Blueback sa prevodom| 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. I mean, its one of the great things about when you really come in and do a supporting role is you dont get to see the rest of the film. field-worker in literature's pr harvest. Overall, you get a sense of how real it all felt when you watch the film and particularly for the cast who had to interact with the fish. It could be the right film at the right time, theres definitely a gap in the market seeing as its the first major underwater movie to release since Avatar: The Way of Water. And I knew I knew I was determined. all my time on, around or under the water. We also wanted the audience to see the actors jump off boats and swim 20 metres down. Photo: David Dare Parker. "That book just slipped out," he says. I would recommend Blueback. On land, Connollys touch isnt so sure. Eric Bana: Yeah, I have to recommend Blueback today. Set across three distinct time periods that sees Ilsa Fogg and Ariel Donoghue also play Abby at different points, Bana lends support as the roguish abalone diver Macka, who ends up having a huge impact on the inspiring conservationist. Thats really important. it was while there that he began his first novel An Open Swimmer. Like to send a message to Tim? you be a fool to discuss such ideas. For them, its like, whatever, you're there. I love it. 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. Did you already know that as well? 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. Like the excellent, more adult-oriented Breath also based on a Winton novel this wholesome and modestly affecting coming-of-age story is set on the west coast of Australia, in a fictitious community called Longboat Bay. 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. I loved its environmental messaging about saving the ocean, and that it took us to a world that is extraordinary Bremer Bay this little bay at the bottom of [Western] Australia, Connolly, who directed and wrote the screenplay, tells The New Daily. expected to be read by more than a couple of thousand people, and when you get "I've had a great experience working with Tim in the past, and his work, and I feel like this is a novella he wrote over 20 years ago that remains on the school syllabus around Australia and lends itself wonderfully to a screen adaptation," the director said. strongly-held views, he has restricted his public utterances to reluctant, Winton has proved a magnet for Australian film-makers. Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email. As VFX (visual effects) developed, Connolly - who describes himself as more an "analogue" filmmaker - was ready. Tim Winton has published twenty-nine books for adults and children, and his work has been translated into twenty-eight languages. There are no doubts, insecurities or moral weaknesses to be found here. An achingly beautiful story about family, belonging and living a life in tune with the environment, from one of Australia's best-loved authors, Tim Winton. Blueback was originally conceived as an animated film due to the state of CGI technology in the late 1990s, and the risks of having a big, wild fish in the water with children. A powerful story for generations opens our 2023 season of films under the stars. 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 beautifulfish. Winton's novel was created for the young adult market, and is therefore a lot more positive and simply written than his novels for adults. "One area is the environment, in giving up certain liberties to deliver It reaches a length of up to 1.7 meters and can weigh 40 kilograms. Radha Mitchell plays Dora, an environmental activist. freedom I had as a kid, a sense of wide-open spaces, the kind of Australian So were really excited. Expands the canon of coastal Aussie pictures: Blueback is in cinemas from 1 January. 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). Its absolutely stunning; theres absolute magic in it.. udiences open to an ecological ocean drama thats gentler, more grounded and certainly more Strayan than James Camerons. A classically Western Australian story from Tim Winton comes to the big screen with a star-studded cast including Mia Wasikowska and Eric Bana. promote-and-negotiate overseas tour - but he remains at best a diffident "I feel very specifically that I benefited from growing up where I did, where so much revolved around the sea - in a way, it was a gift and I owe it something. I think there are a lot of examples of incredible women leading the environmental movement at the moment and plenty of examples of men whove done some pretty catastrophic choices on the environment, including our political leaders in this country in the past. Blueback is an adaptation of a novel from best-seller Tim Winton (The Turning). from the sea and the land for so long, it's time for us to give something 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? On the one hand, it's a time when students should be challenged by texts more complex than anything they've experienced at primary school. Robert Connolly had been developing the film pretty much since the novella was published, but were you guys overly familiar with the source material prior to getting involved in the project? Here are a couple to think about: Blueback is a story about a young boy called Abel who lives in a bay called Longboat. And I probably would have been sort of nervous to scuba dive if I wasnt pushed to because of this film., She went on to say how surreal it felt to be underwater for 20 to 30 minutes, likening it to going into outer space. When the film opens, the adult Abby (Mia Wasikowska), now a professor of marine biology, is at sea on a research boat when she receives word that her mother has suffered a stroke. In one scene, adult Abby, during a moment of melancholic reflection, casts her gaze towards sand dunes, before Connolly cuts to teenage Abby walking across them. Blueback by Tim Winton. It was really wonderful. Mia Wasikowska: So I felt like there was a whole movie that I hadnt been a part of. . has stooped to the mawkish in this tale about world ecology that as message is indisputable but that as fiction is inane. And I just knew something wasn't right.". of familiarity with yourself. He's currently working on a three-part documentary about the reef, which will airon ABC TV next year. We meet the pair when Abby is an eight-year-old, obsessed with diving, then again when she is a teen - ditto,. I don't know whether books like Blueback make a difference, Blueback. Much of the story is told in flashback. He is also a strong supporter of marine and environmental conservation. 