The Last Wave

A powerful, yet subtle, picture from Australian director Peter Weir, who has demonstrated quite a flair for mystical themes. Like his earlier work, PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK, this picture involves inexplicable events and their connection with the aboriginal world and the ancient Australian landscape. The picture opens as a raging thunderstorm from a clear blue sky drenches a small desert settlement, and then flashes quickly to Sydney, which is also in the midst of a torrential downpour. A voice over the radio unconvincingly attempts to explain the phenomenon as a reaction to cold winds from the Antarctic. An earlier shot of an aborigine painting on a cave wall lets th...