bang! Bang! You're dead! ... I'm hot! ...
(The boy aproaches the father in the car) The wheel's come off! ... Dad, my wheel's come off. The wheel's come off.
GIRL: ... Chicken or ham?
BOY: Both!
RADIO: ... I think I know now what's making me sad ...
BOY: Bang! Bang! Bang!...
GIRL: It's ready.
BOY: Bang! Bang! Bang! Quick, men! Duck! Bang! Bang! Bang! You're dead! ...
A bullet
impact near the boy.
The father is
standing next to the car holding a revolver.
The girl look at him, then she takes
her brother and runs. They fell behind a
group of rocks.
BOY: That's not fair!. He'll get away!. You're supposed to be on my side!
FATHER: Come on. What are you doing?. Come on!.
And bring him with you. It's
getting late. I've got to go now. We can't waste time. Come out now! ...(He fires the gun)... We
have got to go now!. I... have got to go now. Can't...
Can't waste time. We
can't... Come out now!
He shots the gun again. He takes out the reserve gas tank. The girl looks at him. He has set fire to the car. We hear a shot-then three quick cuts of the
man falling down.
GIRL: Stay here.
She runs out, retrieves some of the
food, and runs off with the brother.
BOY: What happened?
GIRL: He said we were to go on ahead.
BOY: But he said I wasn't to go out of
his sight.
GIRL: He'll catch us up later.
BOY: Do you know where to go?
GIRL: Yes, of course. This way.
SONG:
Who saw him die?.
I, said the fly.
With my little eye.
I saw him die.
It’s night and they are alone in a
canyon. Everywhere the landscape is rough,
and rocky.
BOY: It's getting dark, isn't it?
GIRL: Pass me that.
BOY: Aren't you tired?
GIRL: A bit.
BOY: Are we going to stay here all
night?
GIRL: If you'd like.
BOY: Yes, please. But we didn't bring any blankets.
GIRL: I don't think I'm really tired
yet. Where are you going?
BOY: In the bushes. Whoo, whoo, whoo. Lizards!.
What you looking at?
GIRL: I'm looking for a light.
BOY: Why? There won't be anybody there.
GIRL: It's time you went to sleep. You've got to be up early in the morning.
BOY: I'm going to sleep here. Shall we take turns at being sentries?
GIRL: (Gently) No.
BOY: Oh... We haven't even got any water, have we?
GIRL: There's plenty of lemonade. You'll have some in the morning.
EXTERIOR. MOUNTAIN.
DAY.
GIRL: Are you all right?. What are you doing?
BOY: Nothing. Wasn't it nice last night?. Did you like it?
GIRL: Yes.
BOY: I had a dream.
GIRL: I know. You kept fidgeting.
BOY: You're dropping everything.
GIRL: What?
BOY: The ammunition's falling out. I tore my blazer.
GIRL: It doesn't matter. Come on.
BOY: Won't tell Dad, will you?
GIRL: No.
They are on the top of a hill.
BOY: What's up here?
GIRL: We can see where we are from the
top.
BOY: Well, where are we now?
GIRL: We've just got to climb that one.
BOY: But you said...
GIRL: Then we can see where we are.
BOY: But you said...
GIRL: Come on. I'll race you.
BOY: Oh, my legs ache!
They reach the top of another hill.
BOY: There's the sea! It's the sea!. A peaceful sea, isn't it?
GIRL: Maybe.
BOY: What sea is it?. What's its name?
GIRL: I don't really know.
CUT TO:
They are now seated in the midle of a
desertic area.
RADIO: ... Beneath the granite and basaltic
crust... is the mantle of iron
magnesium... and possibly a sulfide and
oxide shell, an outer core of molten nickel iron...
BOY: You must have lost it when we were
going up the cliff... to find out where
we were. I told you it was all falling
out.
GIRL: Are you sure it isn't in your
satchel?
BOY: ... Yes!
RADIO: Apart from the scientific
explanation, the expectation that the world...
that is, that human society...
will someday come to an end...
BOY: It isn't there.
RADIO: ... Leads me to believe that man is more...
GIRL: I've made a hole!
RADIO: ... Than the complement of root and matter...
GIRL: Look. Go on.
Have a drink.
RADIO: ... It is he who imparts dignity to the planet in
which he lives, although not receiving importance from it ...
GIRL: Leave some for me.
