One night the moon [DVD]

Directed by Rachel Perkins (Radiance), “One night the moon” is the story of a young girl living on an outback station with her parents, who goes missing one evening after becoming enchanted by the moon. After assembling a crew of police and volunteers, the missing child’s racist father will not allow Albert, a gifted Aboriginal tracker, on his land. Albert (Kelton Pell) laments the fate of the helpless child, whose traces are eliminated by the searchers, ruining her chance of survival. Perkins distinguishes this drama by having the majority of the film sung by the principal characters, using minimal dialogue and exposition throughout the narrative. Paul Kelly, who co-wrote the score with Kev Carmody and Mairead Hannan, tackles the difficult character of a bigot, blinded by a prejudice that threatens the life of his daughter. The parents’ marriage cracks under the strains of their child’s fate as the father turns to alcohol for comfort. Filmed in the Flinders Ranges, the cinematography in the film is quite stunning, giving a tremendous sense of the boundless landscape and incredible beauty of the outback. Based on events that occurred in 1932.