The New Boy is out in cinemas now and it tells the story of an Aboriginal boy who arrives at a remote monastery run by a renegade nun in the dead of night. The new boy's presence disturbs a delicately balanced world in a story of spiritual struggle and the cost of survival. With magical realist elements and stunning cinematography of the golden wheatfields of South Australia, this film demands to be seen on the big screen. But if we haven't convinced you yet, read on...
Warwick Thornton is at the top of his game
Writer, director and cinematographer of The New Boy, Kaytetye man Warwick Thornton is one of Australia’s most celebrated First Nations filmmakers. His debut feature, Samson & Delilah (2009) won the Caméra d’Or and the Un Certain Regard Awards at the Cannes Film Festival. It also won three out of the four AFI Awards it was nominated for including Best Direction, Original Screenplay and Cinematography. Thornton has gone on to earn more awards and accolades around the world for other features including The Sapphires, Sweet Country and We Don’t Need a Map, as well as the TV series adaptation of Mystery Road.
For The New Boy, Thornton has drawn on his personal childhood experiences of being sent from his home in Alice Springs to a remote missionary-style school run by Benedictine monks in New Norcia, WA, when he was 11 years old. As he told the ABC in a recent interview, “I write from what I know. Writing from the truth that’s inside you is a really powerful place to write.”
This film clearly occupies a special place in Thornton’s heart. Of the film, he says, “I’m very proud of The New Boy. It’s an amazing film. It took 18 years for a reason. It had to take 18 years. I always say ‘this film saved my life’, but this one is a really special one and it’s got a lot to say.”
Two words: Cate. Blanchett.
Let's face it, Our Cate needs no introduction. A two-time Oscar winner and eight-time nominee, Blanchett is one of the most successful and celebrated Australian filmmaking figures in the history of cinema. She’s best known for her electric performances in films such as Elizabeth, The Aviator, Blue Jasmine, Carol, Tár and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, among many, many others. Throughout her storied career, she’s worked with just about every famous director you can think of including (deep breath) Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson, Jim Jarmusch, Gillian Armstrong, Alejandro Iñárritu, Steven Soderbergh, Todd Haynes, David Fincher, Ridley Scott, Terrence Malick, Taika Waititi, Richard Linklater, Guillermo del Toro, and a little known filmmaker you may have heard of called Steven Spielberg.
Now, she’s ticking Warwick Thornton off her director collaboration bucket list, after calling him up during the pandemic lockdowns and saying, “life is too short. I want to make a movie with you.” They landed on The New Boy for their project, which Thornton had initially written 18 years earlier and had titled the screenplay ‘Father and the Son’. As he re-worked the script, Thornton changed the gender of one of the main characters – a monk – to be the nun that Blanchett plays in the film, Sister Eileen. Of Thornton, Blanchett says, “my world view has been shifted in ways beyond articulation by the films Warwick’s made. He’s a singular, mercurial filmmaker, yet there is a beguiling universality to the stories he chooses to tell. He is, quite simply, one of Australia’s greats.”
Meet Aswan Reid and the boys.
A large portion of the film's cast is made up by eight young First Nations boys who play the children attending the remote school at the heart of the film. For all of them, this was their first acting experience. Aswan Reid plays the titular new boy, who arrives to the monastery in the dead of night, and we soon find out that he possesses mysterious special powers.
Reid is Warakurna on his dad’s side and Kiwirrkurra on his mum’s side. In an interview about his experiences on the film, he said that his favourite thing about making the film was “making friends with everyone and getting to go catch yabbies in the Burra creek with the other boys.” With his pay from the film, he bought both a PS5 and a Nintendo Switch! Great investments, we say.
Given that almost the entire film was shot in a single location (a rare occurrence in filmmaking!), the cast and crew all lived and worked in the same space throughout the shoot. This created a strong bond for everyone involved and was especially helpful for the boys, who all became close friends during their time working on the film.
On Reid, Thornton says, “I’m so proud of Aswan. He is the New Boy. He’s a survivalist in his own right as a child and a very special human being. If cinema looks after him, there’ll be something magical over the next 50 years.” He also called the cast of young actors “a pack of puppy wolves who just had no rules,” and added, “they were just amazing. They scared the shit out of me every day, and then every day they empowered me and made this beautiful story come alive.”
The Cinematography and Score are worthy of the biggest screens and sound systems
Thornton's cinematography is always reliably stunning in his films and The New Boy is no exception. He shoots the landscape, located just outside the old mining town of Burra in South Australia, with sumptuous golden light on its vast wheatfields – you could call him Australia’s Terrence Malick! – and areas of rich, deep black in the shadowy interiors of the monastery.
Working alongside camera operator Jules Wurm, Thornton enjoyed the challenge of shooting The New Boy with only one camera and three lenses. “We had to methodically go through every performance with one camera… not dodging between multiple monitors.”
His production designer Amy Baker led the construction of the monastery as a set in its entirety, creating areas that were light and open, juxtaposed with areas of overbearing darkness. The visuals of the sets act as a metaphor for the story’s clash between Western and Indigenous spirituality.
Beloved musicians Nick Cave and Warren Ellis composed the soaring score in the film, and were recruited personally by Thornton, who has been close friends with Ellis for a long time. Thornton calls them “very special human beings and the most amazing storytellers.” Producer Andrew Upton agrees, saying “Nick and Warren have a grandeur and a regard for classical form coupled with a probing punky urge and authenticity which sits very well with Warwick’s own particular aesthetic.”
Did someone say Oscar contender??
The New Boy had its world premiere at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival earlier this year where it was nominated for the Un Certain Regard Award and received a standing ovation after its premiere screening. It was then selected as the Opening Night Film for this year’s Sydney Film Festival and was nominated for the festival’s Best Film.
Critics have been raving about the film, with The Australian giving the film ★★★★★. Critic Stephen Romei called it a masterpiece; “it stands on its own as a dazzling work of Australian art that should be in contention at the 2024 Oscars.”
We're thrilled you're the first we're sharing this with Roadie
From Director Guy Ritchie, Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre is on it's way Down Under in Jan 2022. A superstar cast leads the way with Jason Statham, Aubrey Plaza, Josh Hartnett, Cary Elwes, Bugzy Malone and Hugh Grant in a thriller, truly made for the big screen.
Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem!
Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit odit aut fugit!
Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam!
"Et harum quidem rerum facilis est et expedita distinctio!"
"Nam libero tempore, cum soluta nobis est eligendi."
"Temporibus autem quibusdam et aut officiis debitis!"