Original subtitles

♪ I'm walking

♪ Like a lonely child

♪ Never knowing which way to turn

♪ Feeling lost I've wandered far

♪ Reach out and touch me

♪ Take my hand

♪ Then walk me home

♪ Reach out and touch me

♪ Understand that you will

♪ Never, ever be alone

♪ Lost and lonely, lost and lonely

♪ Till you found me Till you found me

♪ And now you're giving me everything, yeah

♪ Teach me to find love

♪ Take my hand and walk me home

♪ Reach out for my love

♪ Understand

♪ That you'll never be alone. ♪

Receiving a Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology,

Miss Mattie Erica Collinson.

(Sustained applause)

(Cheering)

(Camera shutters snap)

(Phone rings)

MAN: Hello?

- Hello? - I'm going to email you

a photo, you old bastard.

- I did it. - Who's this?

Shit, don't tell me you got more than one of me.

He's dead, Mattie.

- What? - He died two days ago.

Mattie?

Mattie?

Hello, Mattie?

Yes?

I wondered if we'd hear from you.

Who are you?

Your Uncle Richard.

And I'm asking you...

No, I'm telling you

to stay away.

(Hang-up tone) - Oh, no, you don't.

(Dialling)

(Phone rings)

G'day, Jack Mikkel. Leave a message, I'll get back to ya.

(Tone bleeps)

(Mobile rings)

MAN: Babe, where are ya?

- He's dead, Caleb. - Huh?

Two days late. I'm two fuckin' days late.

Mattie, come home. Let it go.

Can't. I'm driving to Redfern.

What?

My father is getting this photo,

on his coffin, front and centre.

That's ridiculous, hun. Haven't we been over this?

(Phone beeps)

(Drum roll)

Oh, she's getting it higher and higher.

It's a little bit like a big pyramid !

- Oh, yakkai! - Yakkai.

Time for bed, bub.

One more, please, Dad?

Oh, it's a bit late. Off you go.

Better give me a smooch though, eh?

Night-night, my girl.

Come on.

Hello.

PATRICIA: You can't just leave without explanation.

JACK: I'm tired, love.

PATRICIA:You've been tired a lot lately, haven't you?

JACK: You know, I really don't want to

get into this right now.

PATRICIA: I'm not asking the world, Jack.

Never have. All I want is an explanation.

Oh, Tricia, please.

This is our night.

I know, darl.

Then why are you going?

I'll make it up to you, I promise.

You lie to her, Jack. Not me.

What is it?

(Sighs)

It's her birthday.

It's your wife's birthday? You shouldn't have come.

Well, you were expecting me, weren't ya?

You shouldn't have come.

Fuck-and-run now, is that it?

Oh, come on. There's nothing wrong with us.

I mean, I just...

I just forgot it was her birthday, simple as that.

Us - this - has never been simple.

(Sighs)

Ah, Tricia.

You sure you've washed all me off you?

(Door shuts)

Where does Dad go?

To get the moo cows for his butcher shop.

Sis, got any shrapnel?

- Sorry? - Not an apology. This one.

Do I know you?

Here.

(Voices and laughter)

BARISTA: What can I get ya?

Ah, skinny soy chai latte, thanks.

This used to be a butcher shop.

Yeah. My dad's.

Haven't seen you in here before.

Ah, back for my father's funeral.

Oh, right.

My dad died recently too.

Sorry to hear that.

A stroke took my dad. What about yours?

What did your dad pass from?

I might get some food as well, thanks.

- Pesto eggs on toast, please. - OK. Takeaway?

Eat in, thanks.

Oh, shit, sorry, I didn't even see if you wanted...

- It's fine. - OK.

Take a seat. I'll bring it all over.

Anything else?

No. No, thanks.

(Bell dings)

(Muffled, distant voices)

Hey, you wanna play hide-and-seek?

Yeah? I'll count to a hundred.

You go and hide. Nice and quiet, though, yeah?

One, two, three,

four, five, six,

seven, eight...

(Girl giggles)

- Hey, do you want a tea? - Thanks.

That's $3.50.

There you go.

- Beautiful. - Oh, it's old.

Just let me know if you need anything, OK? Enjoy.

- Hey, Susan. - Hi, darling. (Kisses)

Hello, sweetheart. How's your day?

