In the 2nd lecture of Film and TV we viewed the documentary ‘End of the line’ – a short film shot in Broken Hill.
The film presented a series of interviews held with a range of Broken Hill residents.
I’m not entirely sure what the filmmakers set out to do due to lack of treatment, but for the sake of this exercise, I am presuming their aim was to give an artistic view on what life is like for the Broken Hill residents, and their choices for living in such isolation. It was also quite clear the filmmakers had the intention of giving the film a rather disconcerting feel.
Whilst I do not remember many specific shots, quotes or moments, one aspect of the film that stood out to me was the eerie backing track. Throughout the film, a somewhat dark and unsettling church bell melody sounded, which at times contrasted the comments and sentiments of the interviewees. All for, except perhaps, the elderly lady who moved to Broken Hill to die following a broken heart, who’s story seemed to be the center of the piece. To me, these sounds painted a melancholic picture of Broken Hill, even when the interviewees spoke of their happiness and satisfaction with Broken Hill.
The lack of narration allowed for the story to be told purely from the residents allowing for a more personal, straight from the source style of story.
The choice of participants was ideal – the lady who carried the majority of the story seemed to contain an emptiness that was comparative to that of Broken Hill itself. The young ‘boys’ and the video store worker were the minority who spoke of how dry and boring the place was, however the couple and the farm worker who praised the place had their own dryness to themselves.
