Who's he?
Wait at the bar.
This is no way to greet an old friend.
You've kept me waiting here for 2 weeks.
Christ! It's Paris! See the sights.
I'm here for work.
There's a lot of ground to cover.
Difficult terrain, remote, so...
...they want me to send someone
with you.
Two men is a security risk.
This is an important job.
There's no room for mistakes.
So don't make any!
It must be very nice, William,
not to need anyone.
The client is Red Leaf,
a military biotech.
They're after something
extremely rare.
You're to bring back
biological samples.
Blood, skin, hair, organs.
As for the rest, make sure
no one else can ever find it.
What Red Leaf wants
is very valuable.
But only if they have
exclusive ownership.
You're looking for something
most believe is extinct.
The rarest... most elusive
creature on the planet.
The client has evidence
it still exists.
If so, it may be the very
last one.
The client has reports from
a reliable source.
Two confirmed sightings...
in the past year.
Until now, these sightings
have been kept secret.
But word always
gets out.
We have only a
couple of months,
Maybe less.
After that, there will
be competition.
Perhaps there already is.
Hello.
Hey, what are you
doing?
You can't wake her up!
I'm Martin David, from
the university.
Hello, Martin David.
I'm Sass, he's
my brother Bike.
Mum said we should
show you to your room.
Come on.
- The bulb's burnt up.
- No.
No fuckin' power.
Excuse me?
There's a generator.
But it's stopped working.
You gonna fix it?
I've got a lot of equipment.
I need power.
Yeah.
It used to work, then
it stopped.
Dad says the fuckin' fuck is
completely fucked.
Where's your father?
Gone away, up there.
He'll be back soon though.
He'll fix it if you can't.
There's water in the cold tap.
Oh... and the toilet's outside.
You right there mate?
Um, just need to use the restroom.
You wanna drink first?
Right.
Beer?
Sure.
How much to rent a room?
No vacancies.
Not even one small room?
All regulars, mate.
Live-ins.
I can pay double.
Pay triple if you want.
Same difference.
Hey, you!
Hey, you!
- Do you wanna room?
- Yeah.
Yeah.
Well you can't have one.
- You're from overseas, aren't you. Some uni.
- You gotta room? I can pay.
No.
The thing is, mate...
...we don't really like greenies
around here.
So, unless you wanna
join your mate...
Jarrah fuckin' Armstrong...
fuck off!
- You're up, Dougie.
- Comin'.
I've arrived. The lodging is...
not what I expected.
The communication may be
a problem, so I'll
call when I have something
to report.
What's she singing about?
She sounds sad...
yelling like that.
She's not yelling.
Don't you ever listen to music?
Sure. My dad likes "The Boss".
Who?
"The Boss".
Bruce Springsteen.
He rocks!
You shouldn't come in here
without knocking.
Are you looking for my dad?
No, I'm researching
Tasmanian devils.
But if you see him, will you
tell him to come home?
I'll be up... twelve days, and then
I'll come back for
two days to resupply and
do my paper work.
If I'm not back Wednesday
next week...
Take this... when you go up.
You can keep it for a while.
He's my dad, and we gave him
that for his birthday.
That's what he looks like.
Okay.
Double four point three zero.
Those are my coordinates.
They're points on the map.
Now listen...
- When your mother wakes up... remember...
- I know. Twelve days.
Jack's here.
- Where are my soldiers?
- Jack!
Hello princess.
Hello mate.
Oh, there he is.
G'day. Jack Mindy.
Martin David. How's it going?
- How's the room? Alright?
- Yeah, it's fine thanks.
Any problems, you just let
me know. I'll sort it out.
Ah, it's a good spot for you here.
Quiet, convenient.
Now the blokes from the university
told me you needed a guide.
- Really?
- Yeah, I can take you up there, no worries...
- No, no, I wouldn't want to put you out...
- No, no, it's not a problem.
You get your stuff; you can follow me
in your truck. Alright?
Who were they?
Blockaders are greenies,
protesting the logging.
Jarrah started all that.
The children's father?
Jarrah, yeah.
Gotta lot of time for Jarrah,
he's a good bloke.
Eco warrior.
- Where is he now?
- He went missing last summer.
He was out doing his
university work and...
he never came back down.
Didn't the university tell you?
Different university.
Anyway, it was a bloody nightmare. The
search and rescue was out for two weeks.
