Set in northern Australia before World War II, an English aristocrat who inherits a sprawling ranch reluctantly pacts with a stock-man in order to protect her new property from a takeover plot. As the pair drive 2,000 head of cattle over unforgiving landscape, they experience the bombing of Darwin by Japanese forces firsthand.
australia aboriginals love romance war halfblood friendship guns bombs drover range cattle horse cow company competition; rivalry missionary world war ii ranch cattle drive racist prejudice suspicion of adultery australian outback 1940s 1930s stampede trampled to death kimberley
calvin reviewed Australia (2008)
Australia
The film is actually a pretty good movie. Or rather two movies. It is like two short movies squeezed in to one. First one being about this English lady Ashley (played by the ever-so-aloof Nicole Kidman) arriving to Australia to sell their ranch Faraway Downs, after her hubby has been killed and ends up doing the cattle run her self. The cattle run and the mandatory sabotage attempts and her progression from this high class lady in to the blossoming real woman. At the same time the harsh outback of Australia blossoms in to something beautiful as if to participate in this transformation. Of course there is a love story there as well, Lady Ashley falls in love with the handsome cattle driver called the Drover (Hugh Jackman).
The whole movie is set in the back drop of WW II in 1939 and the second part of the movie is a story much about the war, the part that Australia participated in. In the last hour or so the Japanese bomb the place. Of course this love story continues and their new love turns in to reality and hits some friction before their realise that ultimately their love conquers those obsticles. No surprises there then.
Australia's title already poses a few problems. When you name a movie after a country as big as this one I think people feel obliged to expect something huge. So I think most people expected Baz Luhrmann's follow-up to be grandiose and colourful in the same way as his fantastic Moulin Rouge was. In a way Australia is that. The scenery is absolutely fantastic and it reveal the rural beauty of the outbacks well. And there are those pastel colours he's known for in the sky. Some of the shots are absolutely beautiful and the way the camera moves in the shots is fantastic, spinning around and moving to better illustrate the natural beauty in the situation, in the background at least.
Nicole Kidman is of course in her element as Lady Ashley. Since her face hasn't actually moved in the last decade and a half or so, her manners and stuck-upness fits the character really well. She does her trademark over acting again and for some reason it really works for me in this. Muich the same as it did in Moulin Rouge. And even though her face still isn't moving, she does manage to become more natural and warm as she progresses throughout the movie and discover her love for the aboriginal child living in her farm who loses his mum, and ultimately also discovers how to let him go and be who he is. This child, called Nullah is played fantastically by Brandon Walters, making his movie debut. Hugh Jackman is of course gorgeous and gets a lot of close-up time to illustrate this, as the rough, free spirited, yet perfectly tones cattle driver, who ultimately goes through a transformation of his own and trades that freedom to love and companionship.
I can certainly understand why some people won't love this movie. It's one of those things, all of Baz's movies have the same issues. They are way over the top, colourfula bit too ridiculous, but I personally find them enourmously entertaining. Beautiful shots are bound to boost the country's tourism value and really, the 2 hours and 48 minutes went by quite fast for such a complete experience.
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