Return to Cinema 2021 - High Ground

Wow this is three from three Australia, three top notch local films back to back now. First it Eas Eric Bana's The Dry followed by Naomi Watt's led Penguin Bloom, now High Ground.

Directed by Stephen Maxwell Johnson, High Ground premiered at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2020. There along with a gala screening it was selected for the Berlinale Special section.

This could have been a hit in 2020, originally slated for release in July 2020, however it finally saw the light of day in cinemas on 28 January 2021 by Madman Films.

Back in October 2020 High Ground played at the Brisbane International Film Festival making it the Australian premiere. Following Brisbane, it also screened at Adelaide Film Festival from 17 October, with several extra sessions added to the original schedule.

Starring an all star familiar cast including screen legend Jack Thompson, US TV superstar Simon Denny, Callan Mulvey, Ryan Corr and Mystery Road's Aaron Pedersen. Whilst we are introduced to Jacob Junior Nayinggul as Gutjuk.

After fighting in World War I as a sniper, Travis (Denny), now a policeman in northern Australia, loses control of an operation that results in the massacre of an Aboriginal Australian tribe in 1919. 

After his superiors insist on burying the truth, Travis leaves in disgust, only to be forced back twelve years later to hunt down Baywara, an Aboriginal warrior whose attacks on new settlers are causing havoc. 

When Travis recruits mission-raised Gutjuk (Nayinggul), the only known massacre survivor, as his tracker, the truth of the past is revealed and Travis becomes the hunted.

The film was shot on location in the Kakadu National Park and in Arnhem Land, NT. 

You can read a comprehensive story from the ABC here on the film whilst now it's time for my score. It's been a positive month for Aussie films. Let's hope it's setting the stage for the a strong 2021 at the big screen for local stories.

4 Stars.