Not a trace.
And his wife?
Lucy's not doing too good.
She's...
I do what I can to help.
Your rent money'll go
a long way.
This is all ear-marked for logging.
So... what is it you're studying?
Devils.
Dunno why. They're pests.
Still, makes a change.
From what?
Oh, we get a lot of tourists this way
looking for the Tassie Tiger.
Reckon they can take a bit
of a day-trip,
and find an animal that has been
written off as extinct.
What do you think?
I heard one once.
I was a kid, I was out trapping
with my dad.
Fifty years ago, but I
still remember it.
Every now and again, some clown
reckons he sees one but...
...no one can ever prove it.
It's not a Sunday stroll, out where
you want to go, Mr David...
...part of these highlands
never been mapped.
Got satellite maps, alright, but
doesn't mean anyone's ever been there.
What do you think happened
to Jarrah Armstrong?
He slipped, he fell...
broke a leg...
froze, starved...
then the devils got him.
Eat you alive if you give
'em a chance.
Odd, though, not to find
a trace.
Well, depends if anyone wanted
a trace left.
Made a few enemies, Jarrah.
He was a foreigner, like yourself.
Wanted to save the trees.
The logging trees's the only reason there's
any people here at all.
Or a town. So you can imagine when he arrived
a few years back he was about as popular
a snake in a sleeping bag.
Good Lord!
Good Lord indeed, Mr David.
Thank you Mr Mindy.
I'll take it from here.
You'll what?
I'd like to go on alone.
You sure? It's a...
Yes.
I'm sure.
Oh well, suit yourself. It's a...
I'll leave you to it, then.
See you in a couple of weeks.
And watch your step.
G'day.
You're back then.
- Get what you needed?
- Sort of.
See many devils?
Yes.
Sick or healthy?
Healthy.
Oh well, don't let me
stand in your way.
Just brought round
some supplies.
Your dinner's in the kitchen.
- Is that your father?
- Which? Oh yeah.
He did it.
- Why's he scratching his head?
- He's not.
He's looking for something.
But you'd never guess
what for.
A way out of here?
A tiger.
Really. A tiger?
What kind of tiger?
A Tasmanian tiger.
A Tasmanian tiger?
That's very interesting,
but you know...
- ...they don't exist.
- Do so!
- They're extinct.
- Oh, no!
My dad saw one
last summer.
It's a secret.
He must have told
somebody about it.
Somebody else, besides you.
Have other people seen it?
I don't know. Ask him.
Hey man.
I hear you're doin' some research up
on the plateaus, devils, right?
- Yeah, that's right.
- Very cool.
I'm free, by the way,
this is Simon.
How's it going?
Hey, you should stop by some time, man;
We'd love to hear about your work.
I'm sorry, but I won't have
any time.
You're not using traps up there, are you?
Steel traps?
No, I won't do that.
Thanks.
I bet you helped your dad too.
What is that now?
A little monkey face?
Okay. Here goes nothin'.
Where did these come from?
It's her prescription,
from the doctor.
Jack Mindy brings them.
Your mother doesn't need
these any more.
So no more, okay?
Okay.
Go run her bath.
Sass. Here, help me.
Here, get her legs.
I have to go back up tomorrow.
You're gonna have to
take care of your mother.
- She's gonna feel sick.
- Okay.
Give her lots of tea and water...
and let her rest.
- Okay?
- Okay.
Out!
You can't come with me.
You know these are extinct.
They're gone.
I don't know what your father told you,
but he couldn't have seen one.
Come on.
Okay, if I see one you'll be the
first to hear.
Where's your mother?
In town, with Jack Mindy.
She's better now.
Did you find anything?
It's not my dad's.
- What are you doing?
- We're getting in!
- No, you can't!
- But we always do.
- Wait until I'm finished.
- No, the water'll be cold.
And besides, Dad says when we
have a bath,
it's a shame to waste
all the hot water.
But I'm not your dad, and I don't
think your mum would like this.
- He tells us a story.
- I don't know any.
- None.
- No.
- Not even one story.
- No.
What's she singing about, then?
She's...
just singing.
About what, though?
People never sing about nothing.
Nobody has ever wrote a
song about nothing.
So you can't sing a
song about nothing.
So, what's she singing about?
He's back.
- I'd better come in.