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Why indeed? She said shed never spent time in Western Australia before and the experience, overall, was wonderful, if not incredibly rare. After it was published, he became part of a real-life campaign to save the reef. I hope Blueback inspires people to contribute positively to our world. Three years later he won his first Miles Franklin Literary Award for Shallows (he's won the Miles four times to date, and shares the record for the most wins with the late Thea Astley). This story was first published on The New Daily. "Everyone on television was from the east. "It's certainly a celebration of all that feral . Photo: David Dare Parker. Your support will help us continue the important work of InReview in publishing free professional journalism that celebrates, interrogates and amplifies arts and culture in South Australia. Abby is played as a child by Ariel Donoghue. He did two weeks [in] quarantine to play a supporting role. It was gigantic. It's a scenario taken from Tim Winton's 2009 young adult novel, Blueback - with one or two changes. You can email him here Tim WintonMessages to Tim Tim Winton. persuasive effect. Probably towards the end of this year would be a rough guess. I love the fact that our characters are part of the environment that we're portraying. "There are accumulated losses we have suffered in Australia over If I had my way, I'd Blueback was originally conceived as an animated film due to the "state of CGI technology" in the late 1990s, and the risks about "a big, wild fish" in the water with children. Born in Perth, Western Australia, in 1960, he is the author of several novels for adults, including Shallows (1986), a novel set in a whaling town, and Cloudstreet (1991), the tale of two working-class families rebuilding their lives, both won prestigious Miles Franklin Awards in Australia. Looking back, Winton says some books have been much easier to write than others. And I think its worth it. Mia Wasikowska and Eric Bana love that Blueback delivers a passionate message about friendship and the beauty of the worlds oceans. Wasikowska plays environmentalist Abby as an adult Abby returns home upon hearing of her mother, Doras, stroke. The story follows Abel Jackson as he and his mother earn a living by finding and selling abalone. that writing is (a) "essentially a tedious occupation I spend scads of time 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. and species have been eroded this century at an unimaginable rate. You expect a fish to sort of run away, but the groper is like a dog fish. And what that meant was there was a process getting in, but once we were there, they were COVID free at that time. Abel Jackson has lived by the sea at Longboat Bay ever since he could remember. Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. Its a real challenge of how you create the journey of an audience of a relationship between a young person and a marine creature. [As Jacques] Cousteau said: If you can make people fall in love with something, theyll care for it., I hope the film can inspire an activism about the health of our oceans.. Over time, he has mellowed a little - he's just returned from a three-month journalism, Blueback: There's magic in this film, especially in the relationship between a little girl and the big, wild fish she befriends. Customers who viewed this item also viewed. And ", Blueback is subtitled "a fable for all ages", a marketing A So it is universal, and then also quite focused locally. I got a lot of grief from my daughters about the idea that I was making another film where the hero was a young boy after Id made Paper Planes. Its clear that the impact on the environment is something you both feel strongly about, and even though its a uniquely Australian tale in terms of setting and story that speaks to the feelings a lot of people in the country have and have had for some time, the themes and messages are universal, so what do you hope audiences take away from the film by the time the credits come up? While Abel is away his motherfearlesslyfights off thesemenand makes the bay a national park tofinallyprotect Blueback and the bay from danger. Despite this idyllic image they lead a hard, basic life. Blueback releases in select theaters, as well as on digital and on-demand, this coming Friday March 3. cataclysm to learn the value of sacrifice. then it's our source, our ancestral life and we are obliged to nourish it.". Perhaps it's that simplicity which makes Blueback so powerful for readers young and old. Like the groper, which will spend its life in one place if it can, Dora is devoting her life to the welfare of her own home. Abel is a curious and adventurous child, and he spends much of his time exploring the surrounding wilderness and observing the creatures that live there. Theirs is a simple life. he'd better have another look at it. Blueback was shot on location in Australia's pristine Bremer Bay, a picturesque locale with crystal clear turquoise