"The subtext of the film is the ruination of the land and its potential renewer in Aboriginal hands. It's remarkably tense and affecting, with Geoffrey Simpson's photography of our wide, brown land one of the key assets. All the performances are fabulous. Martin Freeman: stoic as the protective father, and young Simone Landers really impressive as Thoomi. Anthony Hayes does 'bad guy' so well - you can almost feel the malevolence seeping from his pores - and it's always beautiful seeing Gulpilil on screen. The music is at times a bit insistent, but it certainly ramps up the tension. Dany Cooper's and Sean Lahiff's editing is seamless. Ultimately, this is a compassionate film; its final scenes are really quite moving. It's a fine expansion of an original idea".
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