"Nicole Kidman was great! Actually, more than
great. She was terrific, as the English aristocrat.
Hugh Jackman was divine. The rest of the cast were
totally believable. The cinematography was wonderful.
The special effects, like the cattle stampede, bombing
of Darwin, were 'edge of your seat,' stuff."

Not to mention the tank scene! I'm with you, Foxy. I loved it.

I actually agree with most of Eleanor's criticisms too, but hey who's ever made the perfect movie?

So, while my intellectual side caused me to cringe at times, my emotional side took over and I couldn't help but allow myself to get swept along in the sheer sweep and scale of this grand Australian drama.

"It is perhaps a parable of the Australian film industry: the bastard, half-caste nation caught between wanting to have its own “native” film industry and to be marketable to mass, Americanised cinema audiences."

I totally agree with Eleanor here. It would have been a much better movie if its eye hadn't been on an American market, but then it wouldn't have been made, and I guess herein lies the rub for the Australian Film Industry.

My sister in law has seen Australia twice, and said she liked it better the second time around. I don't think I could come at seeing it again - what with Hugh Jackman galloping the same pointless mob of horses past the homestead every other minute and that laughable scene where he pours a bucket of water all over his torso and his trousers. What dill does that? There is only one thing I want to know - how did all that soap get on his back? (in the movie, I mean). I just don't think Baz Lurhmann is much chop as a film maker.

I'm not sure why the author felt a need to do the great intellectual analysis of the film - it was meant purely as entertainment with snippets of social consciousness-raising. As such I enjoyed it very much. I'm not a particular fan of 'our Nic' but I thought she did a credible job in this, as did Hugh, and young Brandon was excellent. Why can't we simply take it as it was meant - not a bad movie that deserves better press than it is getting? Why does every movie made in Aus about Aus have to be better than anyone elses? Haven't we left the cultural cringe behind yet?

Oh it was much more than "purely...entertainment with snippets of social consciousness-raising." It was a taxpayer-subsidised ($40m) effort to get yanks to shell out to see it and, hopefully, shell out more to visit. It was supposed to be better than the average flick. Instead we got a vegemite and jelly sandwich, full of inaccuracies and and cringeworthy caricatures.

It just happens that Our Nic (and the storyline) have all the depth of textured wallpaper.