Bran Nue Dae is a wacky comedy and musical. It has become a rarity for people to make this kind of musical nowadays, so I was delighted to see that it felt like an old-school one where people break into song in non-singing situations. I grew up on this kind of movie, so it's a treat whenever I see those moments that a character bursts out a melody as if it's just an outpouring of the emotion they feel inside. Most of the time there is no explanation in the plot about why the character is singing, they just start belting and the lyrics generally propel the plot forward. They also got some wonderful singers for the film, so it's a treat to hear them sing each time the music starts. This is the kind of movie where I would have owned the soundtrack as a youth and would have listened to it until I could recite every line by heart (probably sounding like an idiot as I sing about being an aborigine.) There's also great joy in the songs, and the overall tone of the film. I simply don't know how someone could watch this movie without a big smile on their face.

The biggest downfall of Bran Nue Dae is the somewhat rushed plot that is goofy and odd in ways that don't always work for the maximum benefit of the story. It doesn't seem like the movie takes itself all that seriously, so when they reach the conclusion I can't decide if we're intended to have any emotional reaction. There's certainly a farcical tone to the way things unfold in the end, but I was expecting (or at least hoping for) something that would be a bit more cathartic for the protagonist. The events in the end are also highly predictable, but I didn't mind that at all. In fact, I think since we see it coming, it makes the climax a bit funnier as we see the shocked reactions of the characters in the film. The minor nitpicks about the way things feel rushed or the lack of serious emotions are extremely insignificant in the long run, because Bran Nue Dae is a pure joy despite any little things I might find to complain about. This is the kind of movie I wish I had discovered earlier, and will definitely watch again in the future.

Greetings again from the darkness. Gosh! Enough already! How many Aboriginal musicals featuring a VW hippie van being pursued by a priest must we endure? OK, so maybe the premise isn't all that common. Based on an extremely popular Australian play from the 1990's, director Rachel Perkins screen adaptations features the deserts of NW Australia and a loony priest played by Geoffrey Rush.

Though the idea is pretty creative, the film execution comes up lacking a bit. None of the songs are very catchy and the overall talent in the film is mediocre at best. Newcomer Rocky McKenzie in the lead role of Willie is pretty nondescript. Willie is forced to attend a school led by Geoffrey Rush in order to train for a life in the priesthood. Of course, Willie is a teenager and all he really wants is a life with Rosie ... they make flutter-eyes at each other. Sadly, Rosie falls under the spell of a honky tonk musician as Willie heads out to study God.

Jessica Mauboy plays Rosie and has the musical highlight of the film as she belts out "Stand By Your Man". The downside is that the lip-syncing is so poor that I found it quite distracting. As expected, when Willie rebels and runs away from the cloth and towards Rosie, the fun begins. He hooks up with Uncle Tadpole (an energetic Ernie Dingo) and a couple of traveling hippies. One of the hippies is played by recording artist Missy Higgins. They are unknowingly being chased by the priest as they try to get Willie back to Broome (and Rosie!).

Along the way they stumble upon a shop run by the great Magda Szubanski, who was so memorable as Mrs. Hoggett in "Babe". That's just one of the challenges they face along the dirt road. For the sake of comedy, there should have been even more.

The film has bits of Bollywood, "Rocky Horror Picture Show" and "Grease", but the parts just don't add up to a full musical comedy. The colors and setting are spectacular and the words to the songs often reinforce the plight of the Aborigine people, but everything just falls a bit short of the target. Even the climactic scene where all the pieces of the puzzle come raining down doesn't compare to the similar type scene in "City Island". It's a sweet, simple enough film with just not enough to offer.

BRAN NUE DAE is an utterly delightful new musical with an Indigenous Australian cast that is a sensational showcase of Aboriginal/Islander talent. Set in Broome in NW West Australia with spectacular natural scenery, BRAN NUE DAE revels in its silliness, sense of fun, community and absolute zinger talent. It is a musical road trip set in 1969 about a funny romantic schoolboy who falls in love and discovers hilarious family truths. It also clearly shows how photogenic our Aboriginal teens are, and with young-Elvis-like Rocky Mackenzie as Willie in a screen debut with gorgeous Jessica Mauboy as the focus, we are swept along for raucous dusty fun. It will appeal to cinema audiences as PRISCILLA did in revealing the beauty of Australian deserts and with top stars Geoffrey Rush and Magda Szubanski as key white talent in showstopper roles, the film has the broadest possible appeal. The songs are memorable and the imagery truly beautiful. BRAN NUE DAE is a tad edited down and short at 88 minutes, but that only means I wanted more. It is by turns hilarious, poignant and always visually stunning whether it be the faces or the landscape. If this is that start to a new decade in Oz film making, then I want more. No more dumb desert murder films. Lets go for fun and happiness and music music music. Ernie Dingo plays it like Uncle Remus and scores the best laughs.