Terror Nullius is the culmination of 18 months of digging, editing, and storyboarding an exploration into Australian identity through our cinema, as presented by artist duo Soda Jerk. The film, at a crisp 50 minutes, is certainly one of the most bizarre and unique films at Sydney Film Festival this year: a love letter in the form of a revenge fantasy devised from the rage and despair by its creators in response to our current political climate, the film has already elicited quite the controversy and will continue to elicit strong responses in its viewers. Through social critique and “puerile humour,” the film is an engaging viewing experience for the Australian cinephile.
I’m pretty divided on Terror Nullius, and I think almost all viewers will be. It’s a unique experience to see your cultural history put through a shredder and the reassembled in a sort of Dada-esque sculpture, one that falters as often as it succeeds. Like a lot of content being produced in the Australian entertainment scene today with a critical edge, there remains a trend towards the obvious and, dare I say, the superficial. It is easy for Australians to be self-chastising, and to have that sense of cultural cringe when we look at our cinema from this sort of ironic, embarrassed perspective. It’s this same attitude that informed the filmmaking of the New Wave in the 1970s, and some of contemporary Australian cinema and art’s best work. In crafting perhaps an overtly pessimistic narrative, the critical edge of Terror Nullius is bogged down by a feeling of unhappiness, rather than one of activist intent; rather than refashioning the old problems into new solutions, we are presented with them again, and left as angry as before.
Dylan (18)
Terror Nullius
Brisbane International Film Festival
Revelation Perth International Film Festival
Sydney Film Festival