Good, thank you.

Guess who did very well in their English test?

- Who? - Me.

The teacher had some good things to say?

- Yep. - Well done, sweetheart.

Susan, I'm afraid I'm going to have to work back late.

- How late? - Well, extra carcasses.

I'll probably just...

I'd better get back to it.

Righto.

Are we ready? OK.

You're going to have to close your eyes.

No peeking. No peeking.

You can't look till I say.

Alright, open your eyes.

Pick a hand. You think this one?

Well, maybe, you should have picked this one!

There you go, sweetheart.

Mattie.

Ohh!

Mattie, what do you say?

Thanks.

Hold it up against you.

- See if it fits. - Oh, hey?

Look at you. Beautiful.

Your Mum was right. Blue is your colour, eh?

Oh, no. Really?

Oh, what's this, eh?

Oh.

Trish, I love it.

I absolutely love it.

Come here.

I'll have another one of them.

Oh, my beautiful girls. My beautiful, precious girls.

Do you know what?

I'll put that straight up here. What do you reckon?

Right.

Here's one of your very, very, very favourite things.

Thank you.

That's alright. I'll see you later.

Hey, what are you doing? Mum!

Come on, Brenda, let's go.

Bye.

Do you want her to stay the night?

Yeah, I suppose so.

Does Sally's mum know?

Not yet but we can give her a call.

Sure. We'll give her a ring.

(Jack speaks indistinctly)

You alright?

(Shudders, sniffs)

Mum! Mum! Mum! Mum!

What did you do, Mattie?

The girl had the bracelet.

What bracelet?

He gave the girl my bracelet.

- Jack? - Oh, I don't know.

You gave the girl my bracelet!

Sweetheart...

Go to your room, Mattie.

It's over, Patricia.

- Did your wife see her? - No.

Your daughter?

Please, Patricia.

Then why?

She was standing at my front gate.

That just gives you an excuse now, doesn't it?

Oh, Christ!

You tired, Jack?

(Sighs)

Say something.

Please.

Don't you dare.

Don't you fuckin' dare end this!

I gotta go.

Well, what do I do now?

You move on, Trish. You move on.

(Whimpers softly)

You're a beautiful woman.

(Shudders)

No, Jack.

I used to be a beautiful woman.

Why, Mattie?

Tell me, why did you go there?

Do you know what you've done?

Go to your room.

Go!

(Sobs)

(Wails)

Oh, God!

(Sirens wail in distance)

(Mobile rings)

It's funny how we stand guard.

Beg your pardon?

We stand guard for our toast,

while we wait for it to come out of the end

of these conveyor rack oven toaster thingos.

It's a Dorset Conveyor Energy Saver.

Part-time work in appliances.

And you're right, we do stand guard.

Yeah, yeah. And if you're not here,

others do take. I know first-hand.

I almost came to blows with one bloke in the US,

over bread, when the whole nation

was heading into recession.

It was crazy. Where you from?

Originally from Sydney - Redfern.

Based in Canberra these days.

My old man owned the butcher shop in Redfern.

He had the best cooked chicken pieces.

I mean, cooked chooks,

they just don't taste as good these days.

Ooh. Ah...

(Mobile rings)

What have you got there?

Can I see?

What's this?

It's going on my father's coffin.

And where's that?

Here.

I told you I was back for my father's funeral.

- I'll do it for ya. - No, thanks.

I intend to stay for the funeral.

And I'm going to speak.

What's your name?

Mattie. Mattie Collinson.

OK, Mattie Collinson,

what do you intend to say in this speech of yours?

Well, let's see.

I'm going to talk about a man who walked out on my mother.

A man who didn't contribute a cent,

a man who destroyed my mother's life.

And mine.

What'd you get?

PhD in Anthropology.

Oh, destroyed your life, eh?

So you've come back to gloat?

No.

To show him I did just fine.

You wanna know what I've been doing?

Wiping my father's arse,

catching his spit, feeding him,

turning him, bathing him.

Just wish he'd walked out on us,

then I'd be in this photo

and you'd be in the bloody cafe.

- There's no money. - It's not about money.

Then what?

Is your mother alive?

No.

Mine is.

My dad is not the one that's gonna get hurt by this.

She was probably one of many, wasn't she?

Used to happen a lot.