- I'll be fine.
I'll see you soon.
Thanks.
Hi. Want some water?
- Hi.
- Hi Mum.
They don't like to waste
the hot water.
- You guys hungry?
- Yeah.
I'll get dinner ready.
A tiger in the trees.
Which trees?
There are lots of trees up there.
Winters up here are something else,
especially when the snow comes.
Shiraz?
No.
He, um, drinks tea.
Jamie?
Dinner's ready.
Jamie?
- His new name's Bike.
- Bike?
Bike. Mm, I suppose that's not
too bad.
What about you, Katie?
You have a new name?
- Sass!
- Oh.
- From "sassafras".
- It's very pretty.
Jamie?
I'll go get him.
Hey. Time to eat.
- So, Mr David...
- Call me Martin.
Martin. How's the study going?
Those devils giving you much trouble?
No, not too much trouble.
- I'm getting...
- Oh, Katie, that's disgusting! Sorry.
- He likes it stronger.
- Oh, like Jarrah.
My husband only liked tea if
it was the colour of rust.
- Have you read his book?
- No, I haven't. But it's on the top of my list.
Run and get Daddy's book.
So what do they teach in
zoology these days, Martin.
Same stuff; hasn't changed much
in the past ten years.
Do you know Jude Morris?
He's from your neck of the woods.
Columbia, right?
I couldn't find it.
I'm finished. Can you tell
us a story?
Martin and I will just have to have
a little chat. After that...
- You promised... Mum...
- After we've had a talk.
Katie says that you washed me,
in the bath.
The children helped.
I am not a bad mother. It...
It's just hard.
What are those...
speakers in the trees?
Up there.
Um, Jarrah.
He wanted to have concerts up here
when he first moved.
Ah, he had this idea that everyone could gather
here: artists, scientists, town's people...
...like a little Woodstock.
Yeah, he had lots of ideas.
Too many.
Too many to hold in his head at once.
We're lucky Jack sent you.
- Hey everybody. This is Martin David, like I told you.
- Hi.
Hello.
What happened to your eye?
- Ah! Caught a stick in it.
- Gross!
- Where's your mother?
- She's inside. Kitchen.
What's going on?
- We having a little Woodstock?
- You're back!
Your eye!
- Oh God. What happened?
- It's fine.
Come and sit down.
Sit down.
It's not too deep.
We've got a moratorium,
for the logging, from the forest
down the road.
Forestry aren't allowed to touch
it for six months.
Not until there's a complete
ecological survey.
We're celebrating.
They're friends of yours?
I helped them with their proposal,
interpreted some of their research.
I was doing my PhD in plant science
when I met Jarrah.
Eco-physiology.
You look different.
Oh, this. Yeah, I had it
done in town.
Do you like it?
I liked it better before.
This has all the signs of
a tiger kill.
She eats the heart first.
And this is the cave.
She's been there.
She probably has dens
all around the area.
And she moved between them, but sooner
or later she'll move back here.
I wonder if she's the last one.
Alone... just...
hunting and killing,
waiting to die.
Oh Mummy!
- I'm going to show you my better one!
- Okay.
- I'll show you a better one.
- Alright.
Yeah!
- ... Like roller skating?
- Cart wheeling.
- Ready?
- Or maybe swimming.
One, two, three, go...
Go on! We won't tell
the university.
No, thanks, I'm fine.
Guess you'll be heading home soon since
you got what you wanted.
No, got offered a job, him and me...
- ...working for the government.
- Searching for tigers!
The National Parks found a footprint.
Ssh! They're fuckin' top secret.
And we know the area, so...
There's no tigers up there.
You don't know that,
you only know...
- what they want you to know.
- Oh, here we go...
You'd be sitting on a pile of money if
you found one, man, I'm telling you.
With cloning and shit.
You're a scientist.
What would you do if you
found a tiger?
Not my field.
Yeah, I'd just point his nose due west
and tell him to run like the wind.
That's what Jarred would have done.
In't that right, Lus?
- Take the kids inside.
- Come on. Katie, come.
Listen fellas...
It's not personal.
Takin' away our jobs is
personal, mate.
- C'mon man, there are women and children down here.
- Shut up, Feral.
Hey, you don't wanna do that, mate?
Yeah?
Go on, run you little fairies!
Come in.
- I'm making tea. Would you like some?
