Dir: Warwick Thornton | Cast: Deborah Mailman, Pedrea Jackson, Thomas M Wright, Joe Bird | Australia 100′
In Warwick Thornton’s ‘indigenous western’ three different cultures come up against one another and two triumph, although you’ll have to see the film to discover the loser.
Wolfram comes a decade after his more searing Aboriginal feature Sweet Country but the territory is the same as are some of the characters, and the scripters Steven McGregor and David Tranter.
A sultry slow-burning 1930s-set thriller Wolfram ostensibly follows three children, Max, Kid and the older Philomac (from Sweet Country) as they make their way across central Australia where they are forced into tungsten mining (gouging for ‘wolfram’) and fall into the hands of various exploiters after being kidnapped from their mother Pansy (Mailman).
For the first half of the film the Australian countryside looms large with its burnished landscapes, sweltering heat and unforgiving sunlight. Thornton’s eye for framing a shot and capturing the savage beauty of his homeland is showcased in a series of magnificent montages, a sense of menace slowly builds as the various characters are introduced: Frank and Casey are two badass outlaws looking for a mining opportunity and take control of Max and Kid after their previous ‘owner’ Billy dies of a snake bite.
Meanwhle, Philomac is labouring under the brutal Mick Kennedy who owns a station. Gradually the white men’s association becomes apparent, and the children get their chance to escape bringing them into contact with Chinese miners Shi and Jimmy who take the kids under their wing as prospective workers. Although it could do with a tighter first act Wolfram finally triumphs with its harsh but visually respondent outback story about Australia’s cultural, colonial and social history.
BERLINALE FILM FESTIVAL 2026