Filmmaker Warwick Thornton wrote the screenplay, was the cinematographer and directed the feature film, The New Boy, starring Cate Blanchett, Deborah Mailman, Wayne Blair, and introducing Aswan Reid. I read a couple of online articles that state the filmmaker had an experience as an Australian Aboriginal child, when he was sent to a Christian boarding school, run by monks and nuns. The experience inspired the film that is not a documentary, nor an autobiography, but certainly captures what the government was doing in the 1940s.
The film begins with a scene of a struggle between a minor Aboriginal person and an adult male dressed in a uniform and cap. Another adult comes along, overpowers him and takes him captive. An online search indicates Australia had assimilation laws in the late 1930s and into the next 2-3 decades. It did not come as a surprise to me when I saw the captive child dropped off at a building out in the country with a religious statue outdoors and a nun opening the door to the strangers on the porch.
Cate Blanchett is one of the best actors that can portray many characters and elevate any story/script. In this film, she is not just any nun, as we see from the onset, about to kick the “delivery person” off the porch after viewing his disturbing behavior and attitude.
The new resident of the orphanage (played very well by newcomer Aswan Reid), has curly blond locks, does not speak English and moves very slowly in his new environment. He does not look fearful, stays close to Sister Eileen (Blanchett) and curiously studies the surroundings and other children. He does not speak to them, but his eyes and face are very expressive. He remains unnamed at home and learns very few words from anyone.
Sister Eileen has assistance from two Aboriginal colleagues, a fellow nun Sister Mum (Deborah Mailman) and a burly farmhand named George (Wayne Blair). In the film, apparently George seemed the most apprehensive about the new boy when he witnesses some of the healing that is done. The new boy appears to have the ability to create a spark of light, then later demonstrates he has healing powers. When others see what he can do, he is seen as “other.” No one seems to have any clue about Aboriginal belief systems and/or their ability to heal (or don’t want to share what they know).
SYNOPSIS: From acclaimed filmmaker Warwick Thornton, The New Boy takes place in 1940s Australia at a remote monastery with a mission for Aboriginal children run by a renegade nun, Sister Eileen (Cate Blanchett). A new charge (Aswan Reid) is delivered in the dead of night – a boy who appears to have special powers. However, the boy’s Indigenous spiritual life does not mesh with the mission’s Christianity and his mysterious power becomes a threat. Sister Eileen is faced with a choice between the traditions of her faith and the truth embodied in the boy, in this story of spiritual struggle and the cost of survival.
Running Time: 96 minutes
The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival (2023) and continued to have an international film festival run for slightly over a year. The New Boy releases in select theaters on Friday, May 23rd and VOD on Friday, May 30th
Source: Vertical
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