Character Review for Australia--Nullah

Nullah(played by Brandon Walters) is a child who plays an important role in this movie. He has dark skin, brown curly hair and looks like an aborigine. His innocent eyes attract me the most. He is a mixed race Aboriginal boy who was born to an Aboriginal mother and an unknown white father (Fletcher). White people usually call him half cast or creamy. He grows up in Faraway Downs, a cattle ranch which is managed by Lady Sarah Ashley after the death of her husband.

As Nullah lives in the outback, he is uneducated since he does not have a chance to go to school. In the movie, we can see that he uses broken English and their native language all the way. Furthermore, he believes in magic (kalapa). He tells people that his grandfather King George (an aboriginal witch doctor) has magic; and he teaches him how to sing a fish song to catch fish, how to sing down fear evil spirit and wild beast, how to become invisible underwater, and how to play magic. Nullah also believes the saying of King George that in order to become a man, he has to go on a walkabout.

As a child, Nullah is sometimes naive and has some childish behaviours. At the time when his mother dies, he even throws a tantrum. He curls up against the wall and when Sarah is trying to offer her condolences, he asks her to go away. However, when Sarah asks if he wants to hear a story (he is always interested in hearing stories), he shows his interest and she tells him a bit about the Wizard of Oz. After that, he wants Sarah to sing a song to him; and Sarah sings him the song ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’. He likes the rainbow song as he thinks that it is all about the dreaming. There is also once when Sarah and Drover are sharing a kiss, they are interrupted by Nullah and he asks them if they are going to do wrong-sided business.

Nullah is also friendly and kind. He is friendly to everyone, including Lady Sarah, whom he is just got to know. He tells Sarah that she is like rainbow serpent for them and he wants to sing her to him. He tells Lady Sarah the truth that the administrator Neil Fletcher is stealing her cattle; has killed her husband; and is working for the cattle baron King Carney so that she can take immediate action on the shifty Fletcher. Nullah also develops a good friendship with Flynn during a night when Flynn plays him Somewhere Over the Rainbow on his harmonica.

In this movie, we will also find that the life of Nullah is quite pitiful. At the time the movie is set, 1939, the Australian government would forcibly remove half-Aboriginal children from their mothers, in a misguided attempt to assimilate them into white culture. This is what so-called the Stolen Generations, which the whites attempt to take away these children and place them in missions to phase out the culture. Hence, every time Nullah sees a car coming down Faraway, he has to hide in the water tower, afraid that someone is going to come take him away. There is once when his mother, Daisy follows him to hide from the police in the water tank, and unfortunately, she drowns in the water tank. From then on, Nullah loses his beloved mother and he can no longer say his mother’s name. Besides, there is also a scene where during the ball, Nullah has to be smudged with ash in order to watch the show of the Wizard of Oz (which Nullah loves), as creamy people are not allowed to attend the show. Just because of this half-aboriginal status, Nullah has to live a miserable life.

In addition, it is undeniable that Nullah is a brave and bold boy. In order to make Lady Sarah believes that Fletcher is a bad guy, he runs up the windmill (which Fletcher claims that it has not run in years) and makes the windmill runs, and yells that Fletcher is a liar. Besides, when Drover finds that they have not enough men to drive the cattle to Darwin, Nullah volunteers himself saying that he is plenty old enough to take the task. On the journey to Darwin, when their cattle are being harmed by Fletcher and his men; and when the cattle are all scattered around, Nullah manages to resort to a song and magic to stop the cattle (with King George chanting from the canyon) when the cattle are rushing towards him where at the moment he is at the edge of the cliff.

Nullah is also a tough boy. Though his life is full of frustrations, and he even loses two of his closers (his mother Daisy and Kipling Flynn) within just two days, he is tough enough to face the truth. Although initially he is a bit heartbroken when his mother dies, but later on when he listens to Sarah, he feels better and tells her that they must drive all the cattle to Darwin and onto the metal ship. When Nullah is caught and going to be sent to the so-called Mission Island, he waves goodbye to Sarah (who tries to get him free but failed), saying that he will wait for her to get him back, and he will sing her to him.

In a nutshell, Nullah is a character whom I impress the most. Besides serving as a narrator in this movie, his character also conveys us a lot of messages. Even though he is just a child, he does have mature thinking. He is such brave, tough, and lovely that if without him, the story may not come alive or as interesting as it is.

Favourite Quote:
“Just because it is, it doesn’t mean it should be.” by Lady Sarah Ashley