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Film Review
'Australia' packs artistic punch
Stories of epic proportion rarely beget films with an equally grand effect. The story is generally lost within a feature too mundane to capture its essence.
“Australia” (Fox) is an epic in both film and story that is captivatingly portrayed by director Baz Luhrmann with great force and beauty.
At its worst “Australia” is crowded in terms of plot and visual stimulation — one should expect nothing less from Luhrmann who also directed “Romeo + Juliet” and “Moulin Rouge.” At its zenith, “Australia” is a tale from the land Down Under inspired by a classic story to which the entire world can relate.
In terms of story, relationships, acting and especially cinematography, the film purposefully reaches into a world of magical realism where anything is possible and good and evil are clearly delineated.
As is generally the case with Luhrmann’s work, the intensely artistic and beautiful visual nature of “Australia” is its most impressive aspect. Although the acting is strong and the characters are interesting — if not a bit cliché and predictable — they are most captivating as figures in the gorgeous tableaus Luhrmann creates in nearly every frame.
Yet the film’s strength is its weakness. By being an epic, a lot of story needs to be told in a limited amount of time. This crowds the plot line and weighs down the film’s pace.
Covering everything from racism against the Aboriginal people to an attack from World War II Japanese bomber planes, the plot becomes convoluted.
Scourge of racism
The film opens with Lady Sarah Ashley, played with precision by Nicole Kidman, traveling to Australia from England in search of her husband, a cattle rancher working in the northern part of the country. Lady Ashley arrives and is greeted by a friend of her husband, Drover — played by Hugh Jackman.
As she learns of her husband’s death, Lady Ashley and Drover (predictably) develop a love interest as they drive her late husband’s cattle across the outback. An unconventional family is formed between Lady Ashley, Drover and Nullah, a young boy of mixed Aboriginal and English blood, who serves as the narrator of the story.
Due to his mixed race, Nullah is discriminated against and therefore in danger of being captured and sent to “Mission Island” with other “half-bloods.” This plot point has roots in real Australian history — a racist blemish that persisted into the 1970s and for which the prime minister of Australia formally apologized just this year.
The adversary comes in the form of Fletcher, a former employee of Lady Ashley’s husband who runs the competing cattle business. The film becomes part of the World War II genre when Japanese fighter planes attack, putting the future of the unconventional family in jeopardy.
There are no surprises in “Australia.” Everyone already knows how romantic adventure epics begin and end. The point of the film is not the story.
As with all epics, “Australia” has a larger universal message that resonates throughout. The importance of relationships and love is a focus, along with an emphasis on the importance of the journey of every person. Every character is encouraged to write his or her own story, because that is what will define the value of their life and their memory.
Yet the most powerful message is against racism, which resonates with the Vatican II Constitution Gaudium et Spes.
“With respect to the fundamental rights of the person, every type of discrimination, whether social or culture, whether based on sex, race, color, social condition, language or religion, is to be overcome and eradicated as contrary to God’s intent,” it reads.
“Australia” illustrates this teaching. The film does not offer a perfectly moral outlook, but in terms of discrimination, the message is clear.
The film, with its epic visuals, story and most certainly length, is packed to the brim with artistic merit. The weaknesses are ignorable as long as you’re willing to enter into the surreal experience that is the captivating essence of Luhrmann’s latest work of art.
Media critic Rebecca Bostic is a regular contributor to The Catholic Sun. Comments are welcome. Send e-mail to letters@catholicsun.org.
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