RADIO: ... The idea that man has passed through years of
trials, in order that there might be, at last, a perpetual succession of
comfortable shopkeepers ...
The girl turn off the radio.
BOY: I was listening.
GIRL:
We mustn't waste the batteries.
BOY: Dad said they last for four
hundred hours.
GIRL: Are you hungry?
BOY: Not yet.
GIRL: We ought to eat some salt.
BOY: Why?
GIRL: Uncle Ted said, when they were
soldiers in the desert... they always had
to eat salt.
BOY: It doesn't taste salty.
CUT TO:
They are walking.
GIRL: What are you doing?
BOY: I mustn't step in your steps. That means we won't get home by tonight. I'm fed up.
GIRL: No, you're not. Come on.
I'll tell you what we'll do. You
walk in all the ridges, and I'll practice my voice lessons.
CUT TO:
GIRL: Do you want a drink?
BOY: No. I'm not sweating now.
CUT TO:
The boy fall rolling by an inclined
surface of sand.
GIRL: Oh, come back!, I can't walk down
there!, It isn't fair!. Oh, please make
him come. I'm not coming back. We've got to get on. It's late.
I'm going now. Please, please
try. It can't be much further. It's silly to give in now. It's getting late. We've got to go. We can't waste time... I'll carry you for a bit.
CUT TO:
She walks carrying her brother.
GIRL: You're awake now.
BOY: I'm what?
GIRL: If you're awake, you should try
and walk. You should try and help
me. I'm tired too.
BOY: Look! What's that?
GIRL: What?
BOY: That.
They reach an oasis, and the boy moves
forward and drinks from a pool. There is
a tree with some fruit there.
SONG:
Who'll sing my song
I, said the dove
As she sat on a bush
I'll sing your song
GIRL: You said you were too tired to
walk.
BOY: (As he eat some fruit) It tastes
lovely.
GIRL: It's all right. The birds are eating it.
BOY: It tastes like meat.
CUT TO:
They camp there, the girl wash their
clothes as the boy is naked in the pool.
RADIO: Today is Armistice Day. At 12:00 there will be a three-minute silence
followed by a service of remembrance.
Meanwhile, we rejoin Captain Steele and Dusty, counteragents, in another
episode of "Enemy."
BOY: Does drinking give you a big, red,
fat nose?
GIRL: Why?
BOY: I was just wondering.
RADIO: I've only been over this road
once before...
BOY: Is that why Dad's nose is all
freckly?
GIRL: I don't know.
BOY: I've got a fly without any wings
in my cap.
RADIO: ... The bridge is blown!, Brake, Captain!
Brake!...
BOY: Did our car crash?
GIRL: You must look after your
blazer. It's got to last.
RADIO: ... Yes, Skipper, I'm okay...
GIRL: We don't want people thinking
we're a couple of tramps.
BOY: What people?, Did dad tear his
clothes?. Perhaps that's why he sent us
on.
GIRL: And you've put a hole in your
pocket.
BOY: When are we going there?
GIRL: Where?
BOY: Back home.
GIRL: ... In a few days.
BOY: That's the trouble with all these
series. You always know the superhero's
gonna get away with it. That's the
trouble with Batman. You always know
he's gonna win all the fights in the end.
That's the trouble with all these series. Even Bugs Bunny wins all the time. If we were superheroes, we would definitely
win.
GIRL: Yes.
BOY: Are we superheroes?
GIRL: I don't know. I hope so.
BOY:
So do I. We're lost, aren't we?
GIRL: No, of course not.
CUT TO:
The boy is walking by the bottom of the
dried oasis.
GIRL:
Don't. You'll ruin your nice shoes.
BOY: What happened?
GIRL: The birds ate it all.
BOY: But they couldn't have drank all
the water. Is there any in the bottle?
GIRL: No.
BOY: Why didn't you fill it up?. We should have picked some fruit. Which way are we going today?. I hope we find lots of sand. I don't like climbing up those hills
much. They make my legs ache. I don't suppose it matters which way we go.
GIRL: We'll stay here. Perhaps the water will come back.
BOY: Where from?
CUT TO:
She is sleeping as the boy play. She wake up.
GIRL: You shouldn't walk about in the
sun. It's bad for you.
CUT TO:
They are under the shadow of the tree
when the boy notices a figure in the distance.
It appears to be a man.
BOY: Dad.
