samson and delilah: (inter)national reception

Samson and Delilah: International-Australia

Dr Steve GaunsonAustralian Cinema, COMM1033,

RMIT University

Plays on title. Reminding of international film

Camera d’Or — puts Thornton in the company of other ‘international’ directors

Here the films was not celebrated as an Indigenous Australian film — but a global ‘love story’

Cannes poster

• Does mainstream release hurt ‘niche’ films? Does it give it the appropriate context?

• Festivals in Australia operate on the border between mainstream and niche.

• Gives filmmakers an opportunity to begin a dialogue that is carried into broader fields of discourse (media, social media etc.)

• Samson and Delilah is too often misread as a social problem indigenous film.

• Think about its cinema: – Lack of dialogue– Sound-scape consisting of Latino music– Love story

‘I so wanted to like this film…’

• What happens if the viewer is not sympathetic is Aboriginal people?

• Would these views remain if the film was seen at a festival or ‘event screening’ with cast and crew acting as a springboard for conversations about the film.

• Are television broadcasts and/or private DVD viewings hurting the film?– The Mule

German reception

• The film was not dubbed into German. – Accent — puts the film into a relatable context– Would make the film ‘seem German’, if the local

accent was heard.• German audiences were inclined to treat

Samson and Delilah as a social problem film• The film has been interpreted according to

cultural codes familiar to the respondent (a political movie) — not as a love story

• National cinema relies on culturally specific cliches which require a form of translation to be recognized in transnational space. – Australia

• As Meaghan Morris writes “cultural codes can be either lost or successfully conveyed when films transcend national boundaries”.

• This is why The Sapphires was more embraced – Musical – Soul music

German poster

• Australian films (and especially Aboriginal films) entering the European market are constrained not only by film prizes and reviews but also by proper comprehension of cultural codes on the side of European audiences.

• Without mediation, films like Samson and Delilah are likely to be misunderstood.

• How does this film (or The Turning) play widely and on TV without the cultural codes being lost?– Where are how should these films play? Festivals? Event screenings?