Australia

I know that the reviews for the movie Australia (2008) have been somewhat lacklustre, so it was with a slightly heavy heart that we went to see Baz Luhrmann's homage to the film epic this evening.
Ok it was an hour too long.......ok it was full of Luhrmann's visual artificiality, and it was a complete amalgamation of perhaps 20 other films I have seen and loved, but I must admit, I really enjoyed 95 % of this three hour marathon.
Part western (think of John Wayne's Stagecoach) Part love story (Gone with the Wind/Out of Africa) and part war adventure (A Town called Alice) Australia is crammed with scenes that you feel you have seen before, Luhrmann has also added to the mix, a score of mixed race orphans,a truly nasty moustache twirling baddie (David Wenham) a heroic drunk (an obese Jack Thompson), the stampede scene from The Lion King and all the sad bits from Lassie Come Home and The Yearling.He has also obviously based his leads Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman on Paddy and Ida Carmody (Robert Mitchum and Derborah Kerr's characters from the delightful The Sundowners) and despite all these mixed ingredients the final film does work like a old fashioned charm.

Jackman oozes masculinity as the eponymous hero!, Kidman is perfectly fine as Lady Ashley and new child star aborigine actor Brandon Walters is a revelation as the mixed race Nullah.
The whole thing is simply an enjoyable romp that does not tax the brain too much, but having said that, some scenes remain terribly powerful to watch. I loved the stunning overhead shot of the death of Nullah's mother in the ranch water tower as the staff race forward to help her, and the sight of Jackman galloping past the willowy Kidman amid a herd of Australia brumbies truly takes the breath away.Take a box of chocs and a drink to the cinema, make yourself comfortable and enjoy this 1940's romp...........it's great fun!