As they watch, closer shots show it is
a young Aborigine. He his hunting a
lizard. He comes upon them and speaks in
his native language.
He talks to them for a while and then
walks away.
They run behind him.
BOY: I want a drink!
GIRL: Where are the others?
BOY: Quick, stop him! He's getting away!
The aborigene stops and turn
around.
GIRL: ... Uh, uh, uh, we're English! English!
Do you understand? This is
Australia, yes? Where is Adelaide?
BOY: Ask him for water!
GIRL: Water! Drink! We want water to drink. You must understand. Anyone can understand that. We want a drink. I can't make it any simpler. Water.
To drink. The water hole has
dried up. Where do they keep the water?
BOY: Water!
Finally, the boy puts his hand to his
mouth and pretends to drink. The young
man laughs and then cut to him finding water deep in the ground. Then the boy and girl drink through reed-like
straws. The two follow the young
Aborigine as he walks away.
Main theme again.
Who'll carry the leaves
I, said the wind
I'll carry the leaves
This time the montage shows the passing
of time as the three walk together.
Several times we notice, as they walk
together, that the girl notices the near nakedness of the young Aborigine.
BOY: (Pointing at a camel) Look! Look!
CUT TO:
Now the three are resting in the shade
while the meat cooks.
RADIO: The one set of values for
"X"... is 4-3(X-4)... equal to X-2(4-X). Write 24, 48...
BOY: Seven fours are twenty eight. Eight fours are thirty two. I can multiply 84 by 84. I did it yesterday.
RADIO:
Divide 3,894 ...
BOY: This is one of my soldiers.
RADIO: Twelve minus a third. If your answer is a decimal, what is...
GIRL: Put your shirt on.
BOY: He hasn't got his shirt on.
GIRL: He hasn't got a shirt.
BOY: He can have mine.
RADIO: ...and.0383 by.025.
GIRL: It wouldn't fit him.
RADIO: ... Leaving Adelaide, Harry drives ...
BOY: That's a soldier.
GIRL: Give him one. Don't be mean.
BOY: No.
GIRL: I expect he'd like to play. He's never had any toys of his own. We've got plenty.
RADIO: Vito left his home at midday and
cycled towards his uncle's house 50 miles away.
After one hour, traveling at ten miles an hour, he stopped for a drink,
which took him...
BOY: Give me a piggyback!, give me a
piggyback!, No! No! No!...
Then the boy begins to play with the
young Aborigine near a tree, and soon the girl joins them.
GIRL: Watch out. He'll roast you and eat you for dinner.
BOY: Hey, put me down!
GIRL: Hey! No!
BOY: I'm not coming down!
GIRL: No! Get down! No!
BOY: Go on! It's great! Get up!, Go on!
Get up! I did!
GIRL: Pull! Don't just hang there.
BOY: No!
GIRL: Jump! Jump! Come on!
BOY: Grab me! Hurry!
GIRL: It's my turn now!
BOY: Jump! Let me go!
GIRL: Come on! Swing me!
The three laugh and play together in
the tree.
Suddenly this scene is intercut with
the scene of the burned out VW-where a group of Aborigines have discovered the
site and are checking everything out.
The dead father is set into the trees and his body is beginning to rot.
EXTERIOR. NIGHT.
RADIO: Waldo's Motor Mart... is on Allen Road next to the hospital. If you've got a good, clean, low-mileage car
you'd like to sell, Waldo's Motor Mart will help you turn that car into cash.
And now, back to "Night
Beat." Good night.
GIRL: I'll be all right in the
morning. It got a bit sore from... Oh, dear ...
FATHER: (V.O.)- All right, let's go
now. Come out now! And bring him with you.
RADIO: Nothing can ever be created or
destroyed.
GIRL: (V.O.)- Come on. It's my turn!
It's my turn now!
RADIO: Every man and every woman is a
star. What do we know... By the telescope, a faint...
EXTERIOR. DAY.
The boy is laying on his belly with
severe sunburns, and the young Aborigine helps by rubbing on some of the body
parts of a partly-cooked wombat.
GIRL: I told you to keep your clothes
on.(The aborigene ask for the boy’s shirt with a gesture)... What?...
No.
CUT TO:
They walk by a rain forest.
BOY: I'll show you how to do karate.
GIRL: There's a pool down there.
