Somewhere Over the Rainbow

This afternoon, I finally had the chance to see Australia, which has been out since Thanksgiving. I had been really wanting to see it in theaters because I knew its scenery and epic-nature would be better witnessed on the big silver screen... And I'm so glad I did.

Quite simply, Australia blew me away. It is, to me, everything a movie should be. Baz Lurhmann really knows how to construct a beautiful, moving, and entertaining work of cinema.

Let me back track for a moment. A while ago - back in 2008 (still sound weird to say that), the educational section of Apple started a program called Set to Screen for young filmmakers. It was basically a video podcast, and it focused on Baz Lurhmann creating Australia. (It also consisted of a contest, but it was too advanced for me.) Baz (I really just love his name) had 10 episodes in which he illustrated the most important roles in making a film, such as director, production designer, sound editor... etc. In doing so, he also showed bits and pieces of Australia, so I had seen some fragments of it.

But I didn't really know the full story. I just knew that most of my friends who saw it generally liked it, and that critics regarded it as too long (it's about two and a half hours). In case you don't know, Baz Lurhmann previously directed the Red Curtain trilogy: Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet, and Moulin Rouge (swoon). So, suffice it to say that the guy knows a few things about cinematic expression and love.

I mentioned that it's over the 2 hour mark. However, unlike Benjamin Button, it didn't feel painfully long. In fact, it didn't feel long at a all... Truthfully, I didn't want it to end. This is an example, as I was saying earlier, of a film that is perfectly okay running long.

Something I've noticed about him is that he likes to have a particular outlet for expressing his story. In the Red Curtain trilogy, this was clearly defined: he used dance in Ballroom, Shakesperean language in R + J, and music in Moulin Rouge. In Australia, this seemed to simply be the setting (although truthfully, there's nothing simple about it). Whether through the beauty of his filming, or through the grace of some higher power, the Australian outback is gosh darn gorgeous. In every way, just as the outlets from his other films, this setting was a character in and of itself, acting right along with Sarah Ashley, the Drover, Nullah, and King George.

Another thing about Lurhmann: he really seems to like Nicole Kidman, and knows how to get a great performance out of her. She had a wonderful character, although a bit uptight and staunchly British. She acted wonderfully along Hugh Jackman (who oh-my-god-is-so-smoking-hot! Sexiest man alive, heck yes!)

The movie had everything. You laugh, you fall in love, you're wowed by gorgeous camera work (or at least I am) and beautiful settings, you're afraid for the characters, intimidated by scenes of the Japanese bombing of Darwin (the film is set during WW2), you cry, you fall in love again, you smile, you sigh, and then you walk out of the theater feeling very happy.

That's what a film should do, right? I know that the Oscar people like "issue" movies that are intense and make you think, that test the limits and try your patience, but this was simply a gorgeous movie.


P.S. I really tried to fit all the wonderful "character" posters in here, but couldn't get it to work. They're really beautiful, though, so check them out here. Also, the same website has a beautiful gallery of images from the film... it really gives you a sense of the way the movie was filmed. (Plus you might catch a glimpse of gorgeous Jackman, all muscle-y and tan... *sigh*) Check the gallery out here.