water and sublime ocean views. im Winton was born on the 4th August 1960 in Western Australia is a famous Australian Author. Blueback / Tim Winton Children's novel published 1995. Penguin Books Australia 13K subscribers The documentary Island Home accompanies Tim Winton's 2015 book Island Home: A landscape memoir. times I'm not sure whether it's a balm or just another prickle under the So yeah, I wasnt as familiar, but I knew Rob had been developing it for quite some time. Connolly spent over 20 years developing the project, which he also co-wrote. So it was it was a lot of fun. Support independent Cloudstreet the Miles Franklin-winning novel about two families sharing a house in Perth between the 40s and 60s was also a "pleasure" to write. The tale revolves around Abby, a young West Australian child (Donoghue), who befriends a magnificent wild blue groper while diving. lead a Pynchon or a Salinger existence and become completely anonymous. YouTube. The Dry was one of the great experiences of my career and he was stunning in that film. 162 Pages. His father was killed by a tiger shark when Abel was young. This is his last interview, after two months in Australia promoting his 29th book, The Shepherd's Hut, and flying around the country for a sold-out . Winton's first novel, An Open Swimmer won an award and it marked the beginning of Winton's literature career. I think [author] Tim Winton has a theory that if you show, and make people care about the world, they're more likely to want to take care of it. sometimes sulkily terse communiques. We again assembled an incredible cast and showing off another very, very interesting part of part of Australia, in another thriller. Teacher preparation: give only this print interview. Blueback is now screening in cinemas nationwide. He has written novels, children's books, non-fiction books, and short stories. And when it comes to the environment, it wears its environmental message on its on its heart and sleeve. Eric, you of course previously worked with Robert on The Dry which was a massive hit in Australia and has become something of an unsung cult favourite around the world, so theres going to be a lot of people excited for the sequel, if youre not forbidden from sharing any details on that. McGirr, Michael (1999)Tim Winton: The Writer and His Work, Macmillan Education. The directors other family film, 2015s Paper Planes, reflects a similar commercial mindset as Blueback, providing a broadly appealing if a little indistinct experience that doesnt speak down to younger audiences but certainly hands them unambiguous moral lessons. Verified Purchase. I also feel the universality of it is beyond gender. https://www.penguin.com.au/products/9. Nevertheless, Blueback may disconcert some. Winton says the journey of adaptation to the screen "has been a long one". We shot in the middle of the pandemic when it felt like any sort of travel was not really allowed, explained Wasikowska. Tim Winton born on 4 August 1960 in Western Australia is a famous Australian author. So I just hope its inspiring for people. Read it now. The run of successes in Winton's career is the stuff of only the most fanciful of imaginations. Winton's first novel, an open swimmer won an award and it marked the beginning of Winton's literary career. environment everything is about balancing the books, of looking after It's a beautiful piece of old school craft. Blueback is an achingly beautiful story about family, belonging and living a life in tune with the environment, from Tim Winton, one of Australia's best-loved authors. 'idealist' is a perjorative term - a lifetime of journeying in a religious BLUEBACK, SAYS TIM WINTON OF HIS NEW NOVEL, is "one of those odd books that just show up". Blueback like the great big fish it is named for is a story that needs a few decades to make its purpose known. Later he tells me Helpful. Tim Winton recalls a recent moment when he led his elderly mother to the beach, to help her into the water. Add to Goodreads. It was another one of those strange life-imitating-art moments: in Blueback, published in 1997, Abel and his mum successfully protect their patch of coast from developers. The film could be described as unflinchingly earnest but in a good way, because its not often these days youll find a movie that doesnt have a cynical bone in its body. Ningaloo with Tim Winton will reveal a bewildering diversity of wildlife, including one of the only whale shark aggregation sites, the world's largest humpback whale nursery, a sea snake hotspot, and a refuge . 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? - Filmoviplex. Neither Mitchell and Wasikowska can do much to enliven dialogue that is more bound up with the life cycle of a groper than the shifting emotions involved in being human. good training. I just wish the action above the water line was as mesmerising. (Supplied: Screenwest) Story puts environment before economics Blueback will be a family-focused film that follows the story of Abby, a child who befriends a wild groper while diving in the ocean. "They had no idea Read more. 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. Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Remove Ads Cast Crew Details Genres Cast Blueback was shot on location in Australias pristine Bremer Bay, a picturesque locale with crystal clear turquoise water and sublime ocean views. Editon Published June 25th 2014. childhood once available to us. (Blueback, . 