New Boy, The (ATOM Study Guide)

From writer-director-cinematographer Warwick Thornton comes a spiritual drama that’s equal parts magic and heartache. Starring Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett and newcomer Aswan Reid, The New Boy hauntingly evokes Australia’s fraught colonial legacy through the story of one very special child.

In 1940s Australia, in the middle of World War II, an unnamed Aboriginal boy is delivered to a remote rural monastery after being abducted by police, where Sister Eileen oversees a shelter for abandoned children. Eileen is caring and patient with those in her charge, but she is resolute in her mission to convert these young souls to Christianity. The new boy doesn’t speak English and resists adopting his keepers’ standards of civilized comportment, but he does seem responsive to Eileen’s religious instruction, embracing a beautifully carved crucifix with innate reverence. What’s more, the new boy appears to possess miraculous abilities akin to those of Eileen’s chosen saviour – abilities that might recede if Eileen fails to recognize how Christian and Indigenous beliefs can exist in harmony.

Curriculum Links:

The New Boy is suitable for middle and senior secondary students and is relevant to the learning areas of:

• English
• Media Arts
• History
• Religion, Beliefs and Values

It also supports the development of Ethical Understanding General Capability.

The film offers students an opportunity to:

• Examine the role of Christian missions in Australia and their impact on Indigenous Australians
• Consider the traditional belief systems of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
• Discuss the extent to which different belief systems can coexist alongside each other
• Reflect on the nature and impact of government policies on Indigenous people