Ten Canoes

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Ten Canoes

Released May 25, 2007

1h 31m

Adventure

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

98%

Tomatometer

65 Reviews

78%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Presenting a tale within a tale, this Australian film follows Dayindi (Jamie Gulpilil), a young aboriginal warrior, as he wanders the wilderness hunting for eggs. Dayindi hears a story told by his brother Minygululu (Peter Minygululu), which echoes his own situation. A man who lusts after his brother's wife, the character in the tale kills a member of another tribe and faces dire consequences, with the story's ending reverberating in Dayindi's own life.

Critics Consensus

Ten Canoes combines adventure, comedy, and anthropology to explore an Aborigine folk tale both fallibly human and legendary. Helmer Rolf de Heer depicts a barely represented oral tradition with a clean style.

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Luke Buckmaster

Guardian

Both ethnographic document and high-spirited flight of whimsy: a curious mixture of entertainment and anthropology.

Jan 2, 2016

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Desson Thomson

Washington Post

Sometimes all it takes to bridge the chasm of eons is a little humor.

Oct 27, 2007

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Josh Rosenblatt

Austin Chronicle

A new and different kind of cinematic mythmaking.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 4, 2007

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Leigh Paatsch

Herald Sun (Australia)

The raw power of the story - rife with myth, magic and misadventure - blends brilliantly with an earthy, universally appealing sense of humour.

Rated: 4.5/5

Nov 17, 2020

Full Review

Keeva Stratton

Rescu (Australia)

A beautifully told story, which captures indigenous Australia with warmth and humour.

Sep 15, 2017

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Mike Scott

Times-Picayune

A unique and entertaining blend of anthropology and cinema.

Rated: 3/4

Jul 24, 2009

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Audience Member

Incredible insight into an incredible world lost. The beauty of arnhem land and the perfectly paced story takes us into a world whitefellas don't often see. It has taken a long time for me to come to this story. I am so grateful to finally see it.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/20/25

Full Review

Dylan S

Fun, familiar, and an outstanding achievement in Aboriginal cinema. The non-linear storytelling may turn some viewers away, yet I thought this film was thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish thanks to the unique characters, humor, and insightful narration from David Gulpilil.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/18/24

Full Review

Audience Member

A simple tale for the ages told with a Hemingway simplicity of language. The filming and the old world way of telling a classic tale works well. Short film but fun in its own way even if not too proud.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

Full Review

Audience Member

With a documentary look and a film sat in Australia's northern territories we are up for something different. A small tribe of Aboriginies are prepairing their canoes for some duck hunting. At the same time there are some dating discussions and other family issues to take care of. Some guys with a bigger rep in the tribe also has their problems. Honey problems among others. When another tribe gets into the film, things turn more dramatic and violent and we are in the mix of the two stories. Everything is told by David Gulpilil, an actor that did so well in "Charlie's Country" a few years ago. Lovely shot film with an original storytelling. At the same time this film is very slow and striaght up boring stuff for most of it's playtime. As more things happen after a while, I'm already so bored that I really don't care much. It keeps fading from black to colors and back, it's nice but I tire of it too as it's repeated so many times. Original, different, flat and boring. 4 out of 10 canoes.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

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dustin d

Ten Canoes brings Aborigine folklore to life in a way that is engaging and entertaining. It also does a great job bringing to life precolonial Australian history.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A really well made, shot and edited story/film. The use of black & white vs colour to differentiate between eras is great and it's nice to see authentic Aboriginal language being used - obviously aided greatly by David Gulpilil's great narration. The cinematography of Arnhem Land is amazing, but at it's core, it's a nice story about patience and being careful what you wish for! A very engaging and enjoyable piece of Australian cinema.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

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Rolf de Heer

Director

Peter Djigirr

Director

David Gulpilil

Narrator

Jamie Gulpilil

Actor

Peter Minygululu

Actor

Crusoe Kurddal

Actor

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Synopsis

Presenting a tale within a tale, this Australian film follows Dayindi (Jamie Gulpilil), a young aboriginal warrior, as he wanders the wilderness hunting for eggs. Dayindi hears a story told by his brother Minygululu (Peter Minygululu), which echoes his own situation. A man who lusts after his brother's wife, the character in the tale kills a member of another tribe and faces dire consequences, with the story's ending reverberating in Dayindi's own life.

Director: Rolf de Heer, Peter Djigirr
Producer: Rolf de Heer, Julie Ryan
Screenwriter: Rolf de Heer
Distributor: Palm Pictures
Production Co: Fandango, Vertigo Productions Pty. Ltd.
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 25, 2007, Limited
Release Date (DVD): Sep 25, 2007
Box Office (Gross USA): $278.0K
Runtime: 1h 31m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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