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. "far more than for other fatter books". And the more that we take care of it, the more its a two-way street. have an age, a heartbeat, you're just in this squeezed-down narrow focus which Its an urge shared by Abby and her widowed mother, Dora (Radha Mitchell), who has taught her well. An old-fashioned feelgood film that wears its heart on its sleeve, Blueback releases in select theaters, as well as on digital and on-demand, this coming Friday. Abel Jackson lives with his mother, Dora, at Longboat Bay, an isolated stretch of coast whose waters teem with fish. His boks have been published around the world. When acclaimed Western Australian author Tim Winton first wrote the novella Blueback, it was at a time in his life when the fragility of the worlds oceans hit him hard. Eric Bana: We didnt even cross over because of isolation periods, we didnt get to meet on-set at all. 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But I fear my grandchildren and Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. He was particularly surprised by the American interest. '," Winton says. 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". Then, curious, she hand-feeds it another. She asks him isn't he sick of never having money . Related: Best Mia Wasikowska Movies, Ranked. Star of this marine parade is a huge western blue groper christened Blueback by eight-year-old Abby (Ariel Donoghue) who befriends the fish after being persuaded its not about to swallow her whole. Using straightforward prose and stark, uncomplicated characters it carries a clear environmental and conservationist message. Blueback (PG, 102 mins) Directed by Robert Connolly ****. People can watch the film and go on an incredible journey to places we went and filmed in. "I reckon it took me ten years to not feel bad about doing well.". His mum had been a swim teacher as a younger woman, but was now too frail to swim on her own. , Exclusive: Blueback's Mia Wasikowska and Eric Bana Open Up About Their Heartwarming New Film, Two Planned DCU Projects Remain a Mystery, Including James Gunn's Favorite, 10 Gut-Wrenching Movies That Are Too Sad to Rewatch, The Little Mermaid's Live-Action Sebastian Design Revealed in Merchandise - and Continues a Disappointing Disney Trend. Blueback is about people learning from nature.' (Source: Trove) Exhibitions The Western Coast of Australia. * only taking a few abolone from each area, leaving the rest to bread and grow. "I knew I was hard working. It was just I loved the film. They're really unflappable. Its a scenario taken from Tim Wintons 2009 young adult novel, Blueback with one or two changes. family's - and his own - privacy with zeal. notion that you have to earn belonging, to earn some kind of comfort and ease Adapted from Tim Wintons best-selling 1997 novella of the same name, co-writer and director Robert Connolly tells the environmentally-conscious and emotionally-driven story of the unlikely lifelong connection forged by young activist Abby and the titular wild blue grouper, which goes on to inform, inspire, and define her entire life. Despite being a fish, rather than a person, Blueback is very much a key character in the novel. Here are a few thoughts for you to think about: Turning lights off in rooms we aren't using, Drying clothes on the line not in the dryer, "Up and down they went hanging on the each breath taking a couple of abalone from each clump leaving the rest to breed and grow". It could emerge as one of the more embraceable for-the-entire-family films to drop this season. Shallows, won the Miles Franklin Award, as did Cloudstreet With Robert Connolly's most recent film The Dry fast approaching $20 million at the . Interestingly, in southern Australia, the Western Blue Groper is the largest carnivorous bony fish species found living on reefs. 150 pages of deceptive subtlety, sentimental at times, sure, but never Blueback, a heartbreaking allegory about a boy, his mother and a blue groper, was written "inside a business week," Winton says. The most successful was Breath (2017), a coming-of-age story which united Wintons passion for the sea with a poignant examination of the emotional damage casually inflicted on two teenagers by a pair of charismatic but unthinking adults. secular cesspool, environmentalism. We havent seen Eric do this for a while. I dont think Dora and her daughter ever have a conversation that doesnt centre on the reef. Tim Winton has published twenty-nine books for adults and children, and his work has been translated into twenty-eight languages. It's a quite a stressful environmental world at the moment, and I think anything that reconnects us to the natural environment is really important, said Wasikowska about the perfect moment in time when this film is being released. Winton draws his main inspiration from the landscape he knows well. requires sacrifice to save it, we'll do it. So getting in was a bit of an ordeal. "We were told by the culture that all the real Australia was elsewhere, it occurred on the east coast," Winton says. Interview: Tim Winton, 27 Oct 2012; The Guardian - Waiting for the new wave: an interview with Tim Winton, 28 Jun 2008; The Age - The sea side of Tim Winton, 26 Apr 2008 . Because I think as human beings, we do respond to that positivity as well. We did as best we could to made sure that didnt happen. Winton says he was a little shocked when he learned the lead character was no longer a boy called Abel, but a girl. It gives to us, and we give to it. Tim Winton on Blueback, Ningaloo, and 40 years of writing, Australian Defence Force personnel and aircraft will be involved in the evacuation of residents from remote communities in the NTexperiencing significant flooding, Former government services minister Stuart Robert is being questioned at theRobodebt inquiry, Keep up with the latest ASX and business news. But when the awards started coming in, Winton was more embarrassed than proud. MY FIRST look at Robert Connolly's film adaptation . Every day while fishing, Abel and his mother would go out and play and feed Blueback. A Western Blue Groper christened Blueback is star of the film based on Tim Wintons book.