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I want to make a post about Australia (yes, the film, not the country of which I am a citizen) because my mother and I went to see it at the cinema two nights ago and I absolutely adored it and I'm going to see it again as soon as humanly possible.
From all I've heard, it's been getting poor reviews and bad box office performance in the States, and...well, I can't honestly say that I'm surprised. The film's sense of humour is very Australian; it's like Luhrmann took the Aussie humour from Strictly Ballroom and then mixed it with the slightly fantastical air of Moulin Rouge! and then layered it on top of an epic plot. (So, uh, predictably, I thought it was AMAZING.) It also makes some points about how Australia's culture has been woven out of bits and pieces handed down from America and England, and some points about the relationship between Indigenous and European Australians, and from what some of the foreign reviewers have said, I think they missed what Luhrmann was attempting to illustrate there.
It's not perfect -- for one thing, it takes a little while to settle into its own tone -- but it's sweeping and it has everything! War, romance, financial intrigue, murder, race relations, comedy, tragedy, and some incredible action sequences. And visually it's stunning, of course: Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin are pretty hard to beat when it comes to art design and cinematography (the CLOTHES, oh my god, the clothes) and they did some sensational location-scouting in the far north.
I thought both Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman were very good, and David Wenham (Faramir!) was great too, and the kid they got to play Nullah was a bloody revelation.
AND THE BOMBING OF DARWIN. OH MY HEART. I am not even a big fan of war movies and this one still managed to throw my heart around like a rubber ball. Oh. You know that my emotions are not easily manipulated, but there are some moments of beauty and some moments of pathos and some moments of sheer JOY that I defy anyone to sit through without being swayed.
This trailer makes a HUGE DEAL out of the romance aspect when in fact the romance isn't nearly as important to the story as a lot of the other storylines and relationships, but it's probably the best one I've found.
Anyway: I would like you to see this movie, if you get the chance. Especially if you're not an Australian yourself. It's the first thing in a very, very long time that has made me feel something akin to patriotism, and it will tell you a lot of things that you probably don't know about my country.
And it's DEFINITELY worth the big-screen experience. Trust me on this.
From all I've heard, it's been getting poor reviews and bad box office performance in the States, and...well, I can't honestly say that I'm surprised. The film's sense of humour is very Australian; it's like Luhrmann took the Aussie humour from Strictly Ballroom and then mixed it with the slightly fantastical air of Moulin Rouge! and then layered it on top of an epic plot. (So, uh, predictably, I thought it was AMAZING.) It also makes some points about how Australia's culture has been woven out of bits and pieces handed down from America and England, and some points about the relationship between Indigenous and European Australians, and from what some of the foreign reviewers have said, I think they missed what Luhrmann was attempting to illustrate there.
It's not perfect -- for one thing, it takes a little while to settle into its own tone -- but it's sweeping and it has everything! War, romance, financial intrigue, murder, race relations, comedy, tragedy, and some incredible action sequences. And visually it's stunning, of course: Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin are pretty hard to beat when it comes to art design and cinematography (the CLOTHES, oh my god, the clothes) and they did some sensational location-scouting in the far north.
I thought both Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman were very good, and David Wenham (Faramir!) was great too, and the kid they got to play Nullah was a bloody revelation.
AND THE BOMBING OF DARWIN. OH MY HEART. I am not even a big fan of war movies and this one still managed to throw my heart around like a rubber ball. Oh. You know that my emotions are not easily manipulated, but there are some moments of beauty and some moments of pathos and some moments of sheer JOY that I defy anyone to sit through without being swayed.
This trailer makes a HUGE DEAL out of the romance aspect when in fact the romance isn't nearly as important to the story as a lot of the other storylines and relationships, but it's probably the best one I've found.
Anyway: I would like you to see this movie, if you get the chance. Especially if you're not an Australian yourself. It's the first thing in a very, very long time that has made me feel something akin to patriotism, and it will tell you a lot of things that you probably don't know about my country.
And it's DEFINITELY worth the big-screen experience. Trust me on this.
