- Why do you think Lena says to her friend, “You are never going to get out of this shit-hole?”
In the opening scene Lena looks across at her friend’s boyfriend and says “You know you’re never gonna get out of this shit hole don’t you Ty.” By this statement she is referring to the continuous cycle of teenage pregnancy, pretty crimes, alcohol abuse and unemployment found in this isolated country town.
- What impact does the rain have in the opening scenes?
The rain in the opening scene is a metaphor for the sadness that Lena is facing in her current family life.
- What impressions do we gain of Lena’s family life?
When Lena walks into her home she sees her mother sitting inside drinking, while her step father watches racing on TV. It is clear in this scene that she has had little love or support from her mother who she calls a disgrace. We get the impression that Lena rejects the indigenous family that surrounds her and longs for the love of her Irish father.
- Why is Lena’s brother taken away by the police?
When Lena arrives home she finds her younger brother and his friend being taken away by the police for stealing cigarettes.
- What contradictory images are there in Lena’s home setting?
In Lena’s home there are many contradictory images. One of these is the family photo, it shows Lena living a happy life with a loving family, but now the family has lost all its love and is starting to break up. The picture of Ireland is another contradictory image because it shows the rolling hills covered in mist, but Lena has lived all her life in the heat and desert of Australia. The postcard from her father in Sydney is also contradictory because it states that he loves her although he hasn’t visited Lena or given Lena a return address to be able to write back or visit him.
- How does the use of music add to the mood?
The music really manipulates the mood of the film. When Lena was
viewing the postcard and pictures of Ireland, the music of Irish pipes was
playing in the background. This represented Lena’s love for Ireland and
her father, enhancing the romantic mood to the film.
Meeting Vaughn (Dilshan Mendis)
When the film moves from Lena’s story to the first meeting with
Vaughn, the viewer is thrown into a very different scene.
- What images change the scene?
The viewer experiences many different images as the scene of the film changes from a small isolated country town to a minimum-security prison with a man-made farm. The first thing the viewer notices is the vast amount of trees present in the farm significantly contrasting with the desert. The next thing the viewer notices is Vaughn, an Aboriginal guy pruning trees with a resentful stare as he tries to suppress anger beneath his face.
- How do you know that Vaughn is in a minimum-security prison
There are a lot of symbols during the film that prove that Vaughn is in a minimum security prison. When the images change, the viewer can instantly see that the prisoners are working on the farm with minimum security, since there no chains and only one policemen on guard. Even when Vaughn is talking to her sister there is only a thin wire frame separating them, which could easily be overcome. The fact that Vaughn was easily able to escape the prison in the back of a milk van also proves that the prison had minimum security.
- What impressions do you get of Vaughn?
When viewers see Vaughn pruning trees in a prison with a resentful stare as he tries to suppress anger, they get the impression that Vaughn is extremely impetuous. Viewers believe that he is one of those Aboriginal guys that you’ve seen before and thought it was wise to stay well clear of them.
- How do you know that Vaughn has not seen his sister for a long time?
There are lots of signs that indicate that Vaughn has not seen her sister for a long time. When the policemen receive information that Vaughn has a visitor (his sister) he is totally shocked and comments “I guess there’s first time for everything hey.” It becomes apparent in this scene that none of his family has been to see him since he was put in prison. When Vaughn is talking to his sister he says “What the fuck you doin here Tes.” This confirms the fact that Vaughn’s sister very rarely visits. It is very clear in this scene as well that Vaughn has had little to do with his mother as his first reaction is “Well it serves the bitch right doesn’t it”
- When the young boy asks Vaughn why he never talks about his family, he says he doesn’t have any. Why do you think he responds in that way?
Vaughn says that he doesn’t have a family because he has long since lost all contact and love with his family. He responds in that way top indicate that growing up devoid of empathetic bands with his family is the same as not having a family.
When Vaughn gets news that his mother is dying, he impulsively breaks out of prison early the next morning by hiding in the back of a milk delivery van.
Continuing the Story (Ben Young)
- Why do you think Lena might have been sick?
At a poor quality service station where bad sausages are being served Lena rushes to the toilet to throw up after eating, causing her to miss her bus. It’s not clear exactly why she was sick but there are three possible reasons. Food Poisoning is probably why she was sick because the sausages did not look like they were cooked properly. Another possibility is that she had hunger pains so excessive that she reacts violently to the food she can’t digest since she was low on cash and had nothing to eat at home. There is even a chance that she was sick because she too was pregnant like her friend Ty.
- How do Lena and Vaughn react to each other at first?
