This fantastic film falls short of the heights Lantana reached.... but not by much.
Instead of doing a long review of praise and flaws, I wanted to attempt to provide my views on some of the metaphors, symbolisms and underlying themes.
1) The city at the bottom of the damn: This one seems to be the "something lies beneath the surface" type metaphor. In short, under the surface are the "ghosts" of the past. Since the film centered around the complexities of humans that lies beneath the surface and take origins from their pasts, this was a fitting metaphor.
2) Zombies: "zombies" are mentioned by the children throughout the film. What are zombies? Well - they are the undead. In following on from the previous, it would seem that the ghosts of our past remain "undead" like zombies - pressing upon us unless we confront them.
3) Billy (Simon Stone): Represents a city-minded Australian: no real clue about the sorts of issues that arise in communities like Jindabyne and turns a blind eye / walks away when things get heated - especially with respect to Aboriginal relations.
4) Fish out of water: notice that they are all fishermen, discover the girl during a fishing trip and therefore the "fish out of water" symbolism begins to play a role. Billy is a fish out of water: the only one in town always on his mobile. The two main characters are Irish and American. If you think the produces decided that Gabriel Byrne would be better publicity than an Australian actor, you're wrong. Their nationality gave them a 'fish out of water' flavour - especially in rural Australia and worked to provide a 'fish out of water' perspective on the issues raised in this film. In particular, the American seemed intent on doing the "American" thing and confronting this head on, teaching your child valuable lessons and falling over yourself to ensure that your public image is maintained. Yet - she seems dramatically out of place, not only in terms of the town but also out of place with the Aborigines she so desperately tries to reconcile with.
5) The setting: Snowy River Hydro-Electric project. This was to do with the white man disrupting nature and landscape.
6) The underlying theme: IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES. Now reconciliation was an obvious aspect because Aborigines featured prominently in the film. But there were other aspects of this film that explored the notion of irreconcilable differences. In marriage (between the two main characters) and between the American and the town & Aborigines. As other reviewers pointed out, the director prefers to leave this complex issue unresolved... as Australia has with the Aborigines.
I also felt that the dead girl was tied to a tree by her ankle to symbolise the white man almost violently "holding back" the blacks or perhaps treating them like dogs (tie them to a tree).
7) Whether we acknowledge it or not, we are weighted down by our past. Every character seems to have a past bogging them down. The grandmother of the boy remains a burden of her son's and daughter-in-law's past transgressions. The mum who vanished during her first two years of motherhood created a burden of sorts on her son. Byrne's take on his son nearly drowning was that, if she was around in his early years, perhaps she would have taught him to swim! Simple enough, but a rather complex point: even minor PAST neglect can ripple into massive consequences. Whether this is a general statement or a statement with reference to Aborigines is unclear.
The fact that the boy nearly drowns in that lake is also interesting. Perhaps we are being "pulled down" by our past? Or perhaps when it comes to Australia's past and the modern-day white man, its like swimming at the top lake, aware but oblivious to the bottom of the lake (the past).
8) The end. Everyone seems bewildered by the ending. Now I thought that people who were waiting for him to get caught or get his justice MISSED the entire point of the film: there is no justice. That's it! The Aborigines receive no justice for past mistreatment, justice is not served on the murderer, the unjust outcome for the Irish husband and his American wife at memorial service, even though they come offering their apologies and support (perhaps saying "sorry" is simply too hollow to reconcile the situation. Maybe respect from the start over an apology for a transgression is the solution - possibly a cryptic message), Byrne seems to be unjustly treated by his wife (for example, when his nose is broken), yet he works hard to provide and was forced to raise their son alone during her 'unexplained' absence. And on that issue, she unjustly presses him for answers about the body, but refuses to openly discuss why she left after giving birth. It seems that every day injustices are woven into this story and it would appear that we just have to work out a way to confront and deal with them. If not, they become a burden of our past.
Accordingly, I don't think they were implying that the killer was allergic to wasps and was stung and died - although more than a few people think that this may have been the implication. The wasp or fly or whatever it was played a simpler role in my view. He killed that girl simply like killing a black fly that was bothering him. Whether there is a connection to racism here is somewhat elusive. Perhaps he is a racist killer and represents the ghosts of the past and evil committed against Aborigines? This explains why he let the "white" woman go. But then again, he may simply represent pure evil that will always persist? Bit of a slap in the face; which is exactly how the film ends.
