Australia

Directed by: Baz Luhrmann
Produced by: Baz Luhrmann Ronald Harwood Stuart Beattie Richard Flanagan
Story by: Baz Luhrmann
Produced by: Baz Luhrmann Catherine Knapman G. Mac Brown
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, David Wenham, Bryan Brown, Jack Thompson David
Music by: David Hirschfelder
Production Companies: Bazmark Films Australia Ingenious Media ScreenWest
Release date: 18 November 2008 (Sydney) 26 November 2008 (Australia and United States) 26 December 2008 (United Kingdom)
Content: General

Plot: In 1939, Lady Sarah Ashley embarked on a journey from England to Australia, mere weeks before the outbreak of World War II. Her purpose was to pressure her cheating husband into selling their failing cattle station, Faraway Downs. This expansive property stretches from Western Australia to the Northern Territory, with its northern boundary reaching the Timor Sea. To assist her in this endeavor, her husband enlisted the help of an independent cattle drover known as "The Drover" to accompany her to Faraway Downs.

Lady Sarah's husband is murdered before she arrives; the authorities tell her the killer is an Aboriginal elder nicknamed "King George". The station's manager, Neil Fletcher, secretly tries to gain control of Faraway Downs in order to sell it to meat tycoon Lesley 'King' Carney, thereby creating a complete cattle monopoly. Meanwhile, at Darwin, Australian Army logistics officer Captain Dutton negotiates beef prices with Carney on behalf of the Allies.

The childless Lady Sarah is captivated by the boy Nullah, who has an Aboriginal mother and a white father. Nullah, who has been spying on Fletcher, reveals his plan to Lady Sarah, who fires Fletcher and runs the cattle station aided by her remaining staff. The next day, policemen arrive to take Nullah away to Mission Island as they have with other half-Aboriginal children. While evading them, Nullah's mother Daisy drowns when she hides with him in a water tower. Lady Sarah comforts Nullah by singing the song "Over the Rainbow". Nullah tells her that "King George" is his grandfather, and that like the Wizard of Oz, he, too, is a "magic man".

End of Spoilers

Review: From the beining of production the film was planned to be an epic. A story telling an Australian love story. Set in the harsh challenging outback, Northern Teritory and Darwin. With a rangwe of bigger then life characters. The combination of Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman sparks with a range of untamed emotions. Did it fulfill the original dream for it? That's a question that may be answered with time. Depending on how well it ages and who future audiences view it through their own social spectrum. Personally I found it entertaining. Though some of the plot was thin and easily guessed at what was going to hapen next.