Australia = awesome!

I have nothing much to post about, so I shall keep it short.

Australia, starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, is an awesome, mind-blowing movie. At the very least, it really is a movie of epic proportions and does portray Australia as a rough yet romantic country. The story premise is carefully balanced to include subtle messages of Australia's darker secret - the forceful removal of Aboriginal children from their native land and integrating them into the white society - while at the same expressing the raw love a lady has for her non-biological son and the romance between two seemingly incompatible people - a rowdy yet charming drover and a prim-and-proper English lady.

Nicole Kidman delivered a stellar performance as Lady Sarah Ashley, as expected, while Hugh Jackman did The Drover justice by portraying a free-spirited drover who is smitten by the lady. The story basically revolves around how Lady Ashley goes to Australia to save her cattle estate from taken over by a scheming business mogul and along the way, it includes the aboriginal flavour by casting Brandon Walters as young Nullah, an energetic young Aborigine boy who also plays an integral part in the film. From an apparently simple plot, the film evolves suddenly towards the middle end part and takes an unexpected twist when the Japanese attacked Darwin. It is then when heroism takes centre stage and the theme of love is expressed strongly.

I highly recommend this film, not only for the excellent acting, good storyline and interesting message, but also for the fact that it is one of the rare gems of movies that can make a lasting impression.