The Dreaming (1988)
An archaeologist uncovers a cursed bracelet which dooms those it comes in contact with.
Genre
Characters/Groups
Professor Bernard Thornton - Arthur Dignam
Admissions Officer - Deborah Little
Hospital Aides - Brian Mulqueeny and Boris Maciburko
Security Guards - Ian Kakoschioe and Mike Read
Students - Chris Jones and Kate Rankin
Detectives - Mike Norman and Peter Green
Barristers - Kate Roberts and Brenton Whittle
Whalers - Kim Hyde, Michael Evans, Geoff Ledger, Val Pylpenko, Frank Smith, Phil Swan, Ken Hopkins, Paul Cornelius, John Blocki, Jeff James, Michael Dare, and Phil Van Dyck
Character thumbnails with links to profiles
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Detailed Synopsis
"Two hundred years ago...Bands of men roamed the oceans...from the east coast of America to the Great Southern Land of Australia...They were whalers...hardened, brutal men who hunted the giant creatures for their precious oil...Arriving before civilisation on the vast Australian continent..they intruded on the natives who lived at one with the land, and who cherished the mystical power of their Dreaming...a knowledge handed down from the time the world began...The whalers and the aborigines met. There were rapes, killings, massacres...a betrayal of innocence...a taint on the Dreaming...A taint that will live on into the present...and create a new kind of nightmare..."
A helicopter lands at an archaeological base camp. Professor Bernard Thornton gets out and an Archeologist tells him that they found a cave sealed by the Aborigines. He continues that the cave has wall paintings that are fairly recent and that he thinks the Anthropology department should take over. The Archeologist takes Bernard inside of the cave and shows him the rock art. Bernard starts to chip at the seal on the cave and a large amount of pressurized air bursts out of the cave. Bernard goes inside the new chamber and finds a burial of some sort. He then finds a bracelet and when he touches it, sees a vision of an Aboriginal woman and a group of Whalers walking onto the shore. During the vision the whalers come across a group of Aborigines sleeping on the beach and start to slaughter the men and rape the women.
9 Months later, a group of teenagers including Warindji and Najira break into a university museum and steal artifacts including the bracelet. The alarm goes off and Warindji puts the bracelet on her arm and tries to run away with the others. She is surrounded by Security Guards and after spraying one with a fire extinguisher, is taken to the hospital. Cathy Thornton is waiting outside when Warindji arrives on a stretcher. A Young Nurse tells Cathy that no one knows what happened to Warindji and that she was unconscious when the police found her. Dr Graham walks into the operating room with a Policeman. Cathy wonders to Sister if Warindji was unconscious before or after the police found her. Graham suggests they get her looked at quickly, but Cathy insists they do a thorough job. A Detective ask Dr Richards what was stolen and Richards asks the Detective if he could keep things out of the press. Richards sees Bernard and tells him about the theft of the bracelet. He then tells him that he is putting the island where the cave was at off limits. Cathy and Graham look at the x-rays and while Cathy is staring at them, the image starts to move and Warindji starts to squirm on the stretcher and then codes. Cathy has a similar vision to that of Bernard, but she is chased into the cave by the leader of the Whalers. Warindji dies and Cathy tells Graham that she wants to do an autopsy. Cathy thinks she sees a gash on Warindji's shoulder, but when Graham checks her body, there is no gash wound. As Cathy is leaving for work, she notices a tattoo patterns on her wrist. She goes to the library and while taking notes on Aborigines, the clock stops working and her hand starts to move on its own and draws out a pattern. She drives home and Geoff asks her where she has been. He tells her that they are supposed to have dinner with the Maoists. She tells him that she would rather stay home and he calls her selfish and arrogant, just like Bernard. During the night, Cathy has a nightmare and when she wakes up, realizes the pattern she drew out matches that of an island. The next day at the hospital, Cathy asks the Admissions Officer who brought Warindji to the hospital. While they are talking, Najira steals the bracelet from the nearby table. Cathy's beeper goes off and she calls Bernard and he tells her that her mother died and when the funeral is. At the funeral, the Priest gives the final prayer while the Undertaker holds the umbrella for him. after the funeral, Cathy goes to speak to Bernard.