An Epic Drama Down Under
Source: traileraddict.com
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Brandon Walters,
David Wenham
Year: 2008
Running Time: 165
minutes
A Baz Luhrmann film is
almost too big, too bold, too extravagant for the big screen. Sublte nuances
combine with grand symbols to create a bold cinematic tapestry. Australia is no exception. It is a film in which the breathtaking
landscape is as important as the complex heroes and villains that inhabit
it. Indeed the opening lines of the film
state that the Australia depicted in the movie was a place where
"adventure and romance was a way of life".
The film is set in
Australia (obviously) before the start of the Second World War where a
seemingly delicate English aristocrat (Kidman) meets a rugged cattle-driver
(Jackman) and an Aboriginal child (Walters).
Together with a group of local characters, they must herd cattle across
the harsh Australian landscape, under the watchful and protective eye of King
George, an tribal elder and the boy's grandfather. At first it seems as though Lady Ashley will
not be able to survive the unforgiving conditions of the Outback - or the
unsophisticated Drover. However, it is
not long before Lady Ashleigh and Drover give in to their physical attraction
to each other (what woman would be able to resist a sweaty Hugh Jackman with a
whip?).
Of course a Lurhmann
film also requires a truly despicable villain to foil the efforts of its
heroes. It comes in the form of
Fletcher, an abusive, racist criminal who will stop at nothing - including
murder - to get what he wants. Despite
his best efforts, he is unable to sabotage Lady Ashleigh's mission to get the
cattle back to Darwin. After defying the
odds, the Lady wishes to remain on the station at Faraway Downs and adopt
Nullah, the Aboriginal boy. But,
Fletcher is not about to let them have a happy ending, a situation which is
further complicated by the arrival of war on the Australian shores.
One of the most moving
scenes in the film occurs when the boy and his mother are hiding from the
police in a water tank, as the tank fills up with water until mother and child
are struggling to keep their heads above the rising water. The boy survives but his mother
perishes. The second emotionally charged
scene is the stampede in which the cattle are heading to the edge of a cliff,
where Nullah stands, trapped. He calls
on his "magic", shown to him by his grandfather, to stop the herd in
their tracks, but not before one of their crew is trampled.
A further ingredient for
any Baz Luhrmann film is a glamorous party of some kind. In this film, it is a Chinese-themed ball,
complete with strings of Chinese lanterns and Kidman's stunning Chinese
gown. This is also the scene in which a
clean-shaven Jackman appears like a knight in shining white suit, ready to
sweep Kidman around the dance floor and off her feet.
Unlike his other films, Australia
is missing a stellar soundtrack featuring re-imagined and updated hit
songs. The only song featured as a
running theme throughout this film is Somewhere Over The Rainbow, which
alludes to the greater theme of hope and faith in a better tomorrow.
Favourite line: "The only thing you really own is your story".
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