River of No Return

I just finished watching River of No Return on NITV in Australia.

I have never written a review before, but felt compelled to as there was no review for this moving documentary on IMDb.

River of No Return, written and directed by Darlene Johnson, allows us to enter a world that most reading this have no experience of. We may know what it is to go without, but not many of us would have experienced the kind of life that actress Frances Djulibing has had.

The backdrop of extreme poverty and unbelievably poor living conditions in the remote community of Ramingining in North East Arnhem land in the Northern Territory of Australia, makes Frances' story even more remarkable. You can't help but be struck by her courage and her quiet but firm determination to follow her dream of screen acting.

We learn that the spark that lit her desire to act came from her own admiration of a Hollywood icon. This woman with one of the most famous faces in the world, who came from fairly humble beginnings herself, becomes Frances' inspiration to act and even to live, against sometimes tremendous odds.

I was moved to tears of sadness, but also joy. You will be shocked and I hope angry, by some of what you learn from this documentary, but you will also find yourself laughing along with Frances as she and her family relive some of the more unique dance performances of her people.

Her longing to be able to tell the stories of her ancestors through screen acting have been partially fulfilled, and I for one hope that Frances Djulibing gets many more opportunities to do this. Her debut performance in Ten Canoes as Nowalingu, the second wife, was brilliant.