CUT TO:
BOY: ... So the boy said, "I ought to be getting
home from work." He lived with his mother in a house on top of the
hill. She'd never spoken to him. He'd never heard her say a word. He thought she was dumb and she was blind
too. But every evening when he came up the hill, he saw her sitting
in the window, and she was talking. As soon as she heard his key in the lock, she'd stop. And when he got inside, she wouldn't say a word. So one evening he made up his mind to hear what she was saying. So he put the ladder...
GIRL:
No, he went round the back.
BOY: Oh, yes. He went round the back and got the
ladder. - And he set it...
GIRL: He carried it.
BOY: Yes, he carried it round to the
front of the house... and set it up
against the window.
GIRL: You didn't explain that she was
sitting upstairs.
BOY: I did.
GIRL: You didn't. You left it out.
BOY: Well, anyway...
GIRL: I don't know why you're telling
him all this. He can't understand. He doesn't know what a ladder is. I expect we're the first white people he's
seen.
BOY: It was very, very long and
heavy... and he only just managed to get
it in position in front of the house.
Next, he climbed up the ladder and got on the windowsill. But he couldn't hear a word. She was only a few feet away behind the
window. And her blind eyes were staring
straight at him, and her mouth was opening and shutting. But he couldn't hear, because she was
speaking silently to herself. So he put
his ear to the glass, but he still couldn't hear. So he decided to come down, but the
windowsill was very narrow. And when he
turned round, he knocked the ladder down!.
So he was stuck. He couldn't jump
down because it was too far, and he couldn't shout to his mother... because then she'd know he'd been spying on
her. So he just sat there. It got dark, and because there wasn't very
much room on the sill, his legs grew very stiff. Sometimes people went past, but he couldn't
shout to them because his mother would hear.
So there was a drainpipe going down the wall, and the boy thought:
"If I make it across and get hold of that, I'll be able to climb
down." So he reached across, but he
slipped off the windowsill... and fell
down and broke his neck.
GIRL: I told you. He doesn't understand.
BOY: Well, his mother went on sitting
there and talking to herself, and she began to get worried because he was late
home from work, that his dinner would get spoiled. So she said...
GIRL: No, she didn't. She didn't say anything. She got off...
BOY: Oh, that's right! And groped her way down the stairs... There's another aeroplane!
We see a small aeroplane in the sky.
CUT TO:
They are in a rocky site. The young Aborigine draws with a chalk-like
substance and then throws colored dust on the site. He has decorated the bodies of the other two
with Aboriginal drawings.
GIRL: Do you think he understood when I
drew this house?
BOY: That doesn't look like a
house. You can't draw. That looks like a platypus walking in
space... or a pterodactyl flying under
the sea. I think he might take us to the
moon.
GIRL: I wish we had a proper pencil.
BOY: Why did you say we were the first
white people he's ever seen?
GIRL: I always thought you had lots of
crayons and pencils in your satchel. Please
have a look.
BOY: By the look of that, I think he's
gonna take us to Mars.
EXTERIOR. DESERT.
DAY. (A group of metheorologist)
MALE METEOROLOGIST: Well, we
won't find it. Once them balloons get
loose, they're away.
FEMALE METEOROLOGIST: Perhaps. Look from time to time, please. They're expensive, and I don't like to waste
expensive things.
MALE METEOROLOGIST: Sure. Sure.
Well, I'd better get back to my mud pies.
FEMALE METEOROLOGIST: Well, I'll be off
then.
MALE METEOROLOGIST: You all
right for smokes?
FEMALE METEOROLOGIST: What?
MALE METEOROLOGIST: On me.
FEMALE METEOROLOGIST: Oh, no, no.
MALE METEOROLOGIST: Go on.
FEMALE METEOROLOGIST: That is three
packets I have to owe you.
MALE METEOROLOGIST: Don't worry about
it. I'm trying to give it up.
One man on the group of workers cut a
wire wich is holding a ballon. The
ballon fly away.
MALE METEOROLOGIST: ... Hey! There goes another one!. Hey! Stop it!. Hey!.
Hey, stop it!
The male meteorologist run after the
ballon.
FEMALE METEOROLOGIST: (To a 2ND Male
Meteorologist)They're so expensive.
MALE METEOROLOGIST: (As he is running)
Stop it!
CUT TO:
The young woman swims nude in a dark
pool of water among the rocks. The theme
music comes up again. Shots of her swimming
are intercut with shots of the young Aborigine killing one kind of beast or the
other.
