#and all the implications of him still being proud of being Aussie and who he is even when this time around

[rickybaby]

@.danielricciardo: home on my head

[keelymewett]

Zombie Movie: Cargo (2018)

Oh my gosh I finally realised why this movie is called Cargo and I finished it twenty minutes ago.

Before I begin, I would like to acknowledge that I’m posting this from the land of the Dharawal (Tharawal) people, and acknowledge Elders past, present and emerging. I would also like to note that this post may contain names and/or images of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

I’m still crying after watching this so the first thing I will say is: please watch it. 

~~Rationing~~ (Picture: Andy’s wife Kay (Susie Porter) sitting in their house boat. Caption reads “So that means we’re down to quarter rations.”)

Cargo is a relatively chill zombie movie compared to movies like Train to Busan and I Am Legend, but because of this it’s able to take part so many other conversations - Aboriginal Land Rights and traditions, fracking, and for other zombie fans out there, new kinds of zombies!!

It is atmospheric, has tension in the right places, has an incredibly fresh plot, and is highly intelligent. Although, I do have to say, the lead of the Australian zombie movie is very British and that did make me laugh. 

This is an Australian zombie movie, and as an Australian I’m very proud to say that. While most of the movie follows our lead, Andy (Martin Freeman), traversing rural Australia (this is set in South Australia btw, found a license plate), there is a huge focus on Aboriginal communities and traditions, and their connection with country and the land. 

The sweetest frame in the whole film. (Picture: Andy holding his baby daughter Rosie, and gently brushing her hair aside while Thoomi (a young girl) applies a type of white paint to the baby’s face.)

So, this will be split into roughly three parts: zombies (because like I said, new zombies!! Very excited to talk about them!) before moving into the spoiler section with the plot and me roasting random things before ending up crying at the end, thinking I’d recovered from crying, then crying even more with the final shot. (I promise I’m okay this is a really good movie.)

Zombies!! Also small spoiler but the movie description kinda already spoils all of this so not really a spoiler??

Friends and enemies, want a fresh new take on zombies and the apocalypse? Cargo delivered. 

Ahhh new zombies!!! (Picture: Kay zombie-fied. She has amber sap covering her eyes and her mouth. Her mouth looks a little like tree bark covered in sap. She’s in a car with her seatbelt on, and Andy has turned towards her. Andy has blood dripping down the side of his face and on his fingertips. In the background you can see the blue coat hanger of Rosie’s baby toy.)

We have a 48 hour incubation period for zombies, we have new symptoms for people before they become zombies, we have a new look including sap (I believe it’s sap) as well as burying your head in the sand - literally. Nothing’s explained, but I love speculating and trying to guess for myself. Oh, they also hibernate? But the rules surrounding that are a little hazy cause they’re still out and about during the day, and also Australia doesn’t really have mammals that hibernate mostly just insects so I’m not quite sure on the inspiration for that. But yeah, the sap and the head in the sand thing is like zombie video-game levels of creepy and cool. 

Oh, also, unlike I Am Legend, we don’t have CGI zombies - we have special FX zombies!! Which is fantastic for anyone who wants to try and recreate the look and also makes it like 1000x more realistic. 

I also love the implication that the Australian government will give us free kits to help when you get infected, cause like... they would. We have free Medicare and COVID testing - I could literally pop over to the local dental place and get a free COVID test. This is funny in comparison to traditional American (referring to USA) movies where they’re like zombie apocalypse three years later? Ha here’s a gun fend for yourself mate. There’s also no army presence in this movie either. As in, the only army we see are some zombies from the local army base. None of that “the army’s coming to save you trope” (if you would like to know how this movie has a happy ending without army intervention, it will be near the end of the spoiler section).

Also, these kits are so interesting. There’s a poster with the symptom list, a mouth guard, an epipen looking thing that’s uh... if you watch it you’ll see. AND!! My favourite part: the countdown fitbit. 

Zombie countdown fitbit! (Picture: A white watch-bracelet with a 48-hour countdown timer on it. It’s on a woman’s wrist. There’s blood on her sleeve, her hand, and a towel underneath her hand. You can see her simple wedding ring on her finger.)

In terms of the name for the zombies, I don’t recall anyone calling them “zombies,” and Thoomi (Simone Landers) calls them “ghosts.” Now, if you’ve read my hill to die on post, I basically have a thing about people making up arbitrary names for zombies because like it literally doesn’t make sense and they don’t do it with other supernatural things like vampires, but, Cargo gets an exception because it makes sense. 