The missed bus connection leaves Lena once again by the roadside where she finds herself in the company of the freshly escaped Vaughn. Lena judges Vaughn as yet another Aboriginal male with a chip on his shoulder, and a one-way ticket to failure. Vaughn judges Lena as an overly superior white girl with no understanding of his world, let alone him personally. At first they the two were ignorant of each other, both having cautions and defensive attitudes to each other, mainly caused by the racial tensions, but soon enough they started walking together.
- Why do you think Lena lies to Vaughn and tells him that she is from Ireland?
Lena considers herself white and does not want to reveal her Aboriginal heritage, so she tells Vaughn that she is from Ireland.
- The Aboriginal driver who picks up the pair calls Vaughn ‘cuz’. Why?
Both the driver and Vaughn are Aboriginal, so they call each other ‘cuz’. ‘Cuz’ is a term used by the Aborigines (in the film) that is similarly used to the word ‘mate’ or ‘bro’.
- How do the police treat the group when they pull the car over?
The police man treats the group as if they were inferior to himself, mainly because the group is composed of Aborigines.
- Why does Lena get out of the car?
Lean gets out of the car because she couldn’t tolerate the way the driver was treating his wife and child.
- What incidents draw the pair close together?
The incident where Vaughn prevents Lena from getting kidnapped draws the pair closer together.
- Do you think Lena is right when she says to Vaughn that he should give himself up?
Lena is right in saying that Vaughn should give himself up because eventually, Vaughn will be caught.
- Why does Vaughn say that he likes working in the forest?
Vaughn likes working in a forest because he gets to see life (the trees) grow and this gives him a sense of achievement. He also mentions that he likes working a forest because trees don’t talk back and don’t ask questions.
- Why does Vaughn say to the farmer on the tractor, “You stole this land!”? What does he mean?
Vaughn says “You stole this land!” because the farmer is white and Vaughn is stating that Australia originally belonged to the Aborigines until it was disposed by white people in the 1800’s. Vaughn also uses this phrase because he is passionate in his belief that his forefather’s land was taken away from them.
Lena think Vaughn’s comments are unnecessary and that Vaughn may get into deeper trouble because the farmer may contact the police.
- How do we know that Vaughn has a connection to his Indigenous heritage?
Vaughn mentions sacred sites and Aboriginal history during his conversation with Lena to show that he has a connection to his Indigenous heritage.
- What is the significance of the thunderclouds at this stage of the film?
The thunderclouds are symbolic of the conditions Lena and Vaughn may face later on. Because the clouds have not thundered yet, the director, Ivan Sen is saying that Lena and Vaughn’s circumstances may become even tougher.
The End of the Film (Jeff Frazer)
The film ends with Lena catching a train at Lithgow, and Vaughn waving goodbye to her. Before this, they both get to Vaughn’s mums house and find her not there and a pool of blood on her bedroom floor.
- What do you think happened to Vaughn’s Mother?
I think that Vaughn’s mother has died causing the blood dispenser to drop blood on the floor. Vaughn’s sister has come home and seen the body, calling the police and Ambulance who took his mum to the morgue awaiting burial. Vaughn’s sister is at the police station answering questions about her mother.
- Did you find the end of the film satisfying? Why or why not?
I don’t think that the film ending is satisfying enough. We don’t find out if Lena finds her father or what actually happens to Vaughn’s mum.
- For life to be better for Lena and Vaughn in the future, what would have to happen? What obstacles would they have to overcome to achieve better lives?
For Vaughn to live a better life, he would have to give himself up to the police and serve his sentence. Once released he would have to find an honest job and stop his criminal activity. For Lena to have a better life, she would have to find her father so that she would have a chance of survival in the city. Both would have to overcome obstacles like stopping old habits, going to jail and finding their parents.
Indigenous Issues (Jeff Frazer)
- What can help young people like Lena and Vaughn Break Out of the cycle of family violence and crime?
Aboriginals have faced many disadvantages and hardships since the arrival of Europeans in Australia. Now days there have been many organizations to help Aboriginals with their family problems and other issues relating to family life.
Many Aboriginal children who are exposed to violence tend to grow up to be violent as well. To break this circle the children need to recognise that they don’t have to put up with it. The Aboriginal youth help clinic is one of many organizations that help young Aboriginals like Lena and Vaughn. They educate and help them to understand problems that arise and help solve these problems.
Reconciliation is the process of improving relations between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. To improve this process, we can avoid racism and encourage beneficial interactions between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians to rectify the history we have of being racist.
St Clair is located on the land of the Deerubbin people. In 1998 the Deerubbin people were involved with the claiming of crown land in which there ancestors lived.