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My daughter and I went to see "Australia". I was a bit reluctant as it'd been so over-hyped. Gabrielle and I have lived in the Kimberley where so much of the film was shot. We stayed with Aboriginal elders, we were shown ceremonies, dreaming, art, customs. So the strong Aboriginal theme in the movie resonated with us.
One of our first Aussie Hollywood movie stars, Chips Rafferty, was a mentor to me and he fought hard to establish an Australian film industry by telling our stories. I think Chips would like "Australia" because it's heart is in the right place. Baz is trying to show what makes Australia so wonderful. The stunning landscape, the depth and sensitivity of Aboriginal dreaming and culture, the wrongs of history, the humour, the mad over-the-top characters. The film is a love story, not just between the lead characters but to the country itself.
You have to suspend belief. From the opening you enter a moving picture book, a dream, a theatrical pastiche, the artifice and magical realism far beyond what's really out there. The film is made for an international audience and good on Baz but frankly I don't think OS audiences are going to believe that's what the landscape is really like as he uses so many special effects. With a few exceptions every Aussie bloke actor gets a guernsey and they play their bits to the hilt, a little short of mo twirling. While the young boy, Brandon Walters, steals the film, Nicole is better than I thought she'd be, but Hugh is magic. His close ups show such tenderness and restraint. He's still as natural as when I first met him out of acting school.
It's not going to be a "Gone With Wind" nor save the Aussie film industry, but Baz has honed in on the story telling elements that I try to cover in my novels - place, people, heart and passion. The scattered audience broke into applause at the credits and through our tears Gabrielle and I agreed, you could endlessly criticise this and that, but we were moved and most of all we were proud and glad that we are Australians and lucky to live in Australia.
Di’s latest book The Islands, published by Pan Macmillan, is now on sale. |
