Film Review - We Are Still Here
Images courtesy of TM Publicity.
What can be described as a tapestry through time woven together by the theme of colonisation, We Are Still Here is an anthology film featuring 8 shorts by 8 directors which are set spanning a 1000 year period. Exploring themes of racism, loss and love which are best encapsulated in Lured (written and directed by Danielle MacLean), the gorgeous animation short that bookends the film illustrating the evolving maternal relationship between a mother, daughter and community.
Released in response to the 250th anniversary of Captain Cook’s second voyage to Australia and New Zealand in 1772, We Are Still Here debuted at the Sydney Film Festival in 2022. This film's debut in June coincided with a commitment from the new Labor government in May to fully implement the Uluru Statement from the Heart which calls for a Voice to Parliament and a Makaratta Commission, the former of which will be voted upon in a referendum. In the face of a referendum, the inevitable systemic spread of media noise can create difficulty in finding vital viewpoints, this film is undeniably one of those viewpoints. This film distils and dissects the past, present and future ramifications of Captain Cook’s voyage, presenting the perspectives of Indigenous Australian and Māori people, perspectives of people that by too many, for too long have been silenced.
The anthology does have a stand out short in Grog Shop (written by Samuel Nuggin-Paynter and directed by Beck Cole), a carefully crafted cohesive narrative which features endearing protagonist Ken (played by Clarence Ryan) a local who has a series of increasingly intense interactions with a new police officer at the local grog shop. However, all built up intensity is washed away with a wonderful twist ending which will immediately bring on a grin coupled with reflective thoughts that will linger on the brain for hours or days to come.
As is common in anthology films, We Are Still Here is still afflicted by the hits and misses common to the anthology structure. It hits with its decision to cut between different shorts, a decision that supervising director Beck Cole and editor Roland Gallois should be applauded for. The interweaving of shorts creates a unique rhythm where moments of tension are created by switching from one short to another, allowing for those moments to be dwelled upon by the audience for a few minutes. Also, on more than one occasion shorts did inform each other in a way that wouldn’t have been possible if they weren’t interwoven despite having only thematic and not narrative connections. However, it does miss with its runtimes. If you allow your mind to wander into what could have been, you find yourself wishing the shorts’ runtimes read in hours not minutes. With the exception of Grog Shop given its cohesive narrative, the other shorts would have benefitted from further exploration.
We Are Still Here is aptly described by the saying “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” as it doesn’t particularly stand out for its technical or creative proficiencies, but rather because the message it manages is profound.
We Are Still Here is screening in select cinemas from Thursday 16th February.