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Powerfully performed and beautifully directed, Charlie's Country uses its protagonist's personal saga to explore poignant universal themes. Read critic reviews

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Charlie's Country Photos

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Movie Info

Charlie (David Gulpilil), an Aboriginal man of Australia, struggles to navigate the society he finds himself in, especially when he tries to reconnect with the traditional ways of his people.

Cast & Crew

David Gulpilil
Charlie
Peter Djigirr
Black Pete
Luke Ford
Luke
Bobby Bunungurr
Bobby
Jennifer Budukpuduk Gaykamangu
Faith
Peter Minygululu
Old Lulu
Frances Djulibing
Supermarket Woman
Gary Waddell
Gaz
Rolf de Heer
Director
Rolf de Heer
Screenwriter
David Gulpilil
Screenwriter
Rolf de Heer
Producer
Peter Djigirr
Producer
Nils Erik Nielsen
Producer
Troy Lum
Executive Producer
Bryce Menzies
Executive Producer
Sue Murray
Executive Producer
Domenico Procacci
Executive Producer
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Critic Reviews for Charlie's Country

All Critics (38) | Top Critics (13) | Fresh (36) | Rotten (2)

  • The upright art-houser is told in English and Yolngu, with English subtitles, but the message would be clear without any dialogue: Australia is no country for old Aborigine.

    August 21, 2015 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    Brad Wheeler

    Globe and Mail

  • Australia offers few sights as sublime as that of David Gulpilil.

    July 16, 2015 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    Peter Keough

    Boston Globe

  • A series of chapters in noble effort and misadventure alike, all captured with fluid camerawork trained on Gulpilil's every move or his long passages of mesmerizing stillness.

    June 11, 2015 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    Tom Keogh

    Seattle Times

  • The film gets some of its power from the fact that Charlie's story tracks pretty closely with that of the actor playing him. But just some of its power.

    June 10, 2015 | Full Review…

    Bob Mondello

    NPR

  • Using a combination of bleak realism, fatalistic humor and a healthy dose of sentimentality, Mr. de Heer traces the downward spiral of a man who has become a refugee in his own homeland.

    June 4, 2015 | Full Review…

    Nicolas Rapold

    New York Times

  • The whole film feels not like a call to arms against Australian policies, so much as a study of life adjacent to them.

    June 4, 2015 | Rating: 3.5/5 | Full Review…

    Tasha Robinson

    The Dissolve
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Audience Reviews for Charlie's Country

  • Jun 25, 2015
    "Charlie's Country" is a different kind of Australian apocalyptic movie than the ones we're used to seeing. While on a much smaller scale, the movie is no less concerned with the current state and fate of the Aboriginal population. That is embodied in Charlie(David Gulpilil, who also co-wrote with director Rolf de Heer) who once danced in front of Queen Elizabeth to celebrate the opening of the Sydney Opera House. Through a series of tragicomic misadventures in the present day, he comes to realize that the old ways are gone forever. What makes his situation even worse is that the old ways of Aboriginals were not replaced by anything. At best, they are treated like children. At worst, they are treated like criminals.
    Walter M Super Reviewer
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