The New Boy

The New Boy is a 2023 Australian drama film written and directed by Warwick Thornton, and starring Aswan Reid as the title character, alongside Deborah Mailman, Wayne Blair, and Cate Blanchett. It follows a young Aboriginal Australian orphan boy who is brought into a Christian monastery run by a renegade nun, where he begins to question his faith and loyalty to his heritage. Blanchett also served as the film's producer under her Dirty Films production company. The film premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival on 19 May 2023, and was theatrically released in Australia on 6 July 2023 by Roadshow Films. It received generally positive reviews from critics. Plot In mid-1940s Australia, a nameless nine-year-old Aboriginal orphan boy is captured by police and taken in at a remote monastery for Indigenous boys. The monastery is seemingly run by a male priest, who has, in actuality, been dead for a year, without anyone knowing the cause. The lead nun, Sister Eileen claims to outsiders that the priest is still alive, and forges letters to create this impression. Eileen is supported in her work and her deception by two Aboriginal individuals, a fellow nun who goes by the nickname "Sister Mum" and a male named George; both of whom are assimilated to Christian beliefs. Though times are difficult, the nuns care for the boys and desire to protect them through Christian teachings and shared manual work. The other boys are not provided with any knowledge of Aboriginal values, language or practices. Their ultimate fate is to be forced to leave very early and be employed as farm hands. Sister Mum is implied to have converted to Christianity due to the loss of her two children, while George lives a secure life at the monastery. The orphan boy, nicknamed the "New Boy", initially struggles to fit in with the other partners, being incapable of speaking or understanding English and lacking any desires for Western customs, such as footwear and clothing. After a period of bullying, the New Boy gradually asserts himself physically and emotionally, and becomes accepted by everyone. Throughout this process, the New Boy is shown to possess mysterious supernatural abilities to conjure small balls of light and to heal sick animals and humans.