Charlie, an Aboriginal man who lives in Arnhem Land paints tree barks and fishes barramundi fish, all the while feeling out of place in an Australia which is no longer his. He laments the loss of his culture in modern Australia. After his spear is confiscated by the police, who think it is a weapon, he decides to leave his urban Aboriginal community and go back to the bush, his "Mother Country." He falls ill and is rushed to the hospital in Darwin. He discharges himself, then befriends an Aboriginal woman and buys alcohol illegally for other Aboriginals, and he gets arrested. As a result, he is sent to prison. When he gets out, he agrees to pass on traditional dances from his generation to young Aboriginal boys, fearing the loss of their cultural identity.
Charlie's Country currently holds an approval rating of 92% on Rotten Tomatoes and 75% on Metacritic. Jane Howard of The Guardian wrote a positive review of the film. She argued that the "camera is often motionless and there is a sense of still photography to the work." She added that Gulpilil's flawless acting carried the movie. In the Sydney Morning Herald, Paul Byrnes also praised his "extraordinary grace and physical ease" as an actor. He added, "The level of trust between actor and director here is part of the reason this work will live on." Similarly, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, David Rooney praised the collaboration between de Heer and Gulpilil, arguing, "It's a testament to what de Heer and Gulpilil have achieved here -- with simplicity and infinite nuance -- that through all the highs and devastating lows we witness in this brief chapter of Charlie's life, the character's identity remains etched into every aspect of the performance." In Variety, Eddie Cockrell praised the cinematography, concluding, "The tech package is seamless. Ian Jones’ widescreen photography immerses the viewer in the Australian outback, while Graham Tardif’s plaintive score emphasizes both the dignity and the anguish of Charlie’s all-too-common plight." In The Australian, Evan Williams called it an "unforgettable film, beautifully made, at times unbearably sad, but tinged with an unquenchable optimism and humanity." He added that some scenes were likely to provoke racism in some viewers, thus helping them question their own ingrained prejudices. However, writing for the ABC, Jason Di Rosso wrote a negative review. He called it, "another disappointment in that category of ambitious Australian filmmaking that’s about trying to make art, as well as entertain." He added that the film lacked "ambiguity" adding that there "are thinly drawn racist characters and an inability to render different tones in the one visual idea." Moreover, he disagreed with other reviewers about de Heer and Gulpilil's close relationship: for Di Rosso, "de Heer hasn’t shown enough faith in his central performer and the collection of beautiful and ugly landscapes he’s drawn together."