CUT TO:
EXTERIOR. FOREST.
DAY.
As we hear the theme “Los Angeles” they
are crossing a little stream, the girl climb on the back of the aborigene.
Los Angeles
Los angeles
My morning is so fine
Hey, it's muddy underwater.
Especially in the early morning sunshine
There you'll be in front of me
So I'll catch up and turn to see
You look my way
And smile
GIRL: We'll walk a while --
Please. Put me down.
CUT TO:
A middle-aged woman is seen walking
next to the young Aborigine.
WOMAN: How's it goin', boy?. I said, "How's things?". You got ear trouble?.
The aborigene tells to her few words
but she don’t understands.
WOMAN: Suit yourself.
EXTERIOR. FAIR.
DAY.
MAN: Move it. Go on.
Quicker. Move it!. Get that bloody dingo out of here. It's the last time I'm warning you! Here.
Paint your titties with that.
Lovely. Be careful with
those. They're valuable. Hey, knock off. Knock off for about ten minutes. No sneakin' off. We've got a lot of work to do.
INTERIOR. SHOP.
DAY
WOMAN: Will you shut the door?.
MAN: The kids?.
WOMAN: The window's open.
MAN: I'm hot.
EXTERIOR. DESERT.
DAY.
We see the girl alone.
BOY:(V.O.) Hey! Look what I found! Over here!
Come on!
She looks at the aborigene who is
holding a ballon.
GIRL: That must be a weather balloon.
BOY: This black one's bigger... and it's ticking.
GIRL: I wonder where it came from. Probably someone's listening to it.
BOY: Will it hurt me?
GIRL: No, of course not...
As the ballon suddenly explodes the
aborigene cover himself scared, the little boy and the girl laugh.
GIRL: How long will it take? Ask him.
Ask him how long it will be before we can get anywhere. Ask him how long! Go on.
The aborigene and the boy exchange few
signals with their hands.
BOY: We'll be there today!
CUT TO:
EXTERIOR. CLEARING.
DAY.
The come out of the rain forest into a
clearing. There are buildings
nearby. The young woman runs toward
them.
But the buildings are an abandoned
farm. She comes back out and looks
downcast. She spots three fresh graves
in the back the aborigene is next to her.
INTERIOR. FARM.
DAY.
BOY: Hey! There's lots of water out
there, coming up out of the ground.
GIRL: That's a spring.
ABORIGENE: Jon-ge.-- Jon-ge.
BOY: Jon-ge. He wants me to go and fetch some wood.
GIRL: All right.
EXTERIOR. FARM.
DAY. (The boy)
GIRL: (V.O. - Shouting) What are you doing?
BOY: Nothing.
INTERIOR. FARM.
DAY.
RADIO: There's predestination and free
will required. We know now that that
that is, is...
Back
inside, the young Aborigine talks to her about something in his lenguage.
CUT TO:
GIRL: Water. Water.
ABORIGENE: ...Water.
GIRL: Yes, water.
Later, she looks through the
possessions left behind by the people.
The young Aborigine watches her.
EXTERIOR. WOODS.
DAY. (Boy and Aborigen).
The
boy is looking for pieces of wood.
BOY: Sorry, that's all I could
find. I didn't know where... Where are we going? ...
The aborigene take the boy and run with
him until they find a road.
BOY: It's a road! It's a real road! Where does it go?
The aborigen take the boy again and
carry him again into the woods.
BOY: (As the aborigene carry him)
You're making me drop my stick. I like
these.
As they reach the place where the boy
was picking up pieces of wood The aborigene teach him how to pull off the
ground big plants.
BOY: All right.
We come to the scene where the young
Aborigine is trying to wrestle a small wild cow, and he is brushed aside by a
truck with two hunters zooming along and picking off wild cows easily.
EXTERIOR. FARM.
DAY.
GIRL: (To the aborigene) Hello.
The aborigene walks away.
we are thrown off with another set of
harsh images of butchery and white bones of slaughtered animals, and then
suddenly we are launched into a strange interaction-the young Aborigine has
dressed himself in full courting array-painted his face white and covered his
body with white feathers and begun a courting ritual in order to attract the
young woman. He dances around outside the
house, but she is frightened. She pulls
on her clothes She had been washing), and tries to hide from him. But he continues his special courting
dance. The boy comes in after a bit, and
the young Aborigine retreats.
