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High Ground (2020 film)

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High Ground
Theatrical release poster
Directed byStephen Maxwell Johnson
Screenplay byChris Anastassiades
Story by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyAndrew Commis
Edited by
Production
company
High Ground Pictures
Distributed byMadman Films
Release dates
  • 23 February 2020 (2020-02-23) (Berlin)
  • 28 January 2021 (2021-01-28) (Australia)
Running time
104 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish

High Ground is a 2020 Australian film directed by Stephen Maxwell Johnson, based on historical events that took place in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia, set just after World War I. It has variously been called a revisionist Western and meat pie Western. However it tells of a true historical event in a fictionalised manner but with very close attention to and respect for Aboriginal culture.

The film premiered at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival on 23 February 2020, with the Australian premiere at the Brisbane International Film Festival later that year, and theatrical release in Australia on 28 January 2021.

Plot

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After fighting in World War I as a sniper, Travis, now a policeman in northern Australia, loses control of an operation that results in the massacre of a group of Yolngu people in Arnhem Land in 1919. After his superiors insist on burying the truth, Travis leaves in disgust, only to be forced back twelve years later to hunt down Baywara, an Aboriginal warrior whose attacks on new settlers are causing havoc. When Travis recruits mission-raised Gutjuk, the only known massacre survivor, as his tracker, the truth of the past is revealed and Travis becomes the hunted.

Cast

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Themes

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The film includes the depiction of a fictionalised version of a real historical massacre known as the Gan Gan massacre that occurred in 1911, when over 30 men, women and children were killed by police and settlers.[1][2]

Although described as a Western, revisionist Western[3] or "meat pie western" in many sources,[4][5] Johnson prefers the term "Northern", because it is a fictionalised retelling of a true story, and the film respectfully and meticulously documents Aboriginal culture, in close consultation with the Yolngu people, upon whose history it is based.[3] Johnson said "We really feel it's a film that immerses the audience in a time and place and that perhaps hasn't happened in this way before", and producer Witiyana Marika called it a "northern action thriller".[6][7] Johnson also said "There's a thriller aspect to it. It's not a Western, it's a Northern".[8]

The story is based on a multitude of real-life past events, most of which are still in the living memory of people who were consulted in the making of the film. Johnson and his team strove to make it a balanced film – he uses the Yolngu language word makarrata[a] – in order to convey the story as a missed opportunity, where mistakes were made by both settler and Indigenous people, who were all flawed human beings. He describes it as a "deeply human story".[9]

At the heart of High Ground is the tragic story of Frontier encounters and the missed opportunity between two cultures, black and white... Faced with the myth of terra nullius, the aim with the film is to create a new mythology and present a different perspective on how this country was made. It explores the themes of identity and culture and the attempts that were made to preserve and progress culture in the face of an overwhelming threat. High Ground is a story with mythic proportions with complexity and no easy answers... But above all it is a story about the finding of one's roots. My aim has been to entertain and immerse an audience in an environment teeming with unexpected threats, and to take them on a ride through an aspect of our history that is under-represented and hopefully encourage them to rethink the Australian story.[9]

Production

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The film was shot on location in the Kakadu National Park and in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia.[10] Some was shot near Gunbalanya, which probably inspired the mission.[1]

The film was a High Ground Pictures production. It was financed by Screen Australia, Maxo Studios, Screen Territory, Film Victoria, Bunya Productions and Savage Films.[10]

Director Stephen Johnson's friend Witiyana Marika served as co-producer and senior cultural adviser, and also played the part of Grandfather Dharrpa,[1] while another good friend, Chris Anastassiades, who had also collaborated on Yolngu Boy, wrote the screenplay. Although the story was set in Bininj country in West Arnhem Land, while the 26 clans of Yolngu people live in East Arnhem Land, the film was cast from across Arnhem Land and includes people drawn from the many peoples of the land.[9]

Release

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The film premiered at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival on 23 February 2020 with a gala screening, and was selected for the Berlinale Special section.[11][12][13][14] The film was originally slated for release in Australia on 9 July 2020;[15] this was later changed to early 2021,[16] until a further announcement on 1 October 2020 revealed the Brisbane International Film Festival would host the Australian premiere.[17] It was also shown in the Adelaide Film Festival from 17 October, with several extra sessions added to the original schedule.[18]

