Where? Oh, you mean Tasmania, once named thus, back in the convict days.
Yeah, the footstool to Australia, the little island down south, and called
VDL after then governor of Batavia (capital of Dutch East Indies).
The name was changed later, to honour its discoverer, Abel Tasman, Dutch
ship's captain.
But, back to the movie, and a better title might have been, merely,
"Pearce, the Cannibal", as this is what it is all about.
So, folks, don't go to see this film expecting any historical account of
VDL, as you'll only get a brief glimpse of redcoats, etc, before you end up
with eight men fleeing custody into the wild bush.
(Myself, I felt short-changed in this respect, but that was my
expectations, and I've only myself to blame.)
Isofar as it purports to tell the real tale of Alexander Pearce, it is all
speculation, as we have only such account as Pearce himself may have told -
as sole survivor.
The movie is effective in conveying the immensity of the forest, the
silence and desolation of the cool temperate jungle, in which "civilised"
men try to survive - being incapable of "living off the land", in any
aboriginal sense.
So, when food ran out, they started eyeing each other as choice beefsteak,
and the weakest, or least-liked, were axed first.
Yes, it became dangerous to sleep, unless with one eye open.
Those with any smattering of history, know in advance, that Pearce was
the sole survivor, so no surprises there.
A grim tale, well told, insofar as it goes, but that's about it. If you
like blood and gore, then go see.
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Reminds me of "One Leg Island", by Australia's Walter Murdoch, where the
custom on this island was to amputate every child's leg below the knee -
lest they become too uppity and think Two Legs is better than
One-And-A-Half. Such is the force of an ancient Tradition, no longer really
necessary, as it was when adrift in a boat.
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Movies