Serenades
Directed by Mojgan Khadem.
Starring Alice Haines, Aden Young, Sinisa Copic & Bille Brown.
This film depicts the relations between Afghans, remote missions and the indigenous population in late 19th century Australia. The interplay is made manifest in the person of Jila (Katayla Williams/Haines): her aboriginal mother was a gambling debt paid to camel driver Shir Mohammed (Copic). As a child and teenager Jila is traded by one man to the next. The pastor (Brown) of an isolated Lutheran mission demands pigs, which Afghans normally refuse to transport, in exchange for giving custody of her to Shir. Shir betroths her to a Mullah in exchange for a substantial bride price. The pastor’s son Johann (Young), Jila’s childhood friend, tries and fails to out-bid the Mullah. Jila, largely passive throughout the film, in desperation makes her first deliberate act which backfires and estranges her from both the Afghan and Lutheran communities.
The film’s themes are hardly revolutionary nor are they innovatively handled: the inability of different cultures to find common ground and the difficulties experienced by those who straddle the gap; the conflict between rigorous adherence to religious teaching, expediency and humanity; the denial of self-determination to women. It is worth noting that Khadem’s previous work is in documentaries and that historian Christine Stevens was pivotal in writing the script: it is my feeling that they were more interested in the general situation than the particular characters or story. I have a sneaking suspicion that this is behind the episodic approach to Jila’s life and that the climax, involving an explosion in the prominence and resolution of her character, is a dramatic nicety. This is not to say that the climax is not charged and memorable. Serenades is not a totally gripping film but there is enough in the characters and story to keep you interested. And is there any finer occupation than the study of history?
Guy
