Bran Nue Dae

And God said,

"Let there be light,"

and there was light.

Brothers and sisters,

Iet us send our prayers to heaven.

Who will come forward and testify?

Today, on this very day,

who wants to wash their sins?

But you know, Willie,

if you work hard,

pray hard, do your studies,

you can do really well.

You know a priest

has the respect of everyone.

You want to be a priest,

don't you, Willie?

Yeah.

For the eyes of God sees all!

Hey, who are you styling up for?

No-one, Mum.

Dad's losing all his money again.

And Mum won't be very happy

when he gets home.

Check this.

Gerry, you gambling old bugger!

You wait till I get hold of you!

No-one's coming.

Rosie, I...

What?

Well, because this is my last night,

I thought that maybe...

Well, I mean...just...

Hello.

Hello.

Hello.

I just thought that...

Just wondering if you'd like to come

with me to the pictures?

What, like a date?

Well...no, no, not a date. Like,

well, we could sit together, maybe.

Willie, that's a date.

Oh. Well, yeah. OK.

Shh.

You're a deadly singer,

you know that?

You should come inside

and do a tune with the band.

I'm Lester.

Rosie.

Hi.

Er, I'm Willie.

Come on, Rosie, we've got to go.

Who is this? Your little brother?

No. No.

Ah, is he your boyfriend?

No.

Well, alright, then. I'll just be in there.

If you want me.

Why did you say we have to go?

- Because we're not allowed in there.

- Why not?

You know why not.

Alright, boys!

Come on. This is my big chance.

Well, I guess I'll see you

Iater then. At the pictures?

Willie!

Go on, Willie.

You run to your mum.

About time. Where you been?

Fishing.

Lord, we thank you

for all the gifts you give us.

Special prayers goes out to that

sinner cousin of mine, Johnny.

Please, Lord, help him

to stop drinking his life away

at that Roebuck Hotel.

May the Lord Jesus Christ

burn that house of sin down!

Sorry, Lord.

And please keep my son safe

while he is away in the city

and please help him, Lord,

not to be late

as it drives his mother mad.

Amen.

Amen.

Hi.

Hey, Rosie, where's Willie?

I don't know.

He wanna sit with you.

Where is Willie?

I don't know. He's gone fishing.

Hey, Lester boy!

Ah, Willie.

Welcome back to the city.

Thank you, Father Benedictus.

Come in, fellow.

How were your holidays?

Did you catch any fish?

Ah, one or two.

Perhaps you're not

praying hard enough.

Now, Willie...

Yes, Father?

I have been inspecting

my inventory of supplies.

You weren't one of those boys

drinking the altar wine last year,

were you, Willie?

No, Father.

Good. Good.

Because this year you are a prefect.

And as head student

you must set an example.

Yes, Father.

Mmm. I have great faith

in you, Willie.

Yes, Father.

How is your lovely mutter?

Good, Father.

She has high hopes in you.

You can become a very

successful individual, Willie.

You too can become close to God.

I can see it!

Willie, you can go forth

and help your Aborigine people.

They are crying in the wilderness.

You have so much to give the world.

So, my little friend, if you

knuckle down to some serious study

and pray hard -

not for me but for you -

you can become like me!

Oh, ja! Ja!

Ja.

Hey, Willie!

Where'd Willie go?

Whoo-whoo!

Rosie.

Here, catch!

Well,

I've got something for you too.

What, like a present...?

Honour thy father

and thy mother

that thy days may be long

upon the lands

which the Lord giveth thee.

Thou shall not kill.

Thou shall not...adultery.

Thou shall not steal.

Thou shall not bear false witness

against thy name

or covet thy neighbour's wife

or his...

Start again.

Bless me, Father,

for I have sinned.

It has been two months

since my last confession.

What do you wish to confess, my son?

I have had thoughts

about a girl...um...

Thoughts? What thoughts?

Lustful thoughts?

Yes, Father.

You are a good boy. You will

overcome these sinful urges in time.

It is part of the hard road

to becoming a priest

that we all must face.

But, Father...

..I don't know if I'd be good

at being a priest.

You want to waste your life

like all those useless blackfellas

up in Broome?

No, Willie, you're

much better than that.

Your penance is 15 rosaries.

Now go.

- Willie!

- Rosie?

Rosie? It's Peter. Come on.

Go back to sleep.

Come on. We've got some hunting

to do tonight, boy.

What are you talking about?

The tuck shop. Shh, come on.

You're gonna get in trouble.

Come on, Willie.

- Hey. Hey, wake up.

- But I'm tired.

Shh. Shhh. Come on, let's go.

Come on, Willie. Let's go.

Come on, Willie.

Wait.

Let's go, let's go.

Hurry up.

Come on, come on, come on.

Keep an eye out.

"Thou shalt not steal"!

Thou shalt not starve either.

We should go back.

Food for our souls.

Now, what you want?

What are you doing?

Itemising every available

confection und beverage.

Oh, yum. Thank you, Lord.

Thank you, Lord.

And this is for

all the starving kids in the world.

Like us, bro. Us black kids are starving.

Ja, ja, ja!

Benny, Benny.

Benny's coming!

Let's go. Let's go.

My greatest desire is

to see you Aborigine people educated

and trained in the skills

of the modern world,

to become citizens of this great

country that is truly yours.

We have to show love

to these children.

Lux in tenebris -

light in the darkness!

Yet, we all know there are

many evils in the world today.

For now, let us just talk

about theft and pillage -

sins of the flesh.

Tommy, will you not come up here?

I have been itemising supplies

from the canteen.

And to my surprise,

we are a little short.

Thou shalt not steal!

We're gonna get whacked.

Unless there is a confession,

I will be forced to punish Tommy.

Willie, I am very disappointed in you.

You are a prefect

and yet you throw it all away.

I had such great faith in you.

You are a rotten apple

in the barrel.

You are a stain

on the celebration of life.

You are an abomination in the eyes

of God! Put out your hand!

I should have known

one of your Aborigine kind

would be worth nothing!

That's not true, Father.

What?!

Run, Willie, run!

I will find the boy.

Hey, boy, where you bin come from?

This fire looks lovely and warm.

It's gonna be

a cold one tonight.

- Come here. We're not gonna eat you.

- Well, not yet, anyway.

Come here. Come here. Sit down.

Relax. Come here, young fella.

I got nowhere to stay.

Any of you mob got anywhere to stay?

Nope.

You in good company here, boy.

I wanna go home.

Well, we all wanna go home, eh?

But we're a long, long way away

from our country.

Yeah, yeah!

Hey!

Where your home, boy?

Broome.

Hmm. That's my home too.

True?

True.

Here, I'll tell you a story.

Oh, here we go.

I been away 15 years now.

15 years?

Shut up, boy. Let me tell you

the story. Right?

I been drinking, I been droving,

I've been a Christian,

I've been everything.

But now I reckon it's time

that I went home before I die.

Yep, I'd better go back home to Broome.

Yep, yep, yep.

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