Film: Australia (Baz Luhrmann)

[TheDeceased]

This film has been in production for over four years and the the budget is 130 million and climbing. I read an article which hinted that Luhrmann is struggling with post-production.

Is anyone going to see this film? Particularly non-Australians, as it will have to do very well overseas in order to profit with such a high budget.

I don't know - personally it doesn't interest me in the slightest bit. In fact, I find the title pretentious and the synopsis a little contrived to say the least.

It's one of those 'epic films' that might as well be wearing a t-shirt that says "
Look at me, I'm epic" - if that makes any sense.

Bah, I'm rambling. I'd be interested to hear what people think about the film though.

Here is the imdb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455824/

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Bryan Brown, David Wenham & Ben Mendelson

 

[L2R]

i dig all of baz's work so far. i have no reason to doubt that this will continue.

 

[RexHunt]

I might watch it. Definitely not going to the cinemas for it, maybe the DVD. I'm aussie and I have no interest in it

 

[postlapsarian]

I don't know - personally it doesn't interest me in the slightest bit. In fact, I find the title pretentious and the synopsis a little contrived to say the least.

It's one of those 'epic films' that might as well be wearing a t-shirt that says "
Look at me, I'm epic" - if that makes any sense.

No I know -exactly- how you feel and I feel the same way. It appears to be trying too hard to be "epic" rather than coming naturally.

 

[TheDeceased]

i dig all of baz's work so far. i have no reason to doubt that this will continue.

Yeah he's been a very consistent director so far, but he's only made three feature length films and they have all been weird, quirky flicks. 'Australia' doesn't resemble his usual style in the slightest bit. So, I guess that's my reason to doubt him... along with the fact that he's way over budget, over schedule and, by his own admission, struggling with post-production.

I mean, it doesn't sound very good, does it?

 

[L2R]

yeah the signs aren't good, but i aint gonna bar a film on just these

 

[CHiLD-0F-THE-BEAT]

I agree Impacto - I've loved everything Baz has put out thus far. I'm not overly enthused with the trailer, but who knows. I could love it. It looks glossy and has a fairy-tale element to it that I love in films. We'll see.

BTW I'm not intending to see this one at the cinema. I'm thinking it will either be watched on DVD or downloaded.

 

[TheDeceased]

Terrible terrible terrible movie. So bad. So misguided. Such an offensive and innacurate representation of Australia and its history. My god what utter crap. Fuck this shit. Fuck it in the ass until it bleeds... to death..

0 stars

 

[junctionalfunkie]

^ Don't hold back, now. How did you really feel about the film?

 

[L2R]

i liked it. so did my wife. baz works his magic for the first hour or so, but then it loses pace and starts to veer all over. he doesn't shoot action that well. it's hard to see what is happening, both in the action and in the plot at times. i think baz choked in overanalysing the work in post perhaps.

i liked the characters quite a bit, the story is equal parts sweet and cheese. the effects work much like his previous work in both moulin rouge and romeo + juliet.

it is clearly the weakest Baz film yet, but still worth a screening. it didn't need to be as long as it is.
strong 3/5

 

[TheDeceased]

Very generous of you.

 

[GoddessLSD-XTC]

A friend and I saw it a coupla weeks ago . . . I give it 4-stars. 'd the scenery . . . looks a little like Colorado. 'd Nicole Kidman's outfits and acting, she's a real lady in the film. I also liked the spirituality of the Natives. My friend cried from the time the first person was killed (drowned in a water-tower).

I'd be curious as to what Aussies thought of the portrayal of the history.

Did U see the movie, Deceased?

 

[TheDeceased]

Yes I saw it and hated it... and I'm Australian...

 

[GoddessLSD-XTC]

IMO: It's more of a girl's movie to take her children & husband to see. There's lotsa action, a love story and the fantasy of an aboriginal boy. The star is Nicole Kidman.

 

[TheDeceased]

