on this and that, #2 Nov 2025

on Somersault and ‘innocent girls’

I walked into the Somersault screening that Sunday, smug as anything, under the impression that it was going to be another morning at the cinema that might prompt a little bit of reflection, maybe even a deep Sunday afternoon ponder on the bus ride home, but nothing crazy. 

As the film progressed, however, (and I realised that wearing mascara to this movie was, in fact, a very bold choice), I concluded that Somersault is diabolical in more ways than one, and, as a result, it has become one of my favourite Australian films of all time. After the credits rolled, I turned to the male counterparts I had attended the screening with. I quickly realised I was the only one sobbing, and it hadn’t resonated with them in the same way. Despite some themes of the film being universal, I believe this is because a large part of the film’s potency for me came from its exploration of young female sexuality and observing (and unfortunately relating to) the exploitative nature of the men in the film (as well as the themes of motherhood and forgiveness - but I can’t cover everything in this one article so just watch the freaking movie).

Cate Shortland’s 2004 masterpiece  (🙌)  follows Heidi, a 16-year-old girl who runs away from home after being caught making out with her mum’s boyfriend. She desperately boards a bus and finds herself in the ski town of Jindabyne. Here she stumbles her way through adult life completely on her own and with little to no money, frequently using sex to survive. The film revolves around her relationships with various members of the Jindabyne community, mainly; Joe, the son of well-off farmers, with whom she has a romantic relationship; Irene, a maternal figure who provides her a place to live and genuinely cares for her well-being; and Hollie, a girl she eventually works with at the servo who serves as a poignant and stark comparison to herself, exposing the brutality of Heidi’s situation.

The film actively subverts the stereotypical Australian narrative of the ‘innocent young girl’ and instead propels us into Heidi’s subjective viewpoint and the nuanced conflict between her naivety and the adult situation she has found herself in. The film frequently cuts back to moments of Heidi on her own, flickers of innocence from her playing hand-clapping games by herself to decorating her colourful journal. Everything from the lullaby-like chimes that make up the score to the intimate cinematography, and even the hand-written font of the title cards, draws you into experiencing the film's journey with her rather than simply observing. It forces us, as an audience, to understand her naivety and youthfulness rather than impose them on her character because of her age. These moments are then starkly juxtaposed with her sexual engagements and flirtations with (mostly much older) men; while confronting, the film has set you up to rather than observe, project yourself onto Heidi, and in essence, remove a layer of judgment of her behaviour. Shortland isn’t asking us to decide whether Heidi is innocent or corrupted; she’s asking us to sit inside the uncomfortable middle space and, in doing so, give her the agency that public discourse in Australia rarely has room for. When considering the film’s socio-political relevance, I immediately thought of the Bill Henson controversy.

In May 2008, police removed a series of artworks by internationally renowned photomedia artist Bill Henson from the walls of a Sydney gallery just hours before his exhibition was due to open. They did so in response to an allegation that the invitation to the opening carried an image of child pornography. Deeply controversial, this outburst sparked a fiery debate. Where some argued that children could not ethically consent to participating in what they claimed to be “pornography”, others argued the importance of nuance and context and fought back against “censorship” in the name of artistic expression. It was a media frenzy, where sensationalist (and predominantly conservative) commentary ran rife, including headlines from a speech by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who said the images were “absolutely revolting” and “just wrong”. 

The overwhelmingly negative response reveals to us the cultural expectation of the time (which I unfortunately believe still stands): girls must only appear in images as “innocent,” asexual, and in need of protection. Where Somersault portrays agency, the media covering the “Bill Henson Child Pornography Scandal!!!” portrays young girls as by-products rather than people. I think everything about the coverage of this allegation, particularly the statements from the Prime Minister, refuses to acknowledge their positionality as powerful white men and takes away the most important voices of the argument (the young girls) under the guise of ‘protection’. 

I bring up this moment in Australian history to highlight the commentary surrounding ‘innocent girls’ at the time and why a film like Shortland’s Somersault is not only bold in its choice to explore young female sexuality, but also stands alone as a unique testament in occupying this space. It pushes the audience to explore sexuality and innocence, and the potentially uncomfortable space where they co-exist. Australia’s obsession with the preservation of “childhood innocence” and its need to “protect the children” are excuses for conservative erasure of minority viewpoints and the diverse stories we need on screen. 

I feel I can safely say that, across the board, navigating your relationship with sex is fraught for most, particularly young women in Australia. The tears I cried in the cinema that morning were not only for me, but for every woman in my life, navigating and reclaiming their own sexuality, especially those who have felt exploited in the process. 

References

Faulkner, J. (2010). The importance of being innocent: Why we worry about children. Cambridge University Press.

Hancock, G. (2013). Visceral shock in Cate Shortland’s Somersault. SCAN: Journal of Media Arts Culture, 10(1). Retrieved from http://scan.net.au/scn/journal/vol10number1/Grady-Hancock.html

Hinkson, M. (2009). Australia’s Bill Henson scandal: notes on the new cultural attitude to images. Visual Studies, 24(3), 202–213. https://doi.org/10.1080/14725860903309112