Australia
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Screen writers: Baz Luhrmann, Stuart Beattie
Brief Synopsis:
MOULIN ROUGE's Baz Luhrman and Nicole Kidman reteam for this epic that pays homage to their homeland. In AUSTRALIA, Lady Sarah Ashley (Kidman) is a prim and proper Englishwoman who journeys to Australia in the years before World War II reached the country's shores.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 54% Fresh
Skye's Scale: Marvelous
Australia is an epic drama, or more precisely, multiple epic dramas played out against the backdrop of cattle ranching in northern Australia. The set designs, the costumes, the camerawork create an lush visual treat. I expect nothing less from a Baz Lurhman production.
What intrigued me most about this film was the acting of Brandon Walters, who played Nullah, a half-cast child, meaning his parentage was Aboriginal and European. This child actor weaved the magic of Dreamtime fables into the classic tale "The Wizard of Oz" with incredibly mezmerizing skill. After the movie, all three hours of it, I dug up a book on Aboriginal Myths that I had purchased during a trip to Oz and got reacquainted with Baiame and Bunjil.
This is a long movie, weaving several story plots together. Each one of the plots could have made an adequate movie, but combined together it is like indulging in a pint of Bassetts Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream. One way to get through this movie is to check out the pristine hair and wardrobe of Nicole Kidman's character, Lady Sarah Ashley, as she surmounts all the odds to drive her cattle to market. I never saw a wrinkle out of place or a wayward lock of hair, even when she arrives in Cairns after a death defying cattle drive through uncharted desert. Now that is talent! The movie is family friendly and touches on the topic of the 'Lost Generation' of Aborigines.
This is a great movie to put in your que at Netflix or purchase when it hits the sale rack.
What intrigued me most about this film was the acting of Brandon Walters, who played Nullah, a half-cast child, meaning his parentage was Aboriginal and European. This child actor weaved the magic of Dreamtime fables into the classic tale "The Wizard of Oz" with incredibly mezmerizing skill. After the movie, all three hours of it, I dug up a book on Aboriginal Myths that I had purchased during a trip to Oz and got reacquainted with Baiame and Bunjil.
This is a long movie, weaving several story plots together. Each one of the plots could have made an adequate movie, but combined together it is like indulging in a pint of Bassetts Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream. One way to get through this movie is to check out the pristine hair and wardrobe of Nicole Kidman's character, Lady Sarah Ashley, as she surmounts all the odds to drive her cattle to market. I never saw a wrinkle out of place or a wayward lock of hair, even when she arrives in Cairns after a death defying cattle drive through uncharted desert. Now that is talent! The movie is family friendly and touches on the topic of the 'Lost Generation' of Aborigines.
This is a great movie to put in your que at Netflix or purchase when it hits the sale rack.
Next movie up for review: Brassed Off!
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