The New Boy ★★★½

WARWICK Thornton’s voice is a powerful and important one in Australian cinema.

He has made three quite shattering films about the indigenous experience in Australia’s past and present, starting with Samson and Delilah in 2009 followed by 2017’s Sweet Country.

His latest, The New Boy, is a beautifully realised film that flips the traditional approach to depicting the past mistreatment of the indigenous population.

Rather than depicting a clash of white villains and black victims, as Thornton himself has done before, he eschews the normal emotional beats to concentrate instead on an allegorical approach to the narrative and nuanced characterisations.

In 1940s Australia, a nine-year-old indigenous boy is taken to a remote monastery run by Sister Eileen and Sister Mum.

The new boy is bullied only slightly and is generally accepted by everyone. But, even though the new boy, is largely silent, his presence has much to teach those around him.

Thornton uses a range of visual techniques to depict both his main character’s emotional state and the concerns and impacts on indecency’s people as a whole.

While some are at first a little confusing or jarring to the viewer, the majority are cleverly rendered and the film’s visual style overall is quite stunning.

The new boy’s story resonates far from 1940s Australia to present day experiences and the continuing conflicts caused by inability of individuals and communities to understand and accept each other.

Young Aswan Reid is mesmerising as the title character while Cate Blanchett and Deborah Mailman deliver their usual emotionally spot-on performances.

The New Boy had its world premiere in competition at the 76th Cannes Film Festival. It deserves everyone’s attention.