Sierra Mountain Times

Classic Tribute

Nicole Kidman stars in the movie Australia.

Australia (Rated PG-13) 155 mins

I love to talk about movies. Obviously. I have a few friends and family members who follow them almost as closely as I do (some of them more so) and it is one of my favorite things to ask their opinions on the latest films, find out how they compare with the old clasics, and so on and so forth. As a result I often forget that not everyone is as I am, and I find myself asking everyone “did you see this or that?” and then being surprised when they have not. Through my constant queries I have learned that there are a select few out there (including my grandparents) who have only one answer every time and it is something along the lines of, “I don’t watch the new ones. They just don’t make them like they used to!” to which no counter I have ever offered was sufficient. That is, until Baz Luhrmann presented Australia.

It has been 69 years since Gone with the Wind, a movie so grand that none have dared to remake it despite the fact that modern technology would allow for a sweepingly epic revival of the timeless classic. Of course, messing with Gone with the Wind would be like reinventing the wheel to some, so it makes sense that Hollywood would want to wait until oh, 100 years or so had passed and the original was all but forgotten to undertake the momentous task. Enter Australia, a movie for those craving a stroll through the past, without reinventing it. Call it Gone with the Wind Down Under if you wish, for Baz Luhrmann’s epic carries true resemblance to the original blockbuster. Australia takes place in 1939 (coincidence?), when World War II was beginning to take hold. Hitler had just invaded Poland, the U.S.A. was still trying to be isolated (imagine that!), and the English were getting squeamish. One of them being Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman) who, along with the growing threat of war on her conscience, has just heard whispers of her husband’s philandering down under. That is, at his cattle station Faraway Downs in far-away Australia. Not one to be made a fool of, Lady Ashley rushes down the globe to encounter her unfaithful spouse only to find him murdered. As a result the station is all hers, and so she resolves to get things together.

It is then she meets Drover (Hugh Jackman), a free-spirited cowboy who has a special connection with the native Aborigines. One of them is Nullah, a young boy whom Lady Ashley ends up falling in love with and basically adopting. As she grows to know him and his kin, she finds that these natives have some magical aspects to them, which definitely come in handy down the line. For not all is yippy skippy on the farm, as there is an evil rancher on the prowl, one looking to add Faraway Downs to his already vast collection of land.

If Australia were to be summed up in one word, it would be “epic.” Luhrmann has proven to be a master of the camera in his previous films Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet, and Moulin Rouge, and his skills are on full display here, amplified by the help of an enormous budget Baz has never seen the likes of before. The cinematography is breath-taking, and overall the film is as beautiful a tribute to the continent of Australia that has ever been shot. While some have criticized the film as being too slow and long, it is anything but. It may seem slow to the modern viewer who is used to fast-paced camera action in every scene, but Australia was meant to be a classical tribute to the original film epics, and as such it passes the test. This is a film made for those who long for the days when Casablanca graced the screen, or the aforementioned Wind, and it is a great chance for younger viewers to take a deep breath and appreciate a movie not made for those on ritalin.

As Drover and Lady Ashley, Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman are a perfect match. These two look as if they made to star during the Golden Age of Hollywood. As born Aussies they poured their hearts into this film, and it shows. They both are as good as they have ever been, and their onscreen romance may stir up memories of Bogart, Gable, Leigh, and other classic actors for many of the viewers.

Australia accomplishes what it set out to do, and it does it well. Unfortunately for Luhrmann and his film, times have changed, and most have changed with them. His epic will go missed by most who opt for the Fast and the Furious-variety of movie and will not get its due respect. But for those out there who long for the old films, Australia is waiting, it may be the closest you ever get again.

SCORE: 4/5