- No thank you.
You sure?
No, I'm gonna turn in. I gotta
go back up early tomorrow morning.
Sorry about tonight.
Do you think those people have
something to do with
you... your husband?
Oh... no. They're...
They're angry, they're out of work,
but they wouldn't hurt us.
And their kids go to school
with my kids.
Jarrah thought that someone was
following him, though.
Not one of the locals.
Well...
if not them...
...who?
My husband pissed off a
lot of people.
- Did you tell the police?
- Yeah, they said there was no evidence.
No, um... body.
Besides, they knew Jarrah, his theories,
and what he was like and so...
Do you believe someone
was following him?
I believe he believed it.
How's it going, Mr Mindy?
Hear you had a bit of trouble
up at the house last night.
Everything's under control.
Maybe I should talk to
the university and...
...find you somewhere else to live,
somewhere with fewer distractions.
Lucy's better.
She's off the pills.
The kids are fine too.
I don't think you need
to come round so much.
- Hello.
- This is Jack Mindy from Tasmania.
- Yes Jack?
- You said to call if there was any problems.
Go on.
Well, this scientist of yours... he's...
he's becoming a problem.
A beer please.
Didn't think you'd be
back in here.
Why aren't you up there with all
your other greenie mates, huh?
You know I dropped him, mate.
The whole fuckin' town
knows about it.
It's a bloody waste of taxes.
You and that fuckin' Armstrong bitch
deserve each other.
- Let him go!
- Fuck.
Fuck.
Okay.
Good boy.
My dad was gonna fix those.
I'm just helping him out,
while he's away.
Can I help too?
- Sure.
- Thanks.
- Hey.
- Hey. Thanks. Thanks.
What kind of work was your
husband doing up there.
I don't know if you'd call it work.
Was he working for Red Leaf?
I saw the name on the back of some
of the drawings. On the fridge.
I thought he'd burnt it all.
He got very paranoid about them.
Why?
He was hunting a tiger up there.
He told me that the tiger had some...
unique toxin to paralyse its prey,
and that Red Leaf wanted to own it.
The DNA.
Jarrah was trying to stop them.
It's probably better off extinct.
If it's alive, people will
always want to find it,
hunt it down.
Mum.
- I can't sleep.
- What's the matter, Katie?
I'm scared. I wanna sleep in
your bed with you.
Okay, I'm coming.
Listen.
If it's a nice day tomorrow...
you wanna go on a picnic?
Yeah!
- Goodnight.
- Night.
- Can we bring the chooks?
- No.
Well why not?
Because...
I don't even know what
a chook is.
Chooks.
The chickens.
Oh my Lord, look at you!
You sure you want to
be seen with us?
Hello.
Oh, okay. You want him?
It's for you.
He's coming.
What do you want in
your sandwich?
- Martin David.
- I'm hearing reports.
- What reports?
- You're attracting too much attention.
Getting involved with locals.
That's not true.
You need to focus on the job,
or someone else will get there first.
I found a cave.
A...a kind of den.
I've been there.
Why aren't you up there now?
You need a result.
You'll get your result.
Excuse me.
What are you doing?
I have to go back up.
I have to finish my work.
- I have no choice.
- And what about the kids?
These are my coordinates.
If I'm not back in twelve days...
Don't bother.
Get down on your knees and
face away from me.
Where's the cave?
What cave?
Hands by your side, palms up.
Where is the cave?
- Up there.
- How far?
Two-hour climb.
You're gonna take me there.
Let's go.
Um, I can't navigate like this.
Jack!
Jack?
You stay there!
You stay there!
Don't you make me...
Where are they?
It was an accident.
Police...
said it was an accident.
All the candles and...
...lanterns, open fire up at that place;
Was bound to happen sooner or later.
Where are they now, Jack?
Lucy and the girl, they're dead. They're...
...they're dead.
And the boy?
They took him away. I couldn't look
after him, not at my age.
They'll find him a place.
Somewhere good.
Was someone paying you to follow me,
to keep an eye on me?
No, I thought you were a scientist,
like Jarrah.
No one was paying me.
You should never have come here.
What did you tell him, you idiot?
They'll send someone to replace me.
They'll send someone to replace him,
and they'll keep on sending people
until they get what they want.
What you want is gone forever.
Don't bother looking for me.
I'm going to see the sights.