I'm slowly getting back to movie watching. Last night, I made the commitment to watch "Australia". At nearly 3 hours, it is a commitment. I didn't regret it though, because Australia is a 4 star movie.
I find it hard to describe this movie. It starts out slow and a bit formulaic, but after the first 20 minutes or so, it really takes off. I would compare "Australia" to "Dances With Wolves" in a lot of ways. It's not as good as "Dances With Wolves", but it's that type of movie.
Set in northern Australia in 1939, this period piece feels like an epic. The music and sweeping camera shots give it the big epic feel. Adding to the feel is the fact that the movie has a little bit of everything...a cattle drive, a war scene, a love story, some aboriginal lore, etc.
Hugh Jackman is great as "The Drover". It's definitely different to see him in a role that is not Wolverine. I felt the same way during "The Prestige". Nicole Kidman plays Lady Sara Ashley, a British Aristocrat who comes to Australia to try to convince her husband to sell his ranch land. Kidman is pretty good in the movie, though a bit stiff in the beginning. However, she grows into the role as the movie progresses.
I would recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys a movie like "Dances With Wolves". "Australia" definitely won't be for everybody, but I liked it.
1 comment:
Hiya!
We watched 'Australia' a few weeks ago. I agree with your post and thought it was a pretty good movie and was better than the reviews seemed to make it out to be, but one thing about it bothered us... it seemed to have 23 odd endings to it... and you knew that it wasn't going to really end until the "bad guy" (forgot his name now) died or something... but sheesh... that movie could have ended a few times were it not for that. But, overall, very good. And definitely, I got a good chuckle at the end when Adam turned to me and said, "I don't know about you, but I liked ending 16 better than 32, didn't you?" Ha!
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