This film tells the incredible true story of Robyn Davidson (Mia Wasikowska – Alice in Wonderland, Stoker), a young woman who in 1977 undertook a perilous solo trek across 1,700 miles of stunning Australian outback.
Abandoning city life, Robyn arrives in Alice Springs and declares her ambition to cross the desert to the Indian Ocean to the amusement of the locals.
However after months of camping out and working on a camel farm people begin to take her seriously. A chance meeting with National Geographic photographer Rick Smoland (played by Girls’ Adam Driver)provides her with the necessary financing for her expedition under the condition that he be allowed to photograph parts of her journey for the magazine.
With only her dog and four unpredictable camels for company, she embarks on an inspiring and life changing journey of self-discovery.
Director: John Curran. Australia, 2013. Language: English. 110 minutes. Cert: TBC
Visually majestic, superb – Hollywood Reporter
Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Adam Driver, Rainer Bock, Rolley Mintuma, John Flaus, Robert Coleby
Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland, Stoker) commands the screen in John Curran’s mesmerizing character study, based on the astonishing true story of Robyn Davidson. With her faithful dog and four unruly camels in tow, Robyn departed Central Australia on foot, determined to traverse the Outback and reach the Indian Ocean. Her only obstacles were 2,700 kms of desert and her own personal demons.
Curran and Wasikowska capture Robyn’s two-year preparatory phase in Alice Springs, when she learned how to maintain camels and reluctantly accepted necessary funding from National Geographic. The catch? She had to allow photographer Rick Smolan (played by Girls’Adam Driver) to snap pictures at predetermined stops along the way.
The arduous physical journey and the arguably more dangerous mental one are conveyed through Curran’s use of the stunning landscapes as a prominent character in the former and Waikowska’s complete dedication in the latter. This is one journey you will not forget. – Vancouver International film Festival 2014
