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AUSTRALIA (PG-13)

Plot Summary: An English aristocrat who comes to Australia to sort out her cattle ranch and falls into romantic  adventure .

Reason for the Rating: Some violence, a scene of sensuality and brief strong language.

Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman) is your typical uptight British aristocrat of the 1930s who, though Europe is on the edge of war, travels to Australia to sort out her husband’s sprawling cattle ranch, Faraway Downs. She arrives to find her husband dead and her ranch in the middle of a pernicious takeover plot. She must drive her cattle north to Darwin, so she teams up with a raggedy crew, including the Drover (Hugh Jackman), whom she thoroughly dislikes at first, and young Nullah (Brandon Walters), to undertake the dangerous adventure.

After successfully completing their mission, the Drover and lady Ashley naturally decide they don’t dislike one another quite so much, and they settle down to life at Faraway Downs together with Nullah, a very unconventional family. But the Drover’s wandering spirit drives him away, and the country’s policy of anglicizing half-aboriginal children tears Nullah from Lady Ashley. The movie culminates in the bombing of Darwin by the Japanese in WWII, which threatens to tear their pseudo family apart permanently.

Australia is lovingly directed by Aussie Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge!, Romeo + Juliet), and you can just tell he’s trying to do something big here. He aims to make a great romantic epic to tell the story of Australia, on the plane of Gone With the Wind or Far and Away. His typical dreamy visual flourishes are present in this movie, painting the backdrop of huge Australia as breathtaking and mysterious. Whether or not the actual plot of the movie is capable of fulfilling his grand ambition and sweeping backdrop is unsure.

The movie skips from slapstick comedy to dark social commentary to clichéd romance, and it’s hard for Luhrmann to patch all that together into an epic. The plot borrows from numerous movie and character clichés, such as the uptight female aristocrat and the untamable cowboy who fall in love, and this patchwork of clichés offends some critics. But it seems what Luhrmann was trying to do was not to simply lazily borrow the tired clichés of American Westerns, but tell Australia’s own epic tale for the first time in such a grand way, complete with archetype, romance, and grandiosity.

Young Walters is natural and winning as Nullah, Kidman, after a ridiculous comic start in the movie, by the end shows that she still can act, and Jackman, as Australia devotes much skin time to convincing us, deserves People’s title of Sexiest Man Alive. The movie is long—2 hours and 45 minutes—and the plot itself isn’t as grand as it feels it ought to be. Despite this, one can’t help wanting to get caught up in Luhrmann’s euphoric vision of his homeland. Despite the bumps on the dusty outback road, believing this bombastic vision of Australia is just more fun than raising a critical eyebrow.

FAMILYFANS RECOMMENDS:

Because of action violence, some language, and sensuality, keep your young kids at home. Although Australia aims for epic and misses with mistakes, the film is still a fun, action-packed adventure for teens and older.

AFTER THE SHOW: 

•  What do you think about the film’s portrayal of King George and the aboriginals’ connection with the land?

AV

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