Review of Australia (2008) by Jens S — 02 May 2010

This two and half hours epic combines several genres and the style of old Hollywood classics to a highly entertaining bunch of kitsch. The film starts out as a romantic comedy, then turns into an adventure movie and lastly into a war drama with plenty of historical aspects, and yet manages to convince in most aspects of those genres.

That's mostly thanks to the breathtaking cinematography, which is full of quirky gimmicks, and the great cast. The chemistry between Jackman and Kidman is working out fine, but the big winner of the film is undoubtedly newcomer Brandon Walters as half-aboriginal kid, who easily charms the audience with his talent and amiability.

Sure, some of the comedic parts are a bit over the top, but so is pretty much everything else about the film. If you accept that, the long runtime passes by in an instant. There is love, there is war, there is adventure, all on a huge scale and not ashamed to joyfully bathe in the stereotypes of its classic Hollywood predecessors.

And I can't begin to appreciate enough that Baz Luhrman chose an ending for this film that breaks with the conventions of the love drama genre. I applaud him for that. Yes, it's kitsch, but at least it's huge kitsch.

If you like that, you're in for a treat.