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Australia (2008)
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Synopsis
Baz Luhrmann attempts to deliver Australia's answer to Gone with the Wind, a sweeping romance set in the years leading up to World War II.
Movie review
From Time Out New York
A refined English woman (Kidman), saddled with an inherited cattle ranch in the former British penal colony’s wild frontier. A rugged ne’er-do-well called “Drover” (Jackman), who moves steer herds while showing off his beefcake physique. A widescreen-friendly country, “where adventure and romance is a way of life.” (Thank you, opening intertitle.) Directors like David Lean and George Stevens could craft these ingredients into something larger than cinema, much less life, and that’s what Baz Luhrmann aims for in Australia—an old-school epic that feels bigger than the continent and longer than an actual flight to Down Under. People say they don’t make ’em like this anymore; after you’ve seen Luhrmann’s gaslight melodrama stuffed with overripe movie-movie Muenster, you’ll know why.
It’s understood that these two leads will find love; that the half-aboriginal boy (Walters) reciting the Days of Heaven–like narration (as rewritten by Kipling) will suffer injustices; that the ranch will morph from Giant’s Reata to Gone with the Wind’s Tara—until WWII ruins everything. These aren’t spoilers so much as statements of the obvious. Yet the way this ballyhoo fondue piles on the plot contrivances punctures any potential for greatness, or even semigoodness. Allergic to subtlety, Luhrmann supersizes vintage Hollywood spectacle, but he’s unable to curb his excesses in order to avoid curdling. Why simply show something when characters can then describe what just happened? Why have two climaxes when you can have nine? Are we so desperate to sate our malnourished nostalgia for movie magic that we’d settle for a facsimile so grand, lavish and empty?
Author: David Fear
Time Out New York Issue 687: November 27 - December 3, 2008
User reviews of this film
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- Kelly said...
- Posted on Jul 29 2009 22:04 Ok. So we thought with my boyfriend : let`s watch Australia tonight.We ended up laughing at it,saying ''who cares'',most of the time,and ''why is this made in a studio room and ...we can tell?'' and other hilarious like ''Now they finally have got everything why doesn` it bloody finishes?!!'' Or :''What on earth is going on I don` t get it (again)''. The kid was great.But gimme a break with the dialogues. Everything seems so not possible.I ended up with a conclusion : This is a Disney movie for all family on a Sunday afternoon with my 13 year old niece praying she would go out on a date for some REAL romance ,even if her boyf doesn` look like Jackman.Oh hey ,nice photography.
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- Alex Bryce said...
- Posted on Jan 03 2009 19:16 It is the classic example of a feel-good film, this time on an epic scale: every cliche in the book (mills and boon probably) is brought out on the inevitable run to the happy ending, easy fodder to film critics. But its totally satisfying and enjoyable to you average punter and, not only would the film not work work without a happy ending, but who would want it any other way.
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- Brassey said...
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Posted on Dec 30 2008 07:29
OK so it wasn't Gone With The Wind and Kidman as an English aristocrat was as believable as a nun in stockings and suspenders. But it did have some redeeming features, didn't it ? errrr the Plot? OK so there wasn't one to speak of, errr? the photography? well alright most of it was pretty lame and so was the CGI.But what about the acting? Well the "cheeky fat bulls" gave a beefy performance, which is more than you could say for Hugh Jackman. By the by I gave it 2 stars because he seemed to please my girlfriend enought to benefit me later.in the eveneing.
Tip for male film goers; take your woman with you - Report as inappropriate
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- MOVIEGURU said...
- Posted on Dec 03 2008 04:30 Sometimes a film comes along that reminds me of Australia in such..A..I want to see it...B...I don't want to see it....C....A and B both....Australia first had to draw me and having 3 hours to kill i obliged...Well the start doesn't quite justify it...It drags, is way to over dramatic and doesn't reel you in...Its like catching a fish that is just that little bit small you want to keep it but you decide to throw it back anyway....Australia picks up in parts and starts to draw you in...but soon you are once again thrown back to reality like the fish that just isn't right....an average film looks good...but that undecided ummm well ummm it;s ok i spose......see it if you have a spare 3 hours to kill..but take note this movie doesn;t quite hit the right buttons.....
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- Jimmy C said...
- Posted on Dec 01 2008 04:33 As an Australian film critic, I would just like to apologise to the world for this movie. Now we're even for the whole Bush administration thing.
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- Ross Wright said...
- Posted on Nov 28 2008 04:08 This is a truly dreadful movie, I don't want to add any more than to say it's 2 hours 50 mins of my life I'll never have again.
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- Ella said...
- Posted on Nov 27 2008 07:45 I'm Australian, but Paul Stirling is right. They have ripped off Pearl Harbour: not the Japanese, obviously, but the movie producers. Darwin was bombed, and it was an astounding national crisis that still resonanates in the national consciousness. But the melodrama, the theatrics, are not Australian. We simply don't respond to tragedy and trauma in the overblown manner Luhrman's film represents. Des Waterman nailed it with the phrase "another camp fantasy." Luhrman has Americanised an Australian war story, and it smacks of inauthenticity.
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- Des Waterman said...
- Posted on Nov 27 2008 01:11 I'm Australian, and from all the plot descriptions I've read I don't recognize any respect for history in this movie. It's as historically accurate as Moulin Rouge, it's another camp fantasy, it's ultimately a big waste of creative effort. Luhrmann uses up 150 million and produces pap, Lynch uses a cam-corder and delivers a masterpiece that re-defines the direction of cinema. Can we please stop calling Luhrmann a visionary.
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- Joe Dunworthy said...
- Posted on Nov 18 2008 06:59 Hey, guys. Paul said the film "Australia" ripped off another film "Pearl Harbour". He's not saying Australians ripped off the bombing or the idea of having a bombing for the film. He's saying that the story was heavily influenced, it seems. And it's unstandable since both films are schmaltzy love stories set amidst a WW2 bombing. I got what Paul Sterling was trying to say, so please restrain yourselves from over-reacting or posting illogical counterpoints that have nothing to do with the original point of view please.
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- Hal said...
- Posted on Nov 17 2008 22:33 I hope you're joking Paul Stirling. The Australians haven't "ripped off" anything, the US wasn't the only country attacked by the Japanese on home soil. I'm no fan of Nicole Kidman and I'm not particularly excited about this film, but have a little respect (or a little less ignorance?) for our history, please.
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- Gary G. said...
- Posted on Nov 14 2008 01:58 So, Mr. Paul Stirling, the nation of Australia ripped off the "idea" of being bombed by the Japanese in WWII? These were real events that inspire real stories. As far as Kidman's acting, I cede my remaining time to Mr. Stirling.
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- Paul Stirling said...
- Posted on Nov 10 2008 23:33 Yawn! Who cares. The chemistry between the two main stars is virtually non-existent. Some of the plot could be mistaken for a direct rip-off of 'Pearl Harbour' or even 'Empire Of The Sun'. Nicloe Kidman may even appear to be repeating 'Far and Away' without ex-beau Tom Cruise, as she seems to be further away from portraying any warm emotion. Hugh Jackman gives a solid performance. The support cast are capable, but even they appear as cliches or cardboard cut-outs. Well, the popcorn and soda are enjoyable.
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Cast & crew
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Brandon Walters, David Gulpilil, Bryan Brown, David Wenham, Essie Davis, Ben Mendelsohn full cast
Rated: PG-13
Duration: 165 mins
US Release: Nov 26 2008
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