Sunday, November 30, 2008
AUSTRALIA: The Movie
Last night my very good friend and I went to the chick-flick, Australia. How do I know it is a chick-flick? Gratuitous male shirtless scenes and lots of kissing. I mean don't get my wrong. I am fine with plenty of both... when Hugh bathed shirtless some may call it unnecessary... but I call it "getting my money's worth" (I am the one in the theater of the first X-Men bummed when Wolverine finds that darn sweatshirt to put on... I mean they could have had him shirtless that ENTIRE scene, don't you think?). I am not a fan of Hugh Jackman BECAUSE he is now named the "Sexiest Man Alive" by People magazine... I have been a fan since the Wolverine days of old... OK... well... not that long ago... but still.
I digress... truly the movie was EPIC in every way. Baz Luhrmann is a genius as far as I am concerned. He skated "cheesy" a bit but always pulled it out (a fate that the movie "Twilight" was not so fortunate in negotiating- this teen movie was ALL CHEESE, sadly). I think we are a jaded movie-going audience... we are used to the more gritty side of life. But this movie is NOT gritty... it is gloriously beautiful even in its perfection. Sure Hugh Jackman's character is a little "too" much of a man at times. Sure Nicole Kidman's face & hair are a little too perfectly flawless at times. Sure the bad guy is a bit ONE dimensional. But those are the characteristics of a EPIC movie, right? So you go with it... the little native boy is wonderful and adds heart to this movie. The scenery is spectacular... the action is good. The humor is well done. I laughed... I cried... I clutched the edge of my seat... all good responses in a movie that is long (2 hours 45 mins) without feeling TOO long.
But what really got me was the story. It is true. Well, I am sure the storyline is not (the romance)... but the surrounding backdrop is historically accurate. Northern Australian city of Darwin had their own "Pearl Harbor" and I had never known about that. The same forces that came down on Pearl Harbor also swept down on this little harbor town in Australia. It was a severe bombing that decimated that region. And it is also the true story of the "Stolen Generations" it seems indigenous and mixed-race children were taken from their homes by the government and placed into institutions and missions, to "civilize" or Christianize them (this practice went on until the early 1970's).
I think for the history lesson alone it is worth the price of admission (oh, and the shirtless scenes with Hugh)... I think it is a nice movie to have in the theaters around the holidays. It is a nice story to escape into. I recommend it highly!
I digress... truly the movie was EPIC in every way. Baz Luhrmann is a genius as far as I am concerned. He skated "cheesy" a bit but always pulled it out (a fate that the movie "Twilight" was not so fortunate in negotiating- this teen movie was ALL CHEESE, sadly). I think we are a jaded movie-going audience... we are used to the more gritty side of life. But this movie is NOT gritty... it is gloriously beautiful even in its perfection. Sure Hugh Jackman's character is a little "too" much of a man at times. Sure Nicole Kidman's face & hair are a little too perfectly flawless at times. Sure the bad guy is a bit ONE dimensional. But those are the characteristics of a EPIC movie, right? So you go with it... the little native boy is wonderful and adds heart to this movie. The scenery is spectacular... the action is good. The humor is well done. I laughed... I cried... I clutched the edge of my seat... all good responses in a movie that is long (2 hours 45 mins) without feeling TOO long.
But what really got me was the story. It is true. Well, I am sure the storyline is not (the romance)... but the surrounding backdrop is historically accurate. Northern Australian city of Darwin had their own "Pearl Harbor" and I had never known about that. The same forces that came down on Pearl Harbor also swept down on this little harbor town in Australia. It was a severe bombing that decimated that region. And it is also the true story of the "Stolen Generations" it seems indigenous and mixed-race children were taken from their homes by the government and placed into institutions and missions, to "civilize" or Christianize them (this practice went on until the early 1970's).
I think for the history lesson alone it is worth the price of admission (oh, and the shirtless scenes with Hugh)... I think it is a nice movie to have in the theaters around the holidays. It is a nice story to escape into. I recommend it highly!
# posted by ErinW @ 4:53 PM 
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