Movies

Plains Empty

Synopsis

When Sam and her husband move to a remote mining camp in the desolate outback, she finds herself struggling to cope with the lonely existence. Eventually, she questions whether she is really alone.

Plains Empty takes the old standard of a restless spirit and infuses new life into it by setting the action in a deserted outback mining camp. When a woman is left alone on the edge of nowhere, she begins seeing visions of a ghostly young girl and starts seeking more information about her identity.

Punctuated with stunning landscape shots that emphasise our protagonist's sense of isolation, Cole has put together a haunting and effective story.

How Plains Empty came into being

Beck Cole has always been fascinated by ghosts and would often go to Adelaide for "the big smoke". On one of those trips which she did with an aunty, the aunty suddenly saw a little girl by the road as they were passing Coober Pedy.

So they turned their vehicle and drove back but instead of the girl found a little boy. They took him back to Coober Pedy where many Aboriginal people were waving down all trucks because they had lost the boy.

Still image from 'Plains Empty'.
Sam wonders if the plains are really as empty as they appear.

Details

Cast
Ngaire Pigram
Gerard Kennedy
Kerry Naylon
Tina Bursill
Josef Ber
Release dates
May 27th, 2005 - Australia
Australian premiere at the Indigenous Arts Festival, Sydney.
Rating
M - Mature
Distributor
Flickerfest
Soundtrack
Liam Egan
Notes

Other films by Beck Cole include Flat (2003), Wirriya: Small Boy (2004) and Skin Sisters.

Watch now or find a DVD/BlueRay copy

Powered by JustWatch

Browse a list of Aboriginal film suppliers and distributors

Other films by Beck Cole

Go exploring!

Use the Aboriginal film timeline to discover films you never heard of.

Take the quiz: Are you an Aboriginal movie buff?

Cite this page

Korff, J 2020, Plains Empty, <https://www.creativespirits.info/resources/movies/plains-empty>, retrieved 25 April 2024

Creative Spirits is a starting point for everyone to learn about Aboriginal culture. Please use primary sources for academic work.

Join thousands of Smart Owls who know more!