Where the Green Ants Dream (Wo die Grünen Ameisen Träumen)

Critics Consensus

No consensus yet.

80%

TOMATOMETER

Reviews Counted: 5

60%
liked it

Audience Score

User Ratings: 531

All Critics | Top Critics

Average Rating: N/A
Reviews Count: 0
Fresh: 0
Rotten: 0

Average Rating: 3.5/5

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Movie Info

In a slightly padded but well-acted and relevant drama, an Australian mining company and a group of aboriginals go to court to settle a dispute over sacred land that the company wants to mine. When the Ayers Mining Company sets out to begin construction of its mine with bulldozers and earth-movers, the Aboriginals physically block the work because the site is exactly where the green ants will gather to dream (a 40,000-year-old legend) and it cannot be disturbed. The company tries the usual means of getting their way -- through bribes and arguments -- but nothing budges the men who came to defend the land. Once in court, it is quickly apparent that tribal laws and customs and beliefs are very different than Western laws -- and how the issue will be resolved is sticky indeed. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Rating:

R
Genre:

Art House & International, Drama
Directed By:

Werner Herzog
Written By:

Werner Herzog
In Theaters:

Feb 8, 1985 limited
On Disc/Streaming:

Sep 26, 2006
Runtime:

99 minutes
Studio:

Orion Classics

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Cast

Bruce Spence
as Lance Hackett

Wandjuk Marika
as Miliritbi

Roy Marika
as Dayipu

Ray Barrett
as Cole

Norman Kaye
as Baldwin Ferguson

Robert Brissenden
as Prof. Stanner

Christopher Cain

Tim Cartwright
as RAAF Pilot

Anastasios Chatzidimpas
as Cook

Maria Chatzidimpas
as Mongoloid Girl

Paul Cox
as Mining Photographer

Paul Donazzan
as RAAF Pilot

Max Fairchild
as Police Officer

Michael Glynn
as Pilot

Susan Greaves
as Secretary

Noel Lyon
as Bailiff

Andrew Mack
as Protocol Officer

Michael Mandalis
as Mandalis

Dhungula I Marika
as Malila "the Mute"

Trevor Orford
as Worker

Phillip Radke
as Chauffeur

Ricky Ronnie
as Strange Aborigine

Maria Stratford
as Peevish Woman

Marraru Wunungmurra
as Daisy Barunga

Ralph Cotterill
as Fletcher

Basil Clarke
as Judge Blackburn

Ray Marshall
as Solicitor General Coulthard

Gary Williams
as Watson

Tony Llewellyn-Jones
as Fitzsimmons

Michael Edols
as Young attorney

Bob Ellis
as Supermarket manager

Hugh Keays-Byrne
as Mining executive

James Ricketson
as Philip Adams the Mining Leader

Colleen Clifford
as Miss Strehlow

Nick Lathouris

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Critic Reviews for Where the Green Ants Dream (Wo die Grünen Ameisen Träumen)

All Critics (5) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (4) | Rotten (1)

As a conventional narrative, it's extremely simple and fairly slapdash, but it's never simple-minded, being too full of moments of inspired craziness and wisdom.

Aug 30, 2004 | Rating: 3/5

Vincent Canby
New York Times
Top Critic
Made in Australia, this effort is a slight, by-the-numbers rehash of Herzog's increasingly offensive noble savage theme.

Jan 1, 2000 | Full Review…

Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic
The director's eye shifts from the indigenous totem poles being celebrated to the less waxen eccentrics swarming in the sidelines

Sep 25, 2009 | Full Review…

Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion