Charlie (David Gulpilil) lives in a small town in Australia's Northern territory. This Aboriginal community has a supermarket, a government office, and a police station. The town is an alcohol-free community and that is a sign of progress for some who live there. But as an old man, Charlie yearns to a return to "the bush" and living "the old ways." He is convinced that the laws, culture, food, and conveniences of the "whitefellas" has brought him down and damaged his lungs. He occasionally gets some work as a guide or tracker, but he doesn't have enough money to eat properly.

After Charlie and his best friend Black Pete (Peter Djigirr) kill a wild buffalo, Luke (Luke Ford), the local policeman, confiscates Charlie's gun since it is not registered and he doesn't have a hunting license. When the old man, who describes himself as a hunter, then makes himself a spear, the policeman takes it, too, calling it a "dangerous weapon."

These developments give Charlie even more time to ponder his future. He's lost patience with the white man's ways. He also knows one thing for sure: he does not want to go to the city and die in a hospital with no one he knows at his bedside. He decides to live in the bush as he once did. Taking just a few things with him, he heads off into the wilderness.

"In the natural world, we discover the mysterious power when all things come into being."

– Thomas Berry

Charlie feels at home in the bush and is able to find sufficient food. But he is caught in heavy rains and forced to sleep inside the hollowed out limbs of fallen trees. When Black Pete finds him, he is very sick and has to be evacuated to a hospital in Darwin. He escapes the confining place and joins a band of homeless Aboriginals who spend all day drinking and smoking marijuana. Arresting for purchasing alcohol for them, he spends some time in prison. When he is paroled, he returns to his community and reconsiders the request that he teach the dances and rituals of the old ways to Aboriginal youth.

Actor David Gulpilil stars in and co-wrote Charlie's Country with director Rolf de Heer; it is their third film together after The Tracker and Ten Canoes. David Gulpilil was named Best Actor for his performance at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. In one of the most memorable scenes, Charlie recalls the time when as a young man he danced before the Queen of England at the opening of the Sydney Opera House.

Although stranded in a dominating culture that makes no sense to him, Charlie manages to keep a sense of balance and resiliency even while he is in prison. His laughter is his prayer, and it provides him with a lightness of being that serves him well.

"The damaged earth, violent and unjust social structures, the lonely and broken heart — all cry out for a fresh start."

– Elizabeth Johnson