A second take on 'Australia'

His latest production, "Australia," is no exception and should not be missed, even by those who were not swept away by his previous extravaganzas. At the very least, it offers the universal pleasure of seeing Virginia Woolf and Wolverine sharing a passionate kiss or two. Seriously, though, far from being an inert polemic, the socially conscious "Australia" stands as a powerful film in which Luhrmann harnesses his over-the-top style to effectively comment on devastating truths about a fractured culture.

One early sequence embodies Luhrmann's spectacular but affecting style. As the Aboriginal boy Nullah (Brandon Walters) comes out of a river on a jet-black horse, he stares directly into the camera. The arresting image of the boy effortlessly controlling the giant steed lends the character an undeniable magnetism. By capturing his emergence in slow motion, the film forces the audience to stare into his eyes and realize that "Australia" is not a tale of a British aristocrat and an Aussie cowboy falling love, but one of this lost boy and the opposing worlds he represents.

Though Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman jump into their romantic lead roles with gusto, an unknown child actor offers the mesmerizing performance that effectively anchors the film. As the young Nullah, taken under the wing of Kidman's Lady Sarah Ashley, an English aristocrat, Walters captures the quiet desperation of a generation caught precariously between two hopelessly irreconcilable cultures. His sad eyes express a longing for acceptance in a brutally indifferent world that sees him as a freak of nature. Walters never resorts to the melodramatic, always suggesting his character's alienation with subtlety. By couching Nullah's character within a sprawling Hollywood-style epic, Luhrmann amplifies the affecting power of Walters' understated portrayal.

Many critics unfairly charge Luhrmann for resorting to caricatures instead of fully developed characters. With his allusions to "The Wizard of Oz," Hollywood's quintessential tale of impossible dreams, the filmmaker underscores his intentions to craft an artificial tale. We are meant to understand that the film's enlightened protagonists, who adopt a half-Aboriginal boy with open arms, are the fantasies of a white population that has long brushed aside the miseries it has inflicted on an indigenous people. "Australia" is a beautiful but hopeless dream of a country that is stained by a very real, tarnished history.

4 out of 5 paws

Pros:

Offers spectacular, romanticized imagery of the Land Down Under

Unknown child actor Brandon Walters delivers a mesmerizing performance as a boy caught between two cultures.