Early Childhood Film review: The Australian Dream
★★★★
Madman films
The final years of two-time Brownlow Medal-winner Adam Goodes’ career were marred by constant booing on ground and bile-filled newspaper columns. This, all because the proud Indigenous man – and one of the finest players the AFL has ever seen – dared to call out a racist heckle from a teenage girl during a match, even though he graciously pointed out that she wasn’t to blame.
Although covering similar ground to recent film The Final Quarter, this interview-led documentary takes a deeper look at the man, his values and the bigger picture. Together, they reveal a nation that does not take racism seriously enough, continually fails to call it out and refuses to make peace with the sins of its past.
Directed by sports documentary-maker Daniel Gordon (George Best: All by Himself) and written by news anchor Stan Grant, it is a powerful rallying cry for a fairer Australia. One that appreciates, and indeed celebrates, the thousands of years of culture that existed here long before British colonisation.
