My Name is Gulpilil

David Gulpilil is an iconic figure of Australian cinema and has been for fifty years.

The only actor to appear in both of the two highest grossing Australian films of all time Crocodile Dundee (1986) and Australia (2008) Gulpilil is known throughout the world for his unforgettable performances - from his breakthrough in Walkabout (1971) to films including Storm Boy (1976) Mad Dog Morgan (1976) Rabbit Proof Fence (2002) and his Cannes Best Actor award winning role in Rolf de Heer's Charlie's Country (2013).

Integral to the telling of so many legendary screen stories Gulpilil now nearing the end of his life generously shares his own story with us in My Name is Gulpilil. The actor dancer singer and painter takes us boldly on the journey that is his most extraordinary culture-clashing life.

RATING
M

DURATION
101

CAST
David Gulpilil

DIRECTOR
Molly Reynolds

Early in 2017 Gulpilil was diagnosed with lung cancer. His doctors estimated six months for him but David being David was always likely to defy the odds. And he continues to do so with probably his last great work My Name is Gulpilil.

"This is my story of my story. This film is a history. Only I can tell my history." David Gulpilil

Molly Reynolds' superb documentary rises to the challenge of doing justice to the extraordinary life and career of the great veteran Yolŋu actor.

David Gulpilil is an iconic figure of Australian cinema and has been for fifty years. His mesmerising electrifying presence has leapt off the big screen and changed Australian screen representation in the process.

Integral to the telling of so many legendary screen stories Gulpilil now nearing the end of his life generously shares his own story with us in My Name is Gulpilil. The actor dancer singer and painter takes us boldly on the journey that is his most extraordinary culture-clashing life.

From his breakthrough performance in Walkabout (1971) to today Gulpilil is known throughout the world for his unforgettable performances in films including Storm Boy (1976) Mad Dog Morgan (1976) The Last Wave (1977) The Tracker (2002) Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) Australia (2008) Charlie's Country (2013) and Goldstone (2016) among many more.

Gulpilil's films have been a success at festivals with critics and the Box Office. He is the only actor in both of the two highest-grossing Australian films of all time Crocodile Dundee (1986) and Australia (2008) and his films have grossed more than $100 million at the Australian Box Office.

Internationally his films have been lauded at all of the world's A-list festivals: Berlin Venice Sundance Toronto and Cannes where he won Best Actor Un Certain Regard in 2014 (Charlie's Country) an award is only given a handful of times in the event's history.

He has worked with some of cinemas greats been an inspiration and a role model of visibility for generations.

Early in 2017 Gulpilil was diagnosed with lung cancer. His doctors estimated six months for him but David being David was always likely to defy the odds. And he continues to do so with probably his last great work My Name is Gulpilil.

Directed by Molly Reynolds and produced by Gulpilil Rolf de Heer Peter Djigirr and Reynolds. Cinematographers Maxx Corkindale and Miles Rowland Editor Tania M. Nehme Music & Sound Design Tom Heuzenroeder. My Name is Gulpilil marks the culmination of a 20-year creative collaboration.

My Name is Gulpilil will release in cinemas nationally from May 27 2021

Official Trailer: My Name is Gulpilil

Review: My Name is Gulpilil

This one had me at hello. In the first shot David Gulpilil in winter coat and mittens walks down a country road. The camera is about 50 metres behind him and his gait is slow. Then we see why: he's following an emu which was obscured by his body. When the actor stops and turns back up the road the emu does too. They move in step as if in a duet. He just smiles as if to say 'of course we are' .

My Name is Gulpilil is the actor's fond farewell his valediction his living obituary. At around 67 - he's not quite sure of his age - he has lung cancer and a number of other ailments. They will take him out soon he tells us a number of times. He seems to want to say he's OK with that: he has had a charmed life as a dancer actor singer storyteller.

"My father taught me how to dance and how to sing and how to relate to the didgeridoo and the click stick and the rhythm of the song of culture the song of the ceremony ... I'm the greatest dancer in the world.'' He pauses for effect - "Just for me though ... '' The film comes from people he has worked with for more than 20 years. Molly Reynolds and her partner Rolf de Heer are producers and Reynolds directs. There are clips of several of their powerful collaborations with him - The Tracker Ten Canoes Charlie's Country. Other clips go right back to his first appearance in Nicolas Roeg's Walkabout made when he was 14 an unknown dancer from Arnhem Land.

Gulpilil's career spans the whole modern history of Australian film covering 50 years. The only other actor who comes close might be Jack Thompson a long-time friend although we don't hear from him or anyone else. There are no talking heads except one. As Gulpilil explains in one of his monologues "this is my film'' . Reynolds keeps it focused on him in a collaboration that achieves a rare kind of contemplative power. This is his last dance his last song and it will be his alone.

The film's structure is hidden but clever.

He describes how his body will be treated after his death where his spirit will reside "at the waterhole where I was born". The effect is unbearably moving and utterly engaging. There is no film quite like this in our cinema just as there is no one quite like the man.

Reviewed by PAUL BYRNES from the May 27 2021 issue of The Age Digital Edition. To subscribe visit "https://www.theage.com.au".

*****.. "Superb...an unforgettable film." - Guardian

"Unbearably moving and utterly engaging. There is no film quite like this in our cinema just as there is no one quite like the man." - SMH

"David is a gateway to a history that we've so far denied and not embraced. He's an extraordinary figure. In this country he's more important than Ned Kelly." - The Australian

"When I saw him I saw the strength of our men and the strength of our culture the strength of storytelling and the strength of taking a chance...When he stares at you it cuts through your soul." - Natasha Wanganeen in Gulpilil by Derek Rielly (Pan Macmillan 2019)

"Superb...an unforgettable film."
Guardian

"unbearably moving and utterly engaging. There is no film quite like this in our cinema just as there is no one quite like the man."
The Sydney Morning Herald