Australia - The Movie

Haunting, beautiful, bitter sweet, Australia, the latest film by Baz Luhrmann, is all of these things and more. I wasn't expecting much when I went in, hoping, maybe, for an entertaining afternoon. Okay, to be honest, I was just hoping to stay awake. What I got was an amazing story, beautifully acted and truly engrossing.

Dark and brooding hero, beautiful, plucky heroine and a couple of dastardly villains all set in the Australian Outback against the backdrop of the early days of World War II. Very simply put, it's the story of an English aristocrat (Kidman) and an Australian cattle driver (or Drover) (Jackman) fighting a cattle baron with a stranglehold on the beef industry and a young boy who belongs no where.

The boy, Nullah, played by young Brandon Walters, is the true shining star of this movie. Nullah, a "half-caste," mixed-race, (white/aboriginal) child and a member of the "Stolen Generations", is the true heart of the movie and Walters is nothing short of enchanting.

I do think one of the villains was a little over-the-top and lacked adequate explanation of his motivation and the origins of his evil.

The movie didn't feel long at all, even though it was and a smattering of applause broke out as the credits rolled. Seriously, go see the movie.