September

The new Australian film September is a small story about a big issue from Australia’s shameful past.

Set in the West Australian wheat-belt in 1968, September tells the story of two 16-year-old boys, one black and one white, whose pure and unaffected friendship begins to fall apart under the pressures of a changing social and political climate.

Ed who is white and Paddy who is Aboriginal, have been best friends for as long as they can remember, having grown up together on Ed’s family farm. They spend their afternoons together being boys; laughing, reading, smoking and even building their own make-shift boxing ring in the wheat fields where they spar each day and dream of future glories.

Paddy’s father, Michael works for Ed’s father, Rick. Paddy too assists Ed’s father while Ed goes into town for school each day. Each afternoon Paddy is there at the bus stop, faithfully waiting for Ed’s return.

But then a turbulent and pivotal moment in Australia’s history threatens to fracture what was a rock-solid friendship. Laws are introduced requiring Aboriginal workers to be paid the same as white workers. Rick keeps this news secret from his long-time friend and employee, Michael. Rick believes he cannot afford the financial strain that will come with paying Michael and Paddy a full wage.

While on a trip into town to get supplies, Michael discovers the news of the government’s equal wage legislation. On the same trip, Paddy sees Ed at the bus stop with his white school friends. Ed barely acknowledges Paddy while in the presence of the other students. He chooses to catch the school bus home with a girl he is keen on, rather than grab a lift with Paddy and be seen as one who associates with Aborigines on an equal footing.  Like St Peter denying Jesus in the gospel accounts, Ed denies his friendship with Paddy at a key moment.

Ed’s girl, Amelia, is the catalyst for further betrayal. When Ed encourages Paddy to visit Amelia’s father’s property one night and spy on her, Paddy ends up suffering a beating at the hands of Amelia’s father while Ed runs back home in silence.

The act of unfaithfulness causes tensions to boil over during the afternoon sparring sessions in makeshift boxing ring. Paddy and Ed lash out at one another. The fight becomes serious. Ed is left the worse for wear, bloodied and bruised, and Paddy utters cruel words to Ed, signifying an end to the lifelong friendship.

The pressure of growing from boys to men in a complex and segregated world forces the boys to question their respective positions in life. Paddy quickly realises he does not want to inherit the relationship his father has to Ed’s father.

The fractured relationship between the boys, between the dads and even between Aborigines and Anglos appear to be irreconcilable in the context of September.

It is conceivable that just such a tension will continue to exist on a national scale until one friend is willing to apologise to the other, until the dad with the financial means is willing to pay his worker his fair wages and until both people groups can recognise that the other is created in God’s image and are worthy of love and respect. Until then, proper reconciliation cannot occur.

The words of Jesus in the beatitudes to turn the other cheek when an enemy strikes you operate in a number of ways. The statement functions as a moral expectation upon Christians in the hope that such behaviour will win people over to the unique way of Christ. It is also a reminder of how far humans fall short of God’s standard of perfection and how we can only meet God’s standard through Jesus. Only when humans accept the lordship and saving work of Jesus in their lives can such self-denying loving action be carried out and relationships restored.

In September the characters wrestle with the part self-sacrifice plays in repairing and building relationships. Some do better than others. But the film does offer inspiration and hope because even those who appear most hardened to mercy are open to seeking and offering forgiveness.

While the characters in September are fictitious, their story reveals truths about a shameful time in Australia’s history. Despite September never overtly addressing spiritual issues, it certainly does examine what it means to love your neighbour as yourself, especially when some members of society tragically see your neighbour as being only sub-human. 

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