Okay, so, if you’ve learnt a little about Australian history, you’d know that Aboriginal people referred to the white colonisers as “ghosts” (for obvious reasons), ergo, it makes total sense for these zombies to also be called ghosts. They’re literally people without souls haunting the land. Therefore, the name “ghosts” isn’t arbitrary - it’s culturally significant and it makes sense. 

Now, spoiler time for the plot!

The plot involves Andy traversing and meeting several people in order to try and find someone to look after his daughter. I won’t actually say too much more, I’m just going to do some pictures with some key takes to try and incentivise you to watch it. 

The movie is rated MA15+, but I think that’s mostly just for the gore. There is a little violence towards the end but it’s mostly silhouetted so you don’t see anything. 

The literal embodiment of “wanna go, mate?” (Picture: A dad wearing a flannel shirt and jeans is discreetly holding a gun he’s just pulled from the front of his jeans, showing it to the camera. Behind him is his wife and kids, who are having a birthday party. There are pink, yellow and green balloons.)

That’s so smart what the heck. (Picture: Thoomi is using tree sap to stick leaves to the soles of her shoes. Presumably it’s to be both quiet from the zombies, and to stop her leaving footprints that can be tracked.)

Hahahaha nope nope nope nope. (First picture: Below deck on a small yacht. There’s wooden panels that presumably make up a wall, with a fire extinguisher next to it. Andy is off to the side in the foreground, looking down at what he’s doing. Second picture: There’s a small gap as the wooden panels open up. It is not in fact a wall, but a door. Andy suddenly looks up at the sound.)

But are you sure sure, tho? (Picture: Andy talking to Kay after being on the yacht in the aforementioned pictures. Kay asks, “You sure it was safe?” and Andy assures her, “Safe.” Sir, did you not see the wooden panels open?)

That is not baby safe! It’s a coat hanger with fishing lines! It’s the exact opposite of a baby safe toy! (Picture: There’s a crashed car in the background. Andy is standing to the side, only his hand and the top part of his leg are in frame. His hand is covered in blood. The camera is focused on baby Rosie, who’s wearing a bucket hat and is sitting in her little baby-carrying backpack that Andy wears to carry her around. Rosie is sucking on a baby toy made of a bent, blue coat hanger, decorated with fishing lines and plastic fish baits.)

Sad noises :’(  Also, why is Mommy spelt like that this is an Aussie film, it should be “Mummy.” (Picture: Andy holding Rosie in her baby-carrying backpack. The caption says, “I can smell Mommy too.” Mummy is spelt the American way for some reason.)

Racist prick (the guy in the middle). (Picture: Andy and Vic (Anthony Hayes), a random stranger he just found, are standing in front of a cage. From left to right, Vic’s car is in the background. Andy is standing next to a radio playing a song - the caption reads the song lyrics as “A crazy thing.” Vic is dancing along next to him. A white bucket full of blood is next to Vic. Inside the cage is the Clever Man (David Gulpilil). Vic has trapped him to use as zombie bait.)

It’s like a carrot on a stick for a minecraft pig!! 10/10 smarts. (Picture: Thoomi and Rosie ride on a zombie-fied Andy’s back. Thoomi holds out a stick with some meat on the end to steer Andy. Andy’s hands are bound and he has a mouthguard in.)

I take back everything I said about this baby toy. (Picture: Rosie’s baby toy tied onto a branch. A beautiful blue sky is in the background.)

Final things to say, I really liked Etta and Lorraine. Lorraine really got screwed over. 

There are mentions to fracking poisoning the land, and I know I’m going to go to my own research on it. I won’t talk about it here because I’m just looking at the movie and I’m also not qualified to discuss the issue. 

Also the ending is brilliant. The local Aboriginal peoples having their land and traditions and community and I know I’m not doing it any justice, but Cargo is a very considered Australian zombie movie, with Aboriginal peoples being very included. I apologise for not being able to phrase that better - just go watch it. 

Lastly, I was doing some quick research to find out if any Aboriginal people directed Cargo or worked on the screenplay - I haven’t found anything yet, but I did find that this was adapted from the directors’ short film by the same name, so I’m off to watch that now. 

Have a great night/day/morning/afternoon, and seriously go watch Cargo! (In Australia it’s on Netflix if that helps!)