It presents itself as if it is depicting a period of history right from the beginning with the opening titles about the stolen generations, etc. If it was supposed to be light entertainment or a 'girl's movie' then it shouldn't pretend to be something else. The title is pretentious and calling the film Australia just strengthens the expectation for the film to actually depict the country in a relatively accurate manner. But it doesn't. It's another one dimensional, over-the-top fantasy from stylish film-maker Baz Luhrmann. The only problem is (well one of them at least) is that style doesn't work on this sort of film. Hugh Jackman's portrayal of the drover isn't beleivable. Not because of his performance, per say - but rather because of a lack of grittiness due to the fact that the man behind the camera is a theatrical ponce. None of the film feels like Australia at all. It doesn't have the same sprawling feel that The Man From Snowy River does or Breaker Morant.. or countless other classic Australian films. In fact, Australia (the film, not the country) is a complete mess. It's visual style is over the place (the rapid changes between CGI and aerial photography, etc.), the lighting is at times absurd (particularly scenes in the desert at night where extremely obvious artificial lighting is used to ill effect), the script moves seemingly randomly between dated and cliched Disney like humour to cheesy and contrived dramatic moments, the portrayal of Aboriginals is absolutely ridiculous -particularly King George who for some reason stands on one foot for most of the film, Hugh Jackman can't seem to manage to do an Australian accent (which is odd really, considering he is Australian), the film is about an hour too long, the villains are basically cartoon characters and the Japanese bombing of Darwin is misleading and potentially offensive.

Baz spent 40 million dollars in Australian taxes promoting the film, hoping that it would inspire tourism. I'm a tax payer. The film cost 180 million to make. This is the most money ever spent on an Australian film by a long long margin. I would've prefered we made sixty films at three million each (I think this is the average budget for an Australian feature) rather than spending such an enormous amount on this heavily polished peice of shit.

Nicole Kidman can suck my balls.

 

[L2R]

^i agree with pretty much all of those criticisms, but i didn't take the film that seriously and enjoyed most of it. i am also australian, glsdxtc.

 

[GoddessLSD-XTC]

^^^ Thx 4 ur insight, I figured Aussies wouldn't like the sympathetic portrayal of the Aboriginies . . . kinda like showing how ppl treated the Natives when Cortez landed in Mexico or how some Whites treated the slaves in the South, pre-Civil War but IMO, Whites treated their slaves better than when the freed-slaves were forced to live on their own and received slave-wages.

The film worked 4 me: I'd love to visit Aus . . . never realized that part of Aus looked sooo much like parts of Western U$A.

And thx 4 the recommendations of other Aus films . . . I'll hafta check 'em out!

As 4 King George standing on one leg: it shows his balance, which is an important concept with Native Americans . . . there was a film called Kowanastasi (spelling, a Native Amercan term), which means "out of balance" about how Earth is out of balance.

 

[TheDeceased]

It's not a sympathetic portrayal. It is completely misleading.

You say that you want to visit Australia and I assume you're talking about Aboriginal inhabited areas of WA or the NT. I don't think you're going to find a little boy like in the film... I'll put it that way.

There was no violence from the aboriginals towards the whites throughout the entire film (well almost). The King George spear stabbing was a conspiracy. After all the aboriginals were all peace loving pacifist shaman types who never slaughtered any white people.

There were two opposite mentalities regarding aboriginals portrayed in the film. One was the drover who married an aboriginal woman and sees no difference whatsoever the two races. The other mentality is the "we all fuck aboriginal women and create milky (or was it 'creamy')children that we would rather not acknowledge as our children. Let's fuck the black out of them! Hoorah!"

Neither of these mentalities are reflective of what was really going on. They are cartoonish biased over-simplifications of a complex moment in our history. It is unfortunate that people from overseas will see this film and be mislead into thinking that it is based on reality instead of the imagination of a man who clearly doesn't have his head screwed on properly...

BTW about the King George standing on one leg thing. He is a famous aboriginal actor (he's not Native American). Pretty much everyone I know thought it was weird that he stood like that mute through the course of practically the entire film. In fact I think it was a little exploitative to have him stand like that and say nothing given his stature in the Australian film world. He was used like a prop or something.

A couple more recommendations of (good) Australian films:

The Interview
He Died With A Felafel In His Hand
Little Fish
The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith (also about Aboriginals in Australia but very dark and depressing and also potentially offensive but at least it's not Disney crap)

 

[EJ]

Definitely see The Interview, especially if you're a fan of Hugo Weaving.

I'll back Breaker Morant again as well, it's one of our best ever.

I also highly recommend Picnic at Hanging Rock (my favourite Aus movie), Lantana, Bad Boy Bubby, Proof (Weaving, Crowe), Romper Stomper (Crowe), Chopper (Bana), Two Hands (Ledger), Gallipoli (Gibson).

We can't quite lay claim to Walkabout, it's a British film by Nicholas Roeg, but thematically, it's very Australian and stars a very young David Gulpilil (King George). It's a great movie.

 

[L2R]

see, this is where i strongly disagree with thedeceased. i think the film was clearly a fairy tale like story (disney-ish as he puts it) and as such i, along with most of the audience will see it as such and not as a documentary.