The Last Wave

Before coming to international prominence with Gallipoli (later followed by Witness, Dead Poet's Society, and Green Card), Australian director Peter Weir made a pair of spooky little films, Picnic at Hanging Rock and The Last Wave. Though the former is still out-of-print on video, the latter is being re-released to the home video market. Richard Chamberlain stars as David Burton, a Sydney lawyer who is called upon to defend five aborigines accused of murder. Coming from a background of corporate law, Burton is ill-prepared to deal with either criminal law or aborigines. Plagued on the one hand by prophetic, apocalyptic nightmares which seem to coincide with the strange weather Australia is experiencing at the time; and on the other by his inability to communicate with his clients, Burton finds himself drawn into a mystical quest. Even as he probes for clues about tribal law (since he suspects the killing was quasi-religious), his clients, in turn, are both fearful and suspicious that Burton's dreams signify much more than he realizes. Although upon originally seeing this some five years ago, I was less than impressed, a second viewing struck me quite differently. Moody and offbeat, The Last Wave will prove to be a welcome diversion to more adventurous patrons. Recommended. (R. Pitman)