Review of Australia (2008) by Brian K — 13 Apr 2013

To say that Baz Luhrmann's new film, 'Australia' was inspired from 'Gone With the Wind' is a vast understatement. The film is incredibly melodramatic, schmaultzy, over acted, and quite epic. I loved it. Not nearly as much as 'Gone with the Wind', mind you. But, enough to give it a strong recommendation.

The film opens with a subtitle, explaining the events that will happen at the end of the film. This is the first time we realize this is a Luhrmann film. He reveals the end at the beginning in all his films, such as 'Moulin Rouge' and 'Romeo + Juliet'. If you're going in expecting a psychadelic, all too post-modern flick, think again. This movie distinctly stands apart from Luhrmann's other films in that aspect. It is quite long, and quite traditional in filmmaking and narrative. At nearly three hours long, you'd think the movie would be hard to sit through. Quite the opposite. The movie flew by quite quickly, although I do believe we could've done without certain sequences.

Luhrmann has a Kubrick-esque tradition of using previously existing music in his films, particularly famous music. In this film, we get 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'. It is quite hilariously sung to us by Nicole Kidman. Oh - I'm going to fast, huh? I forgot to tell you the story. Blah - Okay: Sarah Ashley(Nicole Kidman) is an English woman who is off to Australia. Her husband is there, you see, and she wants to convince him to sell the land and cattle he owns down there. She is met there by a man named Drover(Hugh Jackman), who obviously droves for a living. He escorts her to her husband's property, where she discovers her husband dead, with an aborigine spear protruding from his chest.

Later that evening, a young aborigine boy named Nullah(Brandon Walters) sneaks into her house and makes friends with her. He tells her that there is a conspiracy between her husband's business partners to dry up his land and steal his cattle. She takes action and hires Drover to help drove the cattle to the meat packing ships before the competition can. A lot of stuff happens, and she falls in love with the boy and all but adopts him. She also falls in love with Drover and all but marries him.

The boy, however, is called a 'creamie', half black, half white. He is ridiculed, and the church is trying to take him from her, so that they can drive the blackness out of him. She spends her time defending him and raising him. All this happens amidst the threat of war, and the Japs soon enough, start bombing the good Australian land.

Yes, the story is out of this world. Only Luhrmann could give us such an original, complicated synopsis. However, what's most shocking is the traditional way in which he presents the film. Luhrmann is a genre bender, but this film is pretty straight-forwardly an epic romance. This is both the strength and the weakness of the film. On the one hand, those expecting a film in line with Luhrmann's other works will be sorely dissappointed. On the other hand, it's a much more grown up and stable film, even if it is stuck in the 1930s.

The performances are all wonderful. Kidman has a fantastic way of balancing modern day feminism and 1930s conservatism. And Jackman - wow. A stellar performance. I think this movie has set a goal for how many times I've cried in a film. Four. Four times, I cried like a little girl. Not cried: Wept. The performances had everything to do with it. This kid, Brandon Walters, is magnificent. He's probably the best child actor I've seen. The most natural, anyways. I thoroughly enjoyed his childlike wonder, and his youthful wisdom. The movie, afterall, is not about how much he learns from Sarah, but about how much Sarah learns from him.

I think that most everybody will enjoy 'Australia'. It'll more than suit the romantics at heart, and it's fast paced enough to keep the attention of the cynical. It's got the Luhrmann staples, even if they are more difficult to find. It's also very uplifting. The little boy believes that he has the magic of singing Sarah to him. The line, "I sing you to me." will be forever imprinted in my brain. I find Luhrmann a fascinating director and hope to see more from him. If this film - well, any of his films, frankly - is any indication, he is sure to be one of the world's finest storytellers. Now, all he has to do is improve his editing skills.