DEAD HEART Australia

In the scrubby desert village of Wala
Wala, a jailed Aboriginal is found dead in
local lawman Ray Lorkin’s police lock-up.
In Wala Wala, justice is black and
white-Aboriginal traditions vs. Australian
law. In an attemp’t to reconcile the need for
due process and satisfy the demands of
tradition, Ray allows Mannga, the father
of the dead prisoner, a “pay back” to
restore order. Mannga chooses Billy, Ray’s
police aid; a spear is put through Billy’s
leg. Conflict heightens when the local
schoolteacher’s wife, Kate, engages in a
passionate affair with Tony, her husband’s
Aboriginal teacher’s aide. Unbeknownst to
her, Tony makes love to her on a sacred
site. When this sacrilege is discovered,
Mannga and Poppy, two local elders,
decide that death is the penalty. Tony is
found dead in his bedroll. Suddenly, the
entire town of Wala Wala is on trial. –
Production notes