Movie Review: 'Australia' epitomizes magic of cinema

Director Baz Luhrmann can't be faulted for not quite achieving the lofty height he aimed for in his latest film. But he came pretty close.

"Australia" is a sweeping epic in every sense of the word and draws on many classics - from "The African Queen" to the Australian cult classic "Walkabout" to "Gone With the Wind," and even a bit of "The Bridge on the River Kwai."

Fans of Luhrmann's previous work - "Strictly Ballroom," "Moulin Rouge" and "Romeo + Juliet" - won't be surprised. He's a visionary director who isn't afraid to follow his instincts, even if they go against the Hollywood grain. And they usually do.

"Australia" is without a doubt Luhrmann's most conventional film but still has his stamp permeating every frame.

With a setting in Australia at the outbreak of World War II, Luhrmann and Director of Photography Mandy Walker use the harsh Outback of the land down under the way David Lean used the sands of the Middle East in "Lawrence of Arabia."

Channeling the spirit of Scarlett O'Hara, Nicole Kidman plays Lady Sarah Ashley, a proper Englishwoman who finds it necessary to visit her estate, Faraway Downs, in the harsh Australian desert. She's there to investigate the murder of her husband and find a way to get 1,500 head of cattle delivered to the Australian army that's gearing up for the impending war.

The authorities have charged an Aboriginal shaman known as King George with the murder of Lady Ashley's husband, but it's plain from the start there are other factors in play.

When Lady Ashley reaches Faraway Downs, she meets a colorful cast of characters, one being Nullah, a young biracial boy who serves as narrator of the tale. Young Brandon Walters, in his debut role, is the emotional center of the film and holds his own with Kidman and Hugh Jackman.

Jackman plays a character known simply as "the Drover," and that's what he does - he drives cattle. Older members of the audience may remember Clint Eastwood's character Rowdy Yates from the "Rawhide" TV series. Drover is a lot like Yates, and the romantic tension between Jackman and Kidman (both Australians themselves) is thick and heady.

The antagonists come in the form of the owner and trail boss of a competing cattle ranch. Bryan Brown (another Aussie) plays King Carney, owner of the Carney Cattle Co., and his highest henchman is Neil Fletcher (David Wenham). It is in the company's best interest if Lady Ashley and the Drover don't get their cattle to market. This story takes up the major part of the first half of "Australia," which clocks in at 155 minutes, not all that lengthy for an epic.

After the cattle drive is over, the story focuses partially on the love affair (that we knew was inevitable) between Lady Ashley and the Drover, but mostly on the plight of young Nullah.

Nullah is of the ethnic mix the people at the time derisively called "creamies." His father was white and his mother was an Aboriginal. The authorities make a habit of rounding up these children and relocating them to "religious" camps where they can "be cared for."

Lady Ashley, who early on explains that she's not good with children, begins to bond with Nullah and he with her. He calls her "Miss Boss" and it's a term that he utters with such sweetness and lack of guile that it becomes a touchstone in the story.

Another bit of magic that Luhrmann weaves is the Aboriginal concept of "I will sing you to me." It's a spiritual belief that when people are apart, if their love and bond is strong, they will always be able to contact each other by way of a song. The song here is "Over the Rainbow," which Lady Ashley (who cannot sing a lick) teaches Nullah and he later learns to play it on harmonica. When the moment comes that Lady Ashley, who thinks the child is gone forever, hears the strains of "Rainbow," only the hardest of hearts will keep a tear from coming to the eye.

"Australia" has a few warts, but at least they are warts with heart and imagination. I was swept up from scene one - there is a good deal of humor early on - and remained engaged throughout. Luhrmann and his crew and cast have made a grand-sized film that will enthrall those who love the art of movies.

Don't wait to see it at home - not the first time anyway. It's the kind of film that needs to be seen on a big screen in a darkened theater where one can feel the magic of cinema. And there's plenty of that magic in "Australia."

Jim Wunderle owns Wunderle Sound Services and is a Springfield freelance writer and musician. He can be reached at info@wunderlesound.com.