[blindwoodworker] Re: 54Eucalyptus?
- From: "JDM" <sunnyday001@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <blindwoodworker@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:44:26 +1100
g'day again Larry,
Hmmmm, just found another review of the movie "Australia" in Filmic Magazine.
It contrasts sharply from the other 2 reviews I sent earlier. The movie now
interests me, and I may try and dig up the DVD someplace. I had no idea that it
was set in and around Darwin just at the beginning of WW2, when the Japanese
air raids bombed Darwin, Broome and many other northern towns of Australia
bback to the stone age. Darwin received approximately 20 times more tonnage of
boms than were dropped on Pearl Harbour Hawaii. My father, an Officer in the
Royal Australian air force,was in Darwin at the time of those Japanese air
raids, but he was never able to speak with me about the experience. "Some
things are best left unsaid, just don't ask son!" was what he'd always say
before changing topic.
I was in Darwin a couple of years ago. The whole city has been re-built twice
since those Japanese air raids. Once after the air raid bombings, and a second
time after Cyclone tracey obliterated the city in December 1974. Darwin is,
even today, something of a frontier town. The Hotel, or Pub bathrooms, are not
marked as "Gentlemen / Ladies," but rather as "Blokes /pokes!"
OK, here is a more glowing review of the movie "Australia." hope it is of
interest.
John Milburn
Melbourne Australia.
Australia (Film)
by Erin Free of Filmic Magazine, November 20, 2008 10:43 | Edited December 02,
2008 15:15
Rating: M
Running Time: 165
Country: Australia
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Cast: Bryan Brown, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Jack Thompson, David Wenham
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Film Worth: $15.00
Release Date: November 26, 2008
“…a stunning experience…”
Australia is the kind of film that draws a metaphorical line in the sand. If
you're cynical, and you enjoy tough, gritty films, then keep
moving. If, however, you prefer movies that hit the screen with a stylistic
flourish, and that unapologetically wear their hearts on their
sleeve, then Australia will be your kind of film. Rich, ambitious and often
brave, this is a film that reaches, with desperately clawing
outstretched hands, for greatness. Within the scope of its intent - namely to
be a classic, old fashioned, melodramatic epic along the lines
of Hollywood favourites like Gone With The Wind - it succeeds. It's cast in a
very specific mould, and while being "over the top" is a
criticism aimed at many films, exaggerated action and feeling actually
represent Australia's entire reason for being. It's unashamed in its
full-throttle emotion and grandiosity, and director Baz Luhrmann's famous
chocolate-box visuals immediately set the film in a wholly
different world. With its vivid colours, purple prose and archetypal
characters, Australia exists on a plane of nostalgic joy.
The story follows Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman), an English aristocrat who
leaves England to confront her errant husband in
Australia just before WW2, where he intends to sell off his enormous, sprawling
cattle station = Cattle Ranch. Lady Ashley, however, ends up inheriting
the cattle station, or Ranch, and in order to save it, she must undertake an
epic cattle drive to Darwin. Assisting her is Hugh Jackman's tough, no-
nonsense drover, whose terse, aggressive world is the exact opposite to Lady
Ashley's rarefied existence. In the course of their
journey, the unlikely couple fall in love, and Lady Ashley is made to
re-evaluate her increasingly complex life. Coupled with the
presence of a young Aboriginal boy, Nullah (Brandon Walters), Lady Ashley's
feelings for The Drover bring her even closer to her
inherited home. But when they arrive in Darwin, Lady Ashley and The Drover will
be faced with a tragedy that dwarfs anything in their
own lives: the Japanese bombing of the city on 19 February, 1942, the largest
attack ever mounted by a foreign power against Australia.
Australia is everything you'd expect: it looks beautiful; Hugh Jackman and
Nicole Kidman (both excellent) have a sizzling chemistry;
the local fauna and flora are on show for international audiences; the
exorbitant budget has resulted in a number of stirring, eye popping
set pieces; the performances from the massive local cast (David Wenham stands
out as the film's nasty villain) are strong and full
bodied; and all of the technical credits (costuming, production design etc) are
beyond reproach. There are, however, surprises aplenty.
There's lots of humour (the opening twenty minutes is a cacophony of screwball
comic weirdness), and also, even more enjoyably, lots
of social comment. As much as anything else, Australia is about race relations
in this country, and in particular White Australia's often
shabby treatment of the country's original inhabitants. The story strain
involving Nullah (Brandon Walters is an absolute revelation, and
steals the film from his much bigger co-stars with his luminous face and
unaffected, engaging delivery) opens the door for much
discussion about The Stolen Generation and related issues.
This is all weaved directly throughout the narrative, and is not there for
tokenistic effect. In the same way that The Civil War formed the
backdrop for Gone With The Wind, and the effects of racism infused George
Stevens' 1956 epic Giant (the film to which Australia
actually bears the most resemblance), white-and-black Australian relations
provide the narrative backbone for Australia. As well as
giving the film a sturdy core, it also provides excellent roles for indigenous
actors (David Ngoombujarra is excellent as Jackman's fellow
drover, while David Gulpilil brings his usual majestic grace to his role as a
mysterious "magic man"), and provides layers of extra
meaning. While Australia succeeds monumentally as a sweeping romantic epic, it
derives much of its power from its treatment and
discussion of indigenous issues.
Director Baz Luhrmann has further upped his reputation as a singular visionary,
but with Australia, he's shown unequivocally that he's
also a singular visionary who cares - about filmmaking, about telling stories,
and about exposing and drawing attention to some of his
country's darkest moments. In short, Australia is a stunning experience, and
one to be cherished. Unless, of course, you're too cynical to enjoy
candy-coloured sunsets and long, passionate kisses in the rain...
----- Original Message -----
From: Larry Martin
To: blindwoodworker@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Monday, November 23, 2009 4:46 PM
Subject: [blindwoodworker] Re: 54Eucalyptus?
My wife and I just enjoyed watching the DVD Australia. What was the local
reaction to the movie?
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