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Manganinnie, 1980
Manganinnie (Mawuyul Yanthalawuy) is an aboriginal woman whose tribe is massacred as part of driving the native people from their land. Determined to find any of her people who may have scattered during the raid, Manganinnie sets off into the wilderness, heading for the coast. On the way she encounters Joanna (Anna Ralph), the daughter of a family of white settlers. As the pair journey through the wilderness, they form a bond with one another, though Manganinnie’s sense of despair grows the more she sees of what is happening to her country.
This one is a touching portrayal of an unsustainable clash of cultures.
There is a certain fascination with people crossing over into other cultures, and a particular Western fascination with white people/children who are integrated into those other cultures, whether it be through capture or some other means. I haven’t seen a take on that trope like this one, one so tinged with a potent mix of gentleness and despair.
The circumstances through which Joanna comes to be with Manganinnie are themselves very interesting, and portrayed with empathy. Many plot summaries describe Joanna as being “lost”, and that’s sort of true. Joanna wanders away from her family and into the woods where she is found by Manganinnie. But very shortly after finding the girl, Manganinnie sees Joanna’s father and another man calling for the child. We do not get any explicit insight into why Manganinnie continues to hide Joanna, but it seemed to me that it was a mix of fear (men who look like Joanna’s father just massacred her tribe without mercy or hesitation) and loneliness.
For almost the entire runtime, there is a bittersweet counterpoint between the growing relationship between Manganinnie and Joanna and the sorrow that Manganinnie feels as she realizes what is happening. Manganinnie carries a fire-torch, a small burning bundle of wood and bark, that becomes both functional and symbolic as the movie goes on. Manganinnie teaches Joanna how to survive in the wild, and together the two of them huddle by the fire to stay safe from an unknown darkness that waits for them in the woods.
Manganinnie has several opportunities to return Joanna to other white settlers, all of which she declines. The film remains neutral on Manganinnie’s continued “capture” of Joanna, resisting the urge to paint it as some benevolent or wholesome action, but also recognizing the deep pain that Manganinnie is experiencing and that she keeps Joanna with her out of a deep and desperate loneliness. Joanna, despite her young age and despite us seeing that her family are overall kind people, is part of the colonization that will mean doom for Manganinnie, her people, and their way of life. At the same time, Joanna is not at an age where she can control or even understand the power dynamics at play, and her experiences with Manganinnie are undoubtedly leaving a permanent mark on her.
Lanthalawuy and Ralph have a nice chemistry with one another. Their relationship sits at an uneasy intersection between friendship, mother/daughter, and siblings. Phillip Hinton and Elaine Mangan have small roles as Joanna’s parents, nice enough people who aren’t joyful participants in the destruction of Manganinnine’s people, and yet accept the killings and “clearing” of the native people with little question or hesitation. They look away from the suffering of Manganinnie and her people in a way that Joanna no longer can.
This is an interesting film that tells an intimate story against the backdrop of a larger cultural tragedy.
Manganinnie, 1980
Manganinnie (Mawuyul Yanthalawuy) is an aboriginal woman whose tribe is massacred as part of driving the native people from their land. Determined to find any of her people who may have scattered during the raid, Manganinnie sets off into the wilderness, heading for the coast. On the way she encounters Joanna (Anna Ralph), the daughter of a family of white settlers. As the pair journey through the wilderness, they form a bond with one another, though Manganinnie’s sense of despair grows the more she sees of what is happening to her country.
This one is a touching portrayal of an unsustainable clash of cultures.
There is a certain fascination with people crossing over into other cultures, and a particular Western fascination with white people/children who are integrated into those other cultures, whether it be through capture or some other means. I haven’t seen a take on that trope like this one, one so tinged with a potent mix of gentleness and despair.
The circumstances through which Joanna comes to be with Manganinnie are themselves very interesting, and portrayed with empathy. Many plot summaries describe Joanna as being “lost”, and that’s sort of true. Joanna wanders away from her family and into the woods where she is found by Manganinnie. But very shortly after finding the girl, Manganinnie sees Joanna’s father and another man calling for the child. We do not get any explicit insight into why Manganinnie continues to hide Joanna, but it seemed to me that it was a mix of fear (men who look like Joanna’s father just massacred her tribe without mercy or hesitation) and loneliness.
For almost the entire runtime, there is a bittersweet counterpoint between the growing relationship between Manganinnie and Joanna and the sorrow that Manganinnie feels as she realizes what is happening. Manganinnie carries a fire-torch, a small burning bundle of wood and bark, that becomes both functional and symbolic as the movie goes on. Manganinnie teaches Joanna how to survive in the wild, and together the two of them huddle by the fire to stay safe from an unknown darkness that waits for them in the woods.
Manganinnie has several opportunities to return Joanna to other white settlers, all of which she declines. The film remains neutral on Manganinnie’s continued “capture” of Joanna, resisting the urge to paint it as some benevolent or wholesome action, but also recognizing the deep pain that Manganinnie is experiencing and that she keeps Joanna with her out of a deep and desperate loneliness. Joanna, despite her young age and despite us seeing that her family are overall kind people, is part of the colonization that will mean doom for Manganinnie, her people, and their way of life. At the same time, Joanna is not at an age where she can control or even understand the power dynamics at play, and her experiences with Manganinnie are undoubtedly leaving a permanent mark on her.
Lanthalawuy and Ralph have a nice chemistry with one another. Their relationship sits at an uneasy intersection between friendship, mother/daughter, and siblings. Phillip Hinton and Elaine Mangan have small roles as Joanna’s parents, nice enough people who aren’t joyful participants in the destruction of Manganinnine’s people, and yet accept the killings and “clearing” of the native people with little question or hesitation. They look away from the suffering of Manganinnie and her people in a way that Joanna no longer can.
This is an interesting film that tells an intimate story against the backdrop of a larger cultural tragedy.