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Australia (Film)

by Erin Free | November 20, 2008 10:43 | Edited December 02, 2008 15:15

“…a stunning experience…”

Australia is the kind of film that draws a metaphorical line in the sand. If you're cynical, and you enjoy tough, gritty films, then keep moving. If, however, you prefer movies that hit the screen with a stylistic flourish, and that unapologetically wear their hearts on their sleeve, then Australia will be your kind of film. Rich, ambitious and often brave, this is a film that reaches, with desperately clawing outstretched hands, for greatness. Within the scope of its intent - namely to be a classic, old fashioned, melodramatic epic along the lines of Hollywood favourites like Gone With The Wind - it succeeds. It's cast in a very specific mould, and while being "over the top" is a criticism aimed at many films, exaggerated action and feeling actually represent Australia's entire reason for being. It's unashamed in its full-throttle emotion and grandiosity, and director Baz Luhrmann's famous chocolate-box visuals immediately set the film in a wholly different world. With its vivid colours, purple prose and archetypal characters, Australia exists on a plane of nostalgic joy.    

 

The story follows Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman), an English aristocrat who leaves England to confront her errant husband in Australia just before WW2, where he intends to sell off his enormous, sprawling cattle station. Lady Ashley, however, ends up inheriting the cattle station, and in order to save it, she must undertake an epic cattle drive to Darwin. Assisting her is Hugh Jackman's tough, no-nonsense drover, whose terse, aggressive world is the exact opposite to Lady Ashley's rarefied existence. In the course of their journey, the unlikely couple fall in love, and Lady Ashley is made to re-evaluate her increasingly complex life. Coupled with the presence of a young Aboriginal boy, Nullah (Brandon Walters), Lady Ashley's feelings for The Drover bring her even closer to her inherited home. But when they arrive in Darwin, Lady Ashley and The Drover will be faced with a tragedy that dwarfs anything in their own lives: the Japanese bombing of the city on 19 February, 1942, the largest attack ever mounted by a foreign power against Australia.

 

Australia is everything you'd expect: it looks beautiful; Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman (both excellent) have a sizzling chemistry; the local fauna and flora are on show for international audiences; the exorbitant budget has resulted in a number of stirring, eye popping set pieces; the performances from the massive local cast (David Wenham stands out as the film's nasty villain) are strong and full bodied; and all of the technical credits (costuming, production design etc) are beyond reproach. There are, however, surprises aplenty. There's lots of humour (the opening twenty minutes is a cacophony of screwball comic weirdness), and also, even more enjoyably, lots of social comment. As much as anything else, Australia is about race relations in this country, and in particular White Australia's often shabby treatment of the country's original inhabitants. The story strain involving Nullah (Brandon Walters is an absolute revelation, and steals the film from his much bigger co-stars with his luminous face and unaffected, engaging delivery) opens the door for much discussion about The Stolen Generation and related issues.

 

This is all weaved directly throughout the narrative, and is not there for tokenistic effect. In the same way that The Civil War formed the backdrop for Gone With The Wind, and the effects of racism infused George Stevens' 1956 epic Giant (the film to which Australia actually bears the most resemblance), white-and-black Australian relations provide the narrative backbone for Australia. As well as giving the film a sturdy core, it also provides excellent roles for indigenous actors (David Ngoombujarra is excellent as Jackman's fellow drover, while David Gulpilil brings his usual majestic grace to his role as a mysterious "magic man"), and provides layers of extra meaning. While Australia succeeds monumentally as a sweeping romantic epic, it derives much of its power from its treatment and discussion of indigenous issues.

 

Director Baz Luhrmann has further upped his reputation as a singular visionary, but with Australia, he's shown unequivocally that he's also a singular visionary who cares - about filmmaking, about telling stories, and about exposing and drawing attention to some of his country's darkest moments. In short, Australia is a stunning experience, and one to be cherished. Unless, of course, you're too cynical to enjoy candy-coloured sunsets and long, passionate kisses in the rain...