INTERIOR. FARM.
DAY. (AFTERNOON)
BOY: Didn't I get a lot?. There's lots more there. Didn't I get a lot?
GIRL: Where've you been?
BOY: Picking these. He showed me where to get them. Didn't I get a lot? They're my favorites, remember?
GIRL: Where are you going?
BOY: Out.
GIRL: No, stay here.
BOY: (To the aborigene) Here. I've got lots of them. Why won't he speak? What's he dancing for?
GIRL: I don't know.
BOY: Perhaps he's pleased.
GIRL: Why?
BOY: Because we got here at last.
GIRL: Where are you going now?
BOY: (To the aborigene) Aren't you
hungry now?
GIRL: Please, leave him alone.
BOY: (To the aborigene) You haven't
cooked the meat yet. (To her sister) The
radio's gone. - Hmm.
GIRL: The battery's gone.
BOY: No. Dad said they'd last for four hundred
hours. How long is that? It's longer
than we've been walking, I bet.
GIRL:
Leave it. We won't need it much
longer. Put it down and go to
sleep. I want to start early in the
morning.
BOY: I think he wants to stay here.
GIRL: Why should he?
BOY: It's nice. I think that he wants to stay here for a
while. There's lots of ferns growing out
there.
GIRL: Anyway, I've already decided
something. We're going on our own tomorrow.
BOY: Why?
GIRL: That's best.
BOY: No!
GIRL: Suppose he wanted to do
something, or something happened?
Suppose he tried to... Suppose he
went off and left us?
BOY: No, he won't. He likes being with us.
GIRL: Won't go. You must have dropped it.
BOY: Will he dance all night?
GIRL: It's all right. He won't keep you awake.
BOY: Can we go on the road?
GIRL: What road?
BOY: Up there. We found a road. Didn't he tell you?
GIRL: What sort of road? A real road?
BOY: Yes. Is that where we're going tomorrow?
GIRL: Yes. I knew we were getting somewhere.
The young Aborigine begins to stagger,
but he does not stop dancing. Finally he
stops.
INTERIOR. FARM.
DAY. (MORNING)
BOY: He's not there. He's not there! He's not there!
GIRL: I went to sleep.
BOY: He's gone.
GIRL: Oh.
BOY: Where's he gone?
GIRL: He's gone home.
BOY: Why?
GIRL: Well, there was no reason for him
to stay. He just wanted to bring us to
the road. We must be near a town. So he's gone back to his family.
EXTERIOR. FARM (NEAR THE WATER BOMB). DAY
They wash up theirselfs.
BOY: It's not really warm. He didn't say good-bye to us.
GIRL: Yes, he did. That's the dancing about. It's their way of saying good-bye to people
they love. I'd love to have a warm bath
with clean towels... and eat with real
plates and knives and forks. And have
proper sheets. And records. And clean my teeth properly. And wear all my own clothes.
EXTERIOR. FARM (AT THE ENTRANCE). DAY
GIRL: I'm glad I washed your
things. You want to look nice when they
find us. Did you keep that button? We must be near somewhere if there's a road.
BOY: I wanted to give him my
penknife. He's dead.
GIRL: How?
BOY: I tried to give him my penknife,
but he wouldn't take it.
GIRL: That doesn't mean that he's dead.
BOY: He won't take it.
Then the boy takes his sister to see
the young Aborigine hanging dead in a tree.
EXTERIOR. FARM (BEFORE THE DEAD ABORIGENE). DAY
BOY: Should I see if the road's still
there?
GIRL: No, of course it's there. Did you eat your breakfast properly?
BOY: Yes.
GIRL:
You should always sit down when you eat.
You shouldn't wander about.
They leave, find the road and walk by
it.
EXTERIOR. THE ROAD.
DAY.
GIRL: You ready, then? There you are ... What are you thinking?... Shall we sit down for a bit? Stop sulking.
BOY: Where's the
radio?. You forgot it.
GIRL: So what? It didn't work.
INTERIOR. FARM.
DAY.
RADIO: It's time now for hospital
requests. You're listening to the first
network of the ABC, Radio BL Sydney, FC
Newcastle. The time is half-past eight.
EXTERIOR. THE ROAD.
DAY.
As they see a town at their side.
BOY: Look!
