The Last Wave

PG

Released Oct 6, 1978

1h 45m

Mystery & Thriller

List

82%

17 Reviews

Tomatometer

79%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

In Sydney, business lawyer David Burton (Richard Chamberlain) is given the pro bono assignment of defending five Aboriginals accused of the murder of another tribesman. None of Burton's clients are willing to speak about what happened, even in their own defense, and the medical examiner on the case can't figure out how the victim died. However, what's most troubling Burton is the increasingly terrifying apocalyptic visions he's having, leading him to think Australia may soon be destroyed.

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Richard Combs

Sight & Sound

Unfortunately, Weir's deftness with 'atmosphere' seems to have been developing at the expense of any narrative or thematic sense.

Mar 31, 2020

Full Review

Michael Atkinson

Village Voice

Weir's touristy vision is strictly from the outside looking in.

Nov 27, 2001

Full Review

Grant Watson

Fiction Machine

The Last Wave is bold and wonderful strange. It comes packed with rain-soaked foreboding and a then-progressive, muscular attitude to indigineity in 1970s Australia.

Rated: 8/10

Feb 26, 2021

Full Review

Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Its creepiness is undeniable, and it seems far less dated than many late 1970s films.

Rated: 4/5

Feb 13, 2008

Full Review

Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

Rated: 4/5

Nov 1, 2005

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: B+

Jul 4, 2005

Full Review

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Siemen R

Interesting idea. Poorly executed.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

05/09/24

Full Review

William L

The Last Wave is one of those films that is fine enough - interesting premise, focus on atmosphere, thematically well-intentioned - without ever making the jump to being really compelling or particularly tight. In its goal to remain ambiguous and mysterious, the film feels vague, unguided, and noncommittal, with a treatment of dreams as premonition that leaves too much to the imagination; we're intended to interpret the film as culture clash in a more explicit sense, with a quiet tax lawyer suddenly confronting a lifestyle that may as well be alien with the potential for profound consequences lingering around the corner as apocalyptic visions swirl. But the massive scope of the factors at play never really translates well, so these supposedly important trances end up more like a rationale to get a sleep aid prescription. Combining that with an ending that feels very Indiana Jones with a visit to a secret grand Aboriginal shrine beneath Sydney and a babbling priest, The Last Wave comes off as a bit exploitative and strange, though perhaps I'm judging the film a bit too harshly because of how random the hodgepodge of art styles is in the shrine. To me, this one treads similar ground as many other colonialist criticisms but just didn't come together neatly. (3/5)

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/14/21

Full Review

dave s

Is it an apocalyptic nightmare? Is it a legal procedural? Is it a social commentary on the destruction of Aboriginal culture? Peter Weir's The Last Wave is a bit of all three, working on some levels while failing on others. Richard Chamberlain plays David Burton, a tax lawyer assigned to represent five aborigines who have been charged with killing one of their tribesmen. Nothing if not effective in creating a distinctly uncomfortable atmosphere, the film is filled with some striking images and intriguing scenarios, all the while complimented by an appropriately eerie score. Unfortunately, its lack of commitment in determining which direction it wants to go becomes frustrating and offsets a lot of the good things it has going for it.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

s r

1001 movies to see before you die. I struggled with this one.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Perhaps the signature film of the 1970s Australian New Wave. Director Peter Weir presents a story of human beings at the mercy of nature: White Australians whose culture is firmly rooted in 20th-century hedonism, and the Aboriginals, outliers in modern Sydney who also live in their own world of mysticism and dream time. The notion of water is ever-present, from an overflowing bathtub to windswept rain to ferocious hail the size of baseballs. It permeates the film, giving it a surreal edge. It is nature as its most benign and its most maleficent. It is the story of an Aborigine tribe living in the city, one which the law and White culture says does not exist. And it focuses on a lawyer, David Burton (played by Richard Chamberlain), whose contact with the Aborigines reveals a frightening past and an even more frightening future. It is also a story of guilt, of the Western world's failure to recognize the existence of ancient Aboriginal culture. As a White character says, referring to a time when Aborigines did live in the cities, "We destroyed their languages, their ceremonies, songs, dances--and their tribal law." The real and the surreal (dream time) merge when five Aborigines are accused of murder and Burton is assigned to defend them. Chris Lee (the Aboriginal actor David Gulpilil) materialises from Burton's dreams. Chris is not surprised to hear he's transmogrified from the Burton's subconscious state to his real life, and when a mysterious Aboriginal companion, an elder named Charlie (Nandjiwarra Amagula) arrives, things get even weirder. Burton's literal descent into the Aboriginal world of mysticism, dream time, prophecy and apocalyptic nightmare is captivating and frightening. When viewed through the horror of the climate crisis, the end of the film is far too real.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/15/23

Full Review

laurie s

You know when a film has a good premise but even though it's badly executed you have to watch it till the end, well this is it. With a bigger budget and a top class director this could have been top class. Not worth a second watch.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Peter Weir

Director

Richard Chamberlain

David Burton

Olivia Hamnett

Annie Burton

David Gulpilil

Chris Lee

Frederick Parslow

Rev. Burton

Vivean Gray

Dr. Whitburn

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Synopsis

In Sydney, business lawyer David Burton (Richard Chamberlain) is given the pro bono assignment of defending five Aboriginals accused of the murder of another tribesman. None of Burton's clients are willing to speak about what happened, even in their own defense, and the medical examiner on the case can't figure out how the victim died. However, what's most troubling Burton is the increasingly terrifying apocalyptic visions he's having, leading him to think Australia may soon be destroyed.

Director: Peter Weir
Screenwriter: Peter Weir, Tony Morphett, Petru Popescu
Distributor: World Northal, Criterion Collection
Production Co: McElroy & McElroy, Australian Film Commission, Derek Power, Ayer Productions
Rating: PG
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 6, 1978, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 2, 2017
Runtime: 1h 45m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: 35mm, Flat (1.85:1)

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