Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

There's probably a poignant film in the footage they shot. Maybe they were hitting the bong a little too hard in the editing room. Because the result is a choppy, disjointed, self-indulgent mess. But that's not why I'm reviewing this movie. Since the clowns who run this site eliminated the discussion boards I'll register here my amusement over the self-described geniuses, aesthetes and other self- important reviewers who were mortally offended by the nudity like it was some kind of kiddie p-rn crime. A marginally interesting film to see once. Too shallow to be memorable.

In his directorial debut, Nicolas Roeg played with the arsenal of camera techniques at his disposal. And perhaps he learned some discretion from directing "Performance", a wildly uneven and irritating film of dubious value. In "Walkabout", his second directorial effort, he still experiments with jump cuts and unusual transitions, but they are slightly tempered.Adapted from a novel, "Walkabout" is worth seeing if only for its unusual narrative and its depiction of the Australian wilds. Jenny Agutter plays a schoolgirl who, because of extreme circumstances, becomes lost in the outback with her younger brother. As they traverse a landscapes foreign to them, they struggle to adapt and survive.Roeg juxtaposes images and sounds of the untamed world with those of civilization. He lets the viewer make his own conclusions about what each has to offer.Agutter plays her role nearly perfectly. Her younger brother is portrayed by the director's son, and his performance feels true, partly because his sister strives to shield him from the realities of their situation. This is a coming of age story, but it also speaks to the viewer about much larger themes regarding culture and self-fulfillment.Other films have explored some of these issues. Consider "Lord of the Flies", "Rabbit-Proof Fence", and "Koyaanisqatsi". But "Walkabout" feels so personal because of the characters' isolation. And its ending is unexpected, but very touching.

Quite splendid first directorial outing by Nicolas Roeg. Wonderfully shot, then he was on camera duty as well, and the direction is surprisingly assured. It couldn't have been easy working in the outback and with a young Jenny Agutter and even younger, Luc, his own little boy. The opening is enigmatic and never explained, we are simply left with the young pair making the best of things and trying to keep their school uniforms as neat as possible. There are wonderful exchanges between the two, Agutter maintaining the stiff upper lip and encouraging the youngster to keep going whilst he happily plays with his toys and occasionally makes insightful but worrying remarks that his older sister struggles to deal with as calmly as possible. The visuals are very impressive and if Roeg overdoes it slightly he can be forgiven particularly as they seem to reflect the early 70s date of the movie as much as his own penchant for artistic camera-work. Particularly poignant are the scenes with the 'black boy' and particularly his heartbreaking ritual dance towards the end. Can't not mention the very bold nude scenes from young Agutter and in particular the stylish and dreamlike swimming scenes.

I first saw this when it was originally released. The fact that I recall nothing beyond Jenny Agutter sportingly going naked beyond the 1971 norms should have been warning enough. I just rewatched, having seen a recent documentary about the wonders of Nicholas Roeg's auteur skills.Well, the cinematography is occasionally striking, but it's mostly routine, and the film is frequently intercut with irrelevant wildlife closeups that would have been rejected from any David Attenborough documentary, even in 1971. The acting, from all three principals, is unremarkable (to put it very kindly).The story (is there one?) is ridiculous. The father of two young kids dramatically tops himself (and torches his car) in front of his offspring. (In real life, parents who commit suicide with their children around usually take the children with them.) Then the kids, to show just how gormless they must be, wander off into the Australian hinterland instead of simply following their car's tyre tracks back to civilisation.I think we're supposed to be gripped with watching the burgeoning of young sexuality; personally I find Jenny Agutter's splendid legs the only attractive thing to watch.After an hour of this flat, dull, pointless film, one wants to switch off, but remains glued to see if something remotely interesting is going to happen and wipe all the negative feelings the tedium has generated. Spoiler: nothing does happen. The whole thing is strongly reminiscent of those boring, pretentious French films that had pseudointellectuals raving in the 1960s and 70s.