David Gulpilil in a scene from My Name is Gulpilil. “This is my film,” he says.
My Name is Gulpililis the actor’s fond farewell,his valediction,his living obituary. At about 67 − he’s not quite sure of his age − he has lung cancer,and a number of other ailments. They will take him out soon,he tells us a number of times. He seems to want to say he’s OK with that:he has had a charmed life as a dancer,actor,singer,storyteller.
“My father taught me how to dance and how to sing,and how to relate to the didgeridoo and the click stick,and the rhythm of the song of culture,the song of the ceremony … I’m the greatest dancer in the world.”
He pauses for effect − “Just for me,though …”
The film comes from people he has worked with for more than 20 years. Molly Reynolds and her partner Rolf de Heer are producers,and Reynolds directs. There are clips of several of their powerful collaborations with him −The Tracker,Ten Canoes,Charlie’s Country. Other clips go right back to his first appearance in Nicolas Roeg’sWalkabout,made when he was 14 in 1969,an unknown dancer from Arnhem Land.
Gulpilil’s career spans the whole modern history of Australian film,covering 50 years. The only other actor who comes close might be Jack Thompson,a long-time friend,although we don’t hear from him,or anyone else. There are no talking heads,except one. As Gulpilil explains in one of his monologues,“this is my film”. Reynolds keeps it focused on him in a collaboration that achieves a rare kind of contemplative power. This is his last dance,his last song,and it will be his alone.
Gulpilil’s beauty has always set him apart from other actors in Australian film. Roeg was the first to spot that,and its recognition was a shock for white Australians,most of whom were not used to seeing Indigenous Australians in that way. Gulpilil’s grace,his physical perfection,his sexual power,his humour,fitted him to become ‘the national black actor’,the holder of all the mythologies,but it was a heavy burden. It required him to span two cultures,both as icon and man. His excesses grew to rival his successes and he is frank about that:“I am a drug (addict) and alcoholic,” he says,pulling no punches. “I’ve been in Darwin jail lots of times.”