GIRL: I know.
BOY: Will dad be there?
GIRL: No.
BOY: Ow!, Is he dead too?
GIRL: I'm not sure.
BOY: Did he shoot himself?
GIRL: It was an accident.
BOY No, it wasn't.
GIRL: Then I don't know.
BOY: (as he pull out a litle stone of
his shoe) Look!
GIRL: Did it hurt?
BOY: Not much. Well, why did he?
GIRL: I suppose he thought he was doing
the best thing.
BOY: That's silly.
GIRL: I said I don't know, didn't
I? All right? You ready?
BOY: Yes.
BOY: What's the name of that town?
GIRL: I don't know.
EXTERIOR. TOWN.
DAY.
As they walk by a sort of deserted town
they find a man on a house the girl adresses him.
GIRL: Morning. Wait here.
Hello? Uh, excuse me! Hello?
Hello!. I say, hello! Hello!
MAN: Yes?
GIRL: I'm sorry to trouble you. We're lost.
We've had an accident in the desert.
Would you mind if...
MAN: (To the boy) Put that down! Put
that down!
GIRL: Please!
MAN: Put it down! Put that down!
BOY: I have.
MAN: This is all private property. I'm an employee of the company. They own all this, and the mine.
BOY: What's the company?
MAN: You touch their cans and you'll
soon find out.
GIRL: Where's the mine?
MAN: It's shut.
BOY: What was in it?
MAN: Nothing. That's why they shut it.
GIRL: Do people come through here?
MAN: We give them tours, same as
anyone.
GIRL: When will they...
MAN: I don't know. They never send me a card.
GIRL: How often do they...
MAN: I don't know! You'll have to wait. You'll find it down the road.
GIRL: What?
MAN: Where you're staying. (They walk away) Don't touch anything!
EXTERIOR. YARD.
DAY.
They are sittimg in a kind of deposit
of rusty machinery.
BOY: Would you like to see the rest of
the town?
GIRL: We shan't have to wait long. Someone will come soon.
BOY: Can we go see the mines?
GIRL: Yes, if you like.
BOY: Can I go and play?
GIRL: Yes. Don't go far.
Be careful.
BOY: I'll be all right.
The boy goes off to play by himself at
the mine site.
Everywhere there is rusted out
machinery.
GIRL: What's there?
BOY: Nothing... Hey!
GIRL: Yes!
BOY: Watch!
GIRL: What?
BOY: Watch!. Are you watching?
GIRL: Yes. Well?
BOY: What shall we do now?
GIRL: I know. Let's...
CUT TO
EXTERIOR. CITY.
DAY.
Shots of the urban world. Here and there are people dressed in
suits.
A concrete wall. There is a white car pulling up to a
house. The young man gets out. Back to the same apartment we saw before. The young woman is now older, and she is
married. She is cutting meat for
dinner. The husband comes in, holds her
in his arms
INTERIOR. KITCHEN.
DAY.
HUSBAND: Hi, doll. Well, they've made a decision. I get Graham's job when he leaves Friday, lan
takes over mine... and Robby and Alan go
over to accounts. Which means Old Mal
looks like being out of a job. Still,
it's his own fault. What?
Shots of she her brother and the
aborigene in the swimming hole.
GIRL: Nothing.
HUSBAND: With all this changing around,
there's bound to be good news as far as salary's concerned. I tell you, doll. In two years, we'll be holidaying on the Gold
Coast.
More cuts at the end of the concrete
wall, brick wall, then the canyon rock walls, and back to the swimming
hole.
NARRATOR (V.O.): (We see images of the
three children playing on the swimming hole)
Into my heart, an air that kills...
from yon far country blows. What
are those blue remembered hills? What
spires, what farms are those? That is
the land of lost content, I see it shining plain, the happy highways where I
went ... and cannot come again.
THE END
Original Music by
John Barry
Additional Songs
Warren Marley “Los Angeles”
Billy Mitchell “Electric Dance”
Rod Stewart “Gasoline Alley”
Non-Original Music by
Karlheinz Stockhausen (from "Hymnen")
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Transcript and Diagramation by Jorge
Slipak (04/02/2009)
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Transcript and Diagramation: Jorge Slipak (04/02/2009)(Re-Edited 2012)
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I have to thanck to ‘Agutterfan’ (UK) who gave me few tips to finnish this transcript (2012)
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