You might find it impossible not to hum along with the cheeky refrain "There's nothing I would rather be, than to be an A-bo-ri -gi-ne, and watch you take my precious land a-waaaaay" in Rachel Perkins' adaptation of the Aussie musical-theater hit "Bran Nue Dae."
That's because it's almost impossible not to be swept up by the exuberant fun of this singing, dancing, irony-laced musical about the repression, re-education and resistance of Australia's indigenous tribal peoples circa 1969.
The music that drives "Bran Neu Dae" (pronounced Brand New Day) might be brand new to some Americans. Known as "Broome sound," it's a snappy fusion of country, folk, rock and reggae.
Jimmy Chi, the main creator of the stage smash, first wrote a collection of Broome-sound songs with his band, Knuckles, for a traveling show and then for the 1990 musical. Twelve of the 26 songs in "Bran Neu Dae" made it from the stage to the screen.
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The toe-tappin' material is in good hands with Perkins, an activist indigenous filmmaker who co-wrote the stage show. Her lively touch is helped along by Geoffrey Rush as a persnickety priest forever hot under the collar and a talented young cast led by Jessica Mauboy (a product of "Australian Idol") and newcomer Rocky McKenzie as star-crossed teenage sweethearts.
"Bran Nue Dae," which opens Friday at the Loft Cinema, begins in the ethnically diverse port town of Broome, which gave birth to the music that carries the film. Willie (McKenzie) is about to be shipped off to Catholic boarding school in far-away Perth by his mom (Ningali Lawford-Wolf), who has visions of the priesthood for her son. But boarding school, under the rigid hand of Father Benedictus (Rush), does not suit Willie, and after a big rebellious production number, he runs away, determined to make it 3,000 miles back to Broome and Rosie (Mauboy), the love of his young life.
Willie's encounters on the run - most significantly with his long-lost Uncle Tadpole (Ernie Dingo), a roadhouse floozy (Magda Szubanski), a couple of hippies (including Aussie singing star Missy Higgins) and a traveling soccer team - provide all the fodder needed to explore the tensions between race, culture and class in the Aussie hinterlands.
Meanwhile, back in Broome, Rosie has fallen under the spell of a local rocker, a white Elvis look-alike named Lester (Dan Sultan), and spends her time singing at a roadhouse and dreaming of stardom. That teenage search for identity is set to a pulsing beat that helps keep things moving when the story stalls.
"Bran Nue Dae" is Willie's coming-of-age story, but religion is at the heart of things, too. It begins with Willie's mother, Teresa, a single mom struggling to build a better future for her son and counting on her faith and the church choir - led by Pastor Flakkon (musician and Broome native Stephen Baamba Albert) - to get her through.
The film has a summery glow, with Willie and everybody singing and kicking up dust at every turn. And that's about all you need for a joyous musical about rebellion.
Review
Bran Nue Dae
***
• Rated: PG-13 for sexual content and drug use.
• Director: Rachel Perkins.
• Cast: Geoffrey Rush, Jessica Mauboy, Rocky McKenzie.
• Running time: 88 minutes
