Australia

Nicole and Hugh looking purty in Australia

If Baz Luhrmann's Australia is not quite as disastrous as its critical reputation, it is still all too jaw dropping for the wrong reasons. Luhrmann is revved here to make an epic, He provides the viewer with lustrously beautiful tableaux no matter whether he is portraying cattle drives amidst the splendor of the Australian outback or the slaughter of innocents during World War 2. Luhrmann films are full of directorial flourishes that fail to hide the vacuity at the center of his work. Australia is nearly three hours long, but there is little to chew on over its long course.

Luhrmann and his numerous scenarists try to address the colonial and racial heritage of their home country. They only feebly address these themes. Jackman and Kidman  are unyieldingly professional, though I feel Kidman is miscast as an uptight English aristocrat. The supporting players, a link to Australia's film history with Bryan Brown, Jack Thompson, David Gulpilil and Bruce Spence, are pleasant, but cannot save Australia from inanity.