White man, black woman.

I'm sure it did.

Your mother was a fling, OK? A fuck.

A nothing! Get over yourself.

They were together for 22 years.

Uh-uh. We would have known.

Not with the likes of my mum. We would have known.

Well, she turned a blind eye if she did.

You're bullshitting.

Really?

Ask your Uncle Richard.

How far away are ya?

Yeah, come around the back of the church

before you go in.

How long has he known?

Well, let's see. Right from the start.

You patronising bitch!

You played me at the cafe! You knew all along!

No, I didn't.

Anything that you say now doesn't mean shit!

Because the only person that this is gonna hurt is...

- Hey! - ..my mother.

- Hey! - What about mine?

I don't give a rat's about your mother!

- Fuck off! - Stop it!

Just stop it now, Brenda.

Stop it.

Hello, Mattie.

(Gasps)

So I take it you know all about it, then.

She is not going to do this today,

not here, not now, not ever!

Why are you here, Mattie?

I have a right to be.

She thinks she's gonna speak.

- That's not gonna happen. - I am.

I won't allow it

You should leave now.

Look,

I don't want to hurt you, Mattie.

You can't hurt me.

I'm just trying to do the right thing here.

Pity your brother didn't do that 25 years ago.

Well, Mattie, in his eyes, he did.

He didn't acknowledge you when he was alive.

So what difference is it gonna make now?

You were just a...

You were a complication i n their relationship, Mattie.

He never loved you.

But my mother did.

My mother loved me and I loved her.

I'm going to speak.

Nothing you say to me can hurt me

as much as watching my mother sobbing into her hands.

Mattie...

..please.

Please, just...

..just go.

Listen, for what it's worth, kiddo...

..congratulations.

(Sobs)

('Amazing Grace' plays on piano)

(Sobbing)

(Reverend clears throat)

Good morning.

On behalf of the Mikkel family -

Susan,

Dean and his family,

Peter,

and Jack's youngest, Brenda,

we would like to sincerely thank you all

for being here today.

To share

and give thanks

for the life and times of our dearly departed,

Jack Eric Mikkel.

♪ UP-BEAT ROCK TUNE

That's what I'm talking about.

What a mover.

(Both laugh)

Yeah, that's my heart beating.

(Murmurs indistinctly)

Well, have a look at you.

Haven't you grown, eh?

Don't, don't worry about cooking, love. We'll order in.

G'day, Mattie.

Am I supposed to know you?

I'm your Uncle Richard. I'm your dad's brother.

Great. A family fuckin' reunion!

Oh, Mattie, don't!

Well, how am I supposed to react?

I think we should go.

No, no, don't.

This is my bloody house,

and you're welcome, both of you.

Great, Mum. Take his side again!

I'm sorry.

Look, I'll call you, alright?

(Hip-hop music plays) (Laughter)

You done this before?

(People sing church hymn)

♪ Onward, then, ye people Join our happy throng

♪ Blend with ours your voices

♪ In the triumph song

♪ Glory, laud, and honour

♪ Unto Christ, the King

♪ This through countless ages Men and angels sing

♪ Onward, Christian soldiers

♪ Marching as to war

♪ With the cross of Jesus

♪ Going on before. ♪

Please, be seated.

Our first reading - from Isaiah 41, Verse 1.

Mum! Mum, are you ready?

('Satin Sheets' by Tammy Wynette plays)

- What are you doing here? - Come to see you, babe.

Move.

Sit down.

Arkiyo Sato.

MAN: Our first presentation for our Year 10s

is our Dux award.

This student's dedication to her study

is quite outstanding.

Damo, let me get up. I've gotta go toilet.

Please, Damo.

You're hurting my knees!

MAN: She is a great role model for everyone here, and...

(Gasps)

..especially a great role model

for our Aboriginal students.

If I may indulge for a second.

Over the years,

- I have made it my goal... - Get off me.

- Piss off! - Get! Get off me!

What, you think you're better than us?

(Shrieks)

If I may say so,

I am extremely proud at this moment,

and it gives me great pleasure

to announce our Dux for Year 10,

Miss Mattie Erica Collinson.

(Applause)

Oh, well, that is unfortunate.

It's very unfortunate and disappointing...

(Cries)

..that Mattie can't be with us tonight.

