A film that speaks volumes in its silences just as much as it does its audible dialogue, Generations of Men, a powerful new short inspired by Judith Wright‘s book of the same name, is just as much a testament to the strength and resilience of women during colonial times as it is a reminder of the power of the Indigenous language and culture.
Directed by Joanna Joy, with a collaborative script between herself, Aunty Nicky Hatfield, LeLarnie Hatfield, Margaret Hornagold and Elizabeth Simard, Generations of Men takes the basis of Wright’s original prose – which focused on her own family’s unsuccessful move to Queensland in the 1850s – and centers itself around a white family making an overland journey to Rockhampton in 1859, with the assistance of Aboriginal staff.
The mother (Brenna Harding) and father (Johnny Carr) have a young daughter (Ella Webster), and another on the way, and it’s the impending birth that is causing concern for their staff (Andrew Young and Zalhi Hayden) whose pleas are ignored during their momentary stops across the journey.
Despite the film’s 19th century setting, the dismissal of a woman’s voice, particularly that of a woman of colour, feels just as timely through modern eyes. Additionally, beyond the Darumbal language being spoken as the staff’s mother tongue, there’s almost a necessity in Joy’s inclusion of it, with such speaking to the importance of Indigenous languages and that the fear of its erosion remains looming over every syllable.
Though only around 15 minutes in length, there’s a wealth of history present within Generations of Men‘s brief chapter. Through the smallest of glances and interactions, there’s an entire puzzle of conflict we can piece together, and whilst it would’ve been a narrative treat for us to perhaps see this in a form of entirety, what Joy has constructed here is no less important and worthy of generating a conversation.
THREE AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Generations of Men is screening as part of this year’s Darwin International Film Festival, running between September 12th and 22nd, 2024. For more information head to the official DIFF website here.