Instead of doing a long review of praise and flaws, I wanted to attempt to provide my views on some of the metaphors, symbolisms and underlying themes.
1) The city at the bottom of the damn: This one seems to be the "something lies beneath the surface" type metaphor. In short, under the surface are the "ghosts" of the past. Since the film centered around the complexities of humans that lies beneath the surface and take origins from their pasts, this was a fitting metaphor.
2) Zombies: "zombies" are mentioned by the children throughout the film. What are zombies? Well - they are the undead. In following on from the previous, it would seem that the ghosts of our past remain "undead" like zombies - pressing upon us unless we confront them.
3) Billy (Simon Stone): Represents a city-minded Australian: no real clue about the sorts of issues that arise in communities like Jindabyne and turns a blind eye / walks away when things get heated - especially with respect to Aboriginal relations.
4) Fish out of water: notice that they are all fishermen, discover the girl during a fishing trip and therefore the "fish out of water" symbolism begins to play a role. Billy is a fish out of water: the only one in town always on his mobile. The two main characters are Irish and American. If you think the produces decided that Gabriel Byrne would be better publicity than an Australian actor, you're wrong. Their nationality gave them a 'fish out of water' flavour - especially in rural Australia and worked to provide a 'fish out of water' perspective on the issues raised in this film. In particular, the American seemed intent on doing the "American" thing and confronting this head on, teaching your child valuable lessons and falling over yourself to ensure that your public image is maintained. Yet - she seems dramatically out of place, not only in terms of the town but also out of place with the Aborigines she so desperately tries to reconcile with.
5) The setting: Snowy River Hydro-Electric project. This was to do with the white man disrupting nature and landscape.
6) The underlying theme: IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES. Now reconciliation was an obvious aspect because Aborigines featured prominently in the film. But there were other aspects of this film that explored the notion of irreconcilable differences. In marriage (between the two main characters) and between the American and the town & Aborigines. As other reviewers pointed out, the director prefers to leave this complex issue unresolved... as Australia has with the Aborigines.
I also felt that the dead girl was tied to a tree by her ankle to symbolise the white man almost violently "holding back" the blacks or perhaps treating them like dogs (tie them to a tree).
7) Whether we acknowledge it or not, we are weighted down by our past. Every character seems to have a past bogging them down. The grandmother of the boy remains a burden of her son's and daughter-in-law's past transgressions. The mum who vanished during her first two years of motherhood created a burden of sorts on her son. Byrne's take on his son nearly drowning was that, if she was around in his early years, perhaps she would have taught him to swim! Simple enough, but a rather complex point: even minor PAST neglect can ripple into massive consequences. Whether this is a general statement or a statement with reference to Aborigines is unclear.
The fact that the boy nearly drowns in that lake is also interesting. Perhaps we are being "pulled down" by our past? Or perhaps when it comes to Australia's past and the modern-day white man, its like swimming at the top lake, aware but oblivious to the bottom of the lake (the past).
8) The end. Everyone seems bewildered by the ending. Now I thought that people who were waiting for him to get caught or get his justice MISSED the entire point of the film: there is no justice. That's it! The Aborigines receive no justice for past mistreatment, justice is not served on the murderer, the unjust outcome for the Irish husband and his American wife at memorial service, even though they come offering their apologies and support (perhaps saying "sorry" is simply too hollow to reconcile the situation. Maybe respect from the start over an apology for a transgression is the solution - possibly a cryptic message), Byrne seems to be unjustly treated by his wife (for example, when his nose is broken), yet he works hard to provide and was forced to raise their son alone during her 'unexplained' absence. And on that issue, she unjustly presses him for answers about the body, but refuses to openly discuss why she left after giving birth. It seems that every day injustices are woven into this story and it would appear that we just have to work out a way to confront and deal with them. If not, they become a burden of our past.
Accordingly, I don't think they were implying that the killer was allergic to wasps and was stung and died - although more than a few people think that this may have been the implication. The wasp or fly or whatever it was played a simpler role in my view. He killed that girl simply like killing a black fly that was bothering him. Whether there is a connection to racism here is somewhat elusive. Perhaps he is a racist killer and represents the ghosts of the past and evil committed against Aborigines? This explains why he let the "white" woman go. But then again, he may simply represent pure evil that will always persist? Bit of a slap in the face; which is exactly how the film ends.