WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD

Australia, 1981, 79 minutes, Colour.
Ronnie Ansell, Peter Butler, Bart Willoughby, Chris Haywood.
Directed by Ned Lander.

Wrong Side of the Road won the Jury Prize at the 1981 AFI Awards. It is an attempt by aborigines to present something of their experiences on the screen. Setting is South Australia, the central characters belong to two musical groups: Us Mob and No Fixed Address. The members of the group collaborated in the writing of the screenplay and of the music. Co-writer and producer Graeme Isaac was a member of a number of performing groups, has written a great deal of music and toured South Australia.

The director and co-producer, Ned Lander, made the documentary Dirt Cheap about mining and land rights in the Northern Territory. A number of professional actors, including Chris Haywood, appear in the film. It is brief, has its grim aspects as well as its humour, shows a cross-section of young urban aboriginals and their life style, experiences, sense of oppression. the film reflects the racism inherent in Australian society. The film has natural energy, and even though at times it is rough and ready, it has a dramatic impact.

1. The immediate impact of the film? The background of the members of the groups? Their musical ability, collaboration on the script from their own experiences? The technical aspects of the film-making? Its meriting the Jury Prize at the AFI Awards?

2. The film's blending of focus on people, issues, injustice, discrimination and oppression, Australian society, both black and white? The effective ness of this focus via film? The telling of a story, portrayal of characters, exploring feelings via film? The impact on Australian audiences? Audiences avoiding the film and its issues? The film as provocative and urging people to take stances?

3. The influence of the road movie genres? Young people on the road, musicians on the road? The succession of episodes and experiences? People encountered on the road, clashes, friendships? The interspersing of memories? A musical road movie? The background of the music, bands and groups? The interspersing of the songs? The concert sequences? The importance of the rhythms of the music? The importance of the lyrics – to jolt, voice feelings, offer a critique? The influences on the music e.g. Reggae? Defiance and self-assertion?

4. The technical aspects of the film – a certain roughness and readiness? Improvisation and collaboration? The directions of the screenplay and the actors acting out the general lines? Their contributions in terms of acting, music, authentic feel and experience?

5. The structure of the film: three days of the lives of these people? Their musical ambitions – to play successfully for audiences, for dances? The two groups and their experiences, especially their relationships with family and friends? The gigs and the rodeos? The hassles and the oppression? The interspersing of flashbacks about the main characters? Authentic feel and atmosphere within this structure? Lifestyle and pressures? The significance of the title?

6. The background of South Australian? The atmosphere of Adelaide and its suburbs? Aboriginal populations in the suburbs? The landscapes of the South Australian countryside? Towns, hotels, rodeos? The desert aspects of South Australia? The importance of the hotel sequences, the police sequences in their authentic atmosphere?

7. The quality of the musical interludes, playing, singing? Dances? The group at home, on the road? Their being refused permission to play? The final defiance through the music itself?

8. The picture of the police – gathering to oust the aborigines at the opening dance? Their plans and strategies? Their arrests? The violence, the struggles, the reactions? The strategies used to escape from the police e.g. the concealing of the handcuffs by carrying gear? The later encounter with the police on the road? Police stopping the groups? The exchange of language? Critical attitudes and hostility? The examination of the gear? The police throwing their weight around, using (abusing) their authority? Racist attitudes? How typical is this kind of behaviour? The perennial possibility of hassles?

9. The arrival at the hotel? Being served beer in the bar? The barmaid and her immediate courtesy? Her discussions with the manager? Her blank hostility? The manager and his arguments about his hotel? Superiority? The authenticity of the interchanges and the feelings? His racism?

10. The racism within the aboriginal groups? Questions about reliability and the woman at the end saying she preferred a white group because they were more reliable?

11. The auntie and her welcoming the group, her home, place in the city, the relationship with the aboriginal men, with the women? Her capacity for celebration? Her arguments and discussions with the truant officer? Her support of the group? The maternal figures in aboriginal society? The comparison with the lady at the final gig?

12. Ronnie and her playing, her relationship with her aunt, the visits home, being on the road, the prison sequence and going to see her boyfriend, arguing with him?

13. Les and his place in the group, his wondering about his parents, his going to his white foster parents, the discussions about the meal, his relationship with his mother and father, their Catholic background, his going to the desk to get the documents, his going to the Bureau, the official thwarting of his efforts to find out about his identity, the hints given to him, his quest to find out about himself?

14. The rodeo memories? The fighting with the farmer, the breaking down of the car, the group putting Keith in to go into the rodeo and enjoying it?

15. Bart and his mischief-making, the sequence on the beach?

16. Pedro and his seeking jobs in the rail yards, the racist clash there?

17. The parallels in the lives of the young aboriginals? Their differences? The establishing of characters?

18. The advertising stated the question: "What's it like to be young and black in Australian?" The film's communicating a feeling? The background of white and black relationships in Australia? Injustices and remedying of situations? An entertaining film? Instructive?