Based on Thomas Keneally’s book of the same name (which, in turn, was based on an actual incident), The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith is a key title in the Australian New Wave, working equally as a striking piece of cinematic art, thought-provoking entertainment, and a vicious condemnation of the effects of racism and ethnic abuse. The film traces the tragic life of a half-white, half-Aboriginal boy, suffering under the oppression of a world that will not accept him as their own, as he’s pushed, pushed, pushed to a violently explosive conclusion.
“The one great Australian film that I have seen.” – Pauline Kael, The New Yorker
“A great and tragic national epic – easily the most powerful Australian film ever shown here… You’ll come out of it dazed, knocked about, yet feeling good, like a voyager who has passed through a violent storm and sailed into calmer seas.” – David Denby, New York