Well, moving on.

- (Weeps) - The prizes for...

Thank you, Kaia, for your lovely poem

to your grandfather.

I'm sure he would have been very proud of you here today.

Soon I will call upon our speakers

to say a few words about our dearly departed, Jack.

The order of proceedings

will be Coral, Richard, Brenda and Mattie.

Mattie?

Mattie,

what have you got yourself into, bub?

(Whimpers)

Mattie, you gotta put your focus elsewhere.

Don't let what happened between your mum and dad

derail you, bub.

Let that go,

and do something with yourself.

You'll end up with a gutful of arms and legs

and stranded on the Block.

You got a brain, Mattie.

Use the bloody thing, for your sake.

I used to pride myself on how well I fed my kids.

Every week, 'A piece of lamb, please, Jack.

Piece of beef, please, Jack. Shoulder of pork.'

Then my old man ran out on me and the money dries up.

And it's, 'Half a kilo of mince, please, Jack.'

And I'd get home and open it up,

it'd be a leg of lamb,

piece of beef

or a shoulder of pork.

In more recent times,

when I was a bit short on my pension,

I'd get home

and there'd be an extra piece of chop or a piece of chicken.

That kindness was very rare...

..especially to blackfellas.

Maybe not many people saw that kindness.

And it's moments like these,

we need to remember the good times.

But people used to exploit that kindness, Coral.

They'd book up and disappear.

And I'd get angry for him.

He'd say, 'Why the anger?

They're only doing it because they're broke.

I mean, are rich people gonna rip off a butcher in Redfern?

No.

Only the poor.'

He had extraordinary compassion.

An extraordinary...

..understanding about the weaknesses of human beings...

..because he was fully aware of his own.

An extraordinary capacity

to forgive.

Not to forget...

..but to forgive.

Let's continue with our reading

of Isaiah 41, Verse 10.

What happened to your face, bub?

- I told you. - When?

I fell off the stage when I went to collect my award.

- What award? - Bloody hell, Mum, come on!

I love you, bub.

Just go to sleep, Mum.

Without you, I'd be in the gutter.

Go to sleep, Mum.

Go, bub.

I think Coral's right.

Today's about us remembering the good times.

I used to love sitting on my dad's lap,

and we'd draw and make up stories

for hours.

At the same time, I think he was helping me out

with my grammar.

I'd throw out a broken toy

and the next day it'd be on the end of me bed, fixed.

Or he'd keep something that you thought meant nothing,

but to him it meant so much more.

That's how I believe he showed ya that he loved ya.

'Cause he wasn't a man of many words.

Sometimes too bloody mysterious,

when I look back about him now.

I've put up with a lot over the last four years,

but I'm going to miss him.

And my mum,

she's saying goodbye to the love of her life today.

But it's been good.

It's been real good listening to these stories,

'cause the one thing that a dead man has left

is his reputation,

and us remembering the good times that we shared together.

What's with the suitcase?

Why did you leave my mother?

Where do you think you're going?

What, do you wanna play Daddy now?

What happened to your face?

Why did you leave my mother?

Mattie, what are you doing to yourself?

- To myself? - Yes, look at you.

What, no faith in me, Father?

Right now, if your face is anything to go by,

the answer's no.

Why did you leave my mother?

You want the truth?

Yep.

You're gonna hate me for it.

Can't hate you any more than I do now.

- You came to my house. - So it is my fault.

No. No, love, not at all.

Not at all.

It's just...

..it was easier to break your mother's heart than my wife's.

REVEREND: In your mercy and love,

please forgive whatever sins Jack may have committed

through human weakness.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Our last speaker - Mattie.

Mattie?

- Who's that? - Don't ask.

(Sighs)

Every time I walked into his butcher shop...

..he gave me a piece of

one of his famous cooked chicken pieces.

It was always a drumstick.

And to this day...

..and to this day...

..every time I eat chicken,

I think of him.

Thank you, everyone, for those lovely words.

We'll now commit Jack

to the open arms of our Lord.

WOMAN: Here you go.

- Do you need a taxi? - No, thanks.

Hey, wait up.

It says, 'To Mattie.'

What is it?

I don't know. I found it in his bedside cabinet.

It's addressed to you.

He thought enough about you to leave that,

so you did mean something.