Damage

Damage is a unique film in many ways. It is filmed in Adelaide with a pair of novice-actors – one the director’s own mother, the other an Iraqi asylum seeker.

It is entirely self-funded, was written in one night, and stars the director/writer Madeline Blackwell’s own mother (Imelda Bourke) who was 87 when the filming began.

It also stars Ali Al Jenabi, an actual Iraqi asylum seeker who had a hand in making the dialogue more believable.

Damage concerns Ali, a taxi driver from Iraq and an elderly woman who gets into his cab one night and forgets where she is going. Ali drives a cab with another man's license and relies on GPS to find his way around a city he doesn't know. His passenger, Esther, is an old woman who just wants him to drive till she can remember where she is supposed to be going.

The fictional Ali is not an Australian citizen and is driving his taxi on someone else’s licence, relying on GPS to navigate a city he doesn’t know.

As Blackwell says, “He is someone who has escaped a war, who has suffered immeasurable loss … his story is similar to the stories you hear about the Jews who escaped from the camps in World War II, from people who escaped from Pol Pot’s death camps.”

“This film really is a meeting between two people – one is a refugee and one is somebody who is prejudiced; she doesn’t like Arabic people; she doesn’t like Muslims and she’s stuck with a taxi driver who is both of those things.”

“We painted her garage bright green and we created a green-screen studio in it so she and Ali could go and rest inside and she would feel comfortable being at home base.”

She goes on to say, “It’s not an escapist entertainment. It’s more of an arthouse film that makes you think about things, it’s a very emotional film.”

“This film is a portrait of two people. It is also a portrait of us, now… and the Australia we are creating.”

Damage is a remarkable film in that it delves deeply in the psyches of the two protagonists without a lot of dialogue. Music also plays a large part. It is like another character in the film; both characters respond to what’s on the car radio – although Esther initially hates the Arabic music her driver is playing.

The car wash scene is particularly noteworthy. Ali has PTSD from his time in Iraq and cannot drive the car through (as required before he can return it) so Esther has to do it even though she cannot drive. The acting from both is powerful in its quiet intensity.

Blackwell is to be commended for the way she develops the characters and their values throughout the film. It is a study of two different cultures thrown together and how they develop an understanding and respect for these cultures.

​Damage is a beautifully sculpted film of two complex individuals who travel through the night and the rain to find acceptance and understanding. It features two magnificent performances from Ali Al Jenabi and Imelda Bourke and is a timely reminder that true acceptance is something that develops slowly but ultimately rewards us in many ways, sometimes unseen!

Barry Hill OAM