The film was released theatrically in Australia on 28 January 2021 by Madman Films.[5][19]

Reception

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On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, High Ground holds an approval rating of 89% based on 38 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "A gripping action story as well as sobering commentary on colonialism, High Ground is a vividly engrossing attempt to grapple with Australian history."[20]

The Film Critics Circle of Australia named High Ground the Best Australian Film of 2021,[21] and it earned eight AACTA Award nominations.[22]

Accolades

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Award Ceremony
date 		Category Subject Result Ref
AACTA Awards 8 December 2021 Best Film David Jowsey Nominated [23]
Witiyana Marika Nominated
Maggie Miles Nominated
Greer Simpkin Nominated
Stephen Maxwell Johnson Nominated
Best Direction Nominated
Best Original Screenplay Chris Anastassiades Nominated
Best Actor Simon Baker Nominated
Jacob Junior Nayinggul Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Sean Mununggurr Nominated
Jack Thompson Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Esmerelda Marimowa Nominated
Best Cinematography Andrew Commis Nominated
Best Editing Jill Bilcock Nominated
Karryn de Cinque Nominated
Hayley Miro Browne Nominated
Best Costume Design Erin Roche Won

Footnotes

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  1. ^ See Makarrata Commission.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Gumurdul, Julie Narndal; Rademaker, Laura; May, Sally K. (9 February 2021). "How historically accurate is the film High Ground? The violence it depicts is uncomfortably close to the truth". The Conversation. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  2. ^ "Gan Gan". Colonial Frontier Massacres in Australia, 1788-1930. Centre for 21st Century Humanities, University of Newcastle (Australia). Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  3. ^ a b Milner, Johnny (March 2021). "Deep Dive: High Ground: Q&A with Stephen Maxwell Johnson" (Audio (52 mins) + text). NFSA. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  4. ^ Groves, Don (5 November 2018). "Simon Baker, Callan Mulvey, Jack Thompson reach 'High Ground'". IF Magazine. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  5. ^ a b Goodsell, Luke (27 January 2021). "High Ground: Yolngu Boy director Stephen Maxwell Johnson and elder Witiyana Marika reunite for Northern Territory Western". ABC News. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  6. ^ "High Ground: creating an outback thriller that resonates". Screen Australia. 3 February 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  7. ^ Revell, Jack (12 January 2021). "Stephen Maxwell Johnson's 'High Ground' Is a powerful truth about our Indigenous past". The Latch. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  8. ^ Lemke, Laetitia (30 September 2020). "High Ground, Australian 'frontier western' starring Jacob Nayinggul and Jack Thompson, to premier at Brisbane International Film Festival". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  9. ^ a b c Johnson, Stephen Maxwell (12 May 2021). "High Ground – Director Stephen Maxwell Johnson" (Audio (16 min.) + text). Film School Radio (Interview). Interviewed by Kaspar, Mike. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  10. ^ a b Keslassy, Elsa (2 November 2018). "Playtime acquires Australian action film 'High Ground' with Simon Baker". Variety. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  11. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (22 February 2020). "Berlinale Gala Player 'High Ground' With Simon Baker Sells to Samuel Goldwyn (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  12. ^ Lodge, Guy (23 February 2020). "'High Ground': Film Review". Variety. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  13. ^ Bunbury, Stephanie (24 February 2020). "'People weren't ready': Australian massacre aired at Berlin festival". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  14. ^ Dalton, Stephen (23 February 2020). "High Ground: Film Review Berlin 2020". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  15. ^ "Bunya's High Ground official Australian release date revealed". Bunya Productions. 11 March 2020. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  16. ^ "High Ground will be coming to Australian cinemas early 2021". 8 July 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020 – via Facebook.
  17. ^ "BIFF 2020 – An Unmissable Season of Cinema". Brisbane International Film Festival. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  18. ^ "High Ground". Adelaide Film Festival. 20 December 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  19. ^ "High Ground – In Cinemas January 28". Madman Films. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  20. ^ "High Ground (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  21. ^ Vann-Wall, Silvi (3 February 2022). "High Ground, Nitram take top gongs at the FCCA awards". ScreenHub Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  22. ^ Keast, Jackie (31 October 2021). "'High Ground', 'The Newsreader' lead early AACTA Award nominations". IF Magazine. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  23. ^ "Winners & Nominees". AACTA. Retrieved 18 January 2022.

Further reading

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