Backroads

Phillip Noyce | Australia 1977 | 60 min

Backroads tells the story of an aimless white drifter Bill who has a chance encounter with Aboriginal man Gary. They steal a car and petrol and supplies as they need it.

As they travel they pick up another Aboriginal man on the run from an unsuccessful marriage and the bored white wife of a service station owner. A French backpacker joins them for a short while.

Always on the run from police, boredom and guns turn into a deadly combination.

Backroads is a raw movie packed with powerful political content in the dialogues between Bill and Gary. You learn a lot about Aboriginal culture and white concepts as you travel with the movie's characters.

However, Backroads is sometimes too lengthy for my taste. It might go well with the aimlessness of the main characters, but might as well be a result of Backroads being the first feature film of director Phillip Noyce.

Cast	Gary Foley Bill Hunter Zack Martin Terry Camilleri Julie Mcgregor Essie Coffey Allan Penney Gary, Aboriginal man Bill Hunter, white drifter
Release dates	1977 - Australia
Video/DVD Release Date	25 August 2004
Awards	not available
Rating	M15+ (R) - violence, coarse language
Language level	difficult (slang language)
Distributor	Scala Productions
Soundtrack	Robert Murphy
Genre	Drama
Notes	A Koori history special feature with rare photos of the film shoot, historical cut-outs from the newspapers Backroads: From Identity to Interval, an analysis by Stephen Muecke Gary Foley is a prominent Australian Aboriginal activist. Rabbit Proof Fence is another film by Phillip Noyce.
Find this movie	Indigenous film suppliers and distributors

Where to from here?

• Learn about Aboriginal people and the law
• Why is Circle Sentencing better than jail?
• Domestic violence among Aboriginal people