The short parody movie, Babakiueria directed by Don Featherstone starring Michelle Torres, Bob Maza and Kevin Smith is a humourous parody of when the British invaded the Aboriginals during settlement, in the 30 minute film it flips it around and make it as the aboriginals invading the everyday lives of the Australians.
The film had scenes on and off and not a real clear storyline going through. Overall it is sometimes confusing; the films style is unique and makes it look kind of like a documentary. Babakiueria is the Aboriginals point of view and make it as the Anglo-Saxon the unknown and interesting ones to inspect. The morality and story it is trying to tell is clear with different scenes re-enacting what the Europeans did to the Aboriginals coming into their land and taking it. Scenes such as the Stolen Generation taking the white children and also claiming land with them still there.
Michelle Torres plays as Duranga Manika, the main character and also the narrator of the film, acts kind of like a news lady being professional and giving a lot of information. She walks through different scenes explaining, interviewing and pretty much giving information about what’s happening. The film also stars the Anglo-Saxon family which depict them in an Aboriginal perspective of mysterious and interested to learn about. Bob Maza plays as Wagwan (Minister for White Affairs) is a character that is seen being interviewed by Duranga Manika which outlines a view of what an Aboriginal would say.
The storyline is pretty confusing and does not have a real storyline except it being a parody it has many scenes that show the situation and changes its perspective. A scene where the Australians were parading on the road and chanting was stopped by the police for disruption. The main storyline is pretty much what happened during the first settlement in some parts but put into a different perspective.
The audience for this film would have been teens and adults who would know some history about the first settlement or it would not make sense. As the parody shows different humourous aspects but also some seriousness to it, it proves that it would also be suited for learning teens.
The music, editing and cinematography of the film looked low-budget compared to modern day films and documentaries (as it is an older film). The film still had editing and good panning involved for various scenes that set the mood or show Duranga walking.
Overall the film in my opinion was interesting and I understood it having learnt the history. It has great scenes that show the different aspects of the history of what happened during the first settlement. The actors were chosen well and suited their roles. I recommend this movie for teens learning about history or anyone interested about it, it is a bit humourous and overall a well-made film.
By Daniel