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Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, David Wenham, Bryan Brown, Jack Thompson ... see more see more... , David Gulpilil , Brandon Walters , David Ngoombujarra , Ben Mendelsohn , Barry Otto , Kerry Walker , Sandy Gore , Urshula Yovich , Lillian Crombie , Wah Yuen , Angus Pilakui , Jacek Koman , Tony Barry , Roy Barrett , Max Cullen , Shea Adams , Eddie Baroo , Bruce Spence

Set against the scenic backdrop of pre-World War II Australia, Baz Luhrmann's romantic period adventure stars Nicole Kidman as an English aristocrat who inherits a sprawling ranch, and Hugh Jackman as... read more read more... the rough-and-tumble cattle driver who helps protect her property from greedy English cattle barons. As the pair attempt to herd 2,000 head of cattle hundreds of miles across the treacherous Australian outback, they are stunned to bear witness to the bombing of Darwin by Japanese forces -- who just a few months prior launched a devastating attack on Pearl Harbor. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Flixster Users

69% liked it

244,117 ratings

Critics

55% liked it

205 critics

PG-13, 2 hr. 45 min.

Directed by: Baz Luhrmann

Release Date: November 26, 2008

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DVD Release Date: March 3, 2009

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Stats: 17,059 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (17,059)

  • danperry17
    February 18, 2012
    danperry17
    Somewhere beyond "good," but not quite "really good." I've always been a Luhrman fan, so some of the more airy or mystical qualities of this film didn't bother me, and I was often swept away by the bright, beautiful visuals. The two stories (Jackman and Kidman as the lovers in a ... read moredangerous time, and the spirit quest Kidman's adopted Aboriginal child must go on) don't exactly dovetail, but they make for a film in which multiple perspectives are presented, sometimes thoughtfully and other times laboriously. In all, I thought it an entertaining and somewhat unfairly panned film. It's either the most or the least ambitious work Luhrman's ever done, and it's worth seeing once to decide for yourself.
  • phubbs1
    February 9, 2012
    phubbs1
    I thought this was an epic 'Dances With Wolves' type film so I was alittle disappointed to discover it isn't, its more of a romantic comedy/epic in the same vain as 'Gone With the Wind'. That's fine and for what it is its a good film but its not quite my cup of tea.

    It is very w... read moreell made and in fine 'Gone With the Wind' form, the Aussie cast are all perfect for their roles (except Jackman seems a little typecast as 'Wolverine' hehe that's all I could think when he shows his chest, Wolverine in 1939) and the visuals are tremendous, the Oz landscape is really used for its best possible look although there is quite alot of bluescreen used which is obvious (to me anyway).

    It would have been nice to see an epic about the Aborigines in 'Dances' style to be honest, that could of been very cool, the glimpses of the old Aborigine man King George is very curious and needed to be explored more. The first 30min of this film does tend to be rather romcom and silly, much like Jackmans other romcom period set film 'Kate n Leopold'. It does get much better and more serious as the war looms closer and things get abit teary for sure. The effects are, as said, obvious but look atad better during the war sequences.

    Its a very old style flick, very 40's right down to the end credit fonts hehe which is nice, a good film but maybe too mushy haha but thats how they used to be right :) a nice happy ending.
  • SirPant
    September 20, 2011
    SirPant
    Baz Luhrmann has written a love letter to his native Australia and what better way to do it then to direct an epic! It's not quite your typical epic though, it's very camp, a little OTT and a bit tongue in cheek. At first the editing is fast and furious and I wondered if I could ... read moremanage the whole 3 hours but soon it found its pace. Judging by interviews I've seen, the film very much took on its own form and almost became its own entity, a great excuse for a director to avoid criticism when things go wrong but somehow, I can almost understand that statement. As a film, it's inconsistent and a little messy but not once throughout the whole 3 hours was I ever bored, nor did the time pass slowly, quite the opposite in fact. I genuinely really liked it, I didn't expect to though, what with all the bad press it received. It kind of reminded me of 1941 or Popeye, two very big budget elaborate films that absolutely bombed at the box office but were labelled rubbish a little unfairly. Obviously Australia is a very different film but putting aside the mishaps, there are truly wonderful moments in this film that shouldn't go unnoticed. Overall, I thought that Australia ticked the most important box of all, it was fun!
  • spielberg00
    September 11, 2011
    spielberg00
    Set in World War II, AUSTRALIA is a long but intriguing epic. It stars Nicole Kidman as Lady Sarah Ashley, a widowed English aristocrat who inherits an enormous cattle station, and Hugh Jackman as Drover, her husband's helper. The film, overall, seems historically accurate (i.e... read more. the bombing of Darwin by the same Japanese forces that had bombed Pearl Harbor shortly before), and I liked how Baz Luhrmann, the director, decided to combine both war and romance into one film, as he did direct a few other romance films such as ROMEO + JULIET and MOULIN ROUGE!, but had no past experience with the war genre. I also liked the recurring reference to Judy Garland's signature piece "Over the Rainbow", as well as the film it was written for, THE WIZARD OF OZ. Overall, this was quite an enjoyable film. Like many other epics (to name a few: TITANIC, AVATAR, THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, GONE WITH THE WIND, etc.), it was significantly long, but it was never dull enough to give up on interesting its audience. So if you want a film that delivers consistent acting, decent cinematography, and a historical storyline, watch AUSTRALIA.
  • romy861
    May 21, 2011
    romy861
    I got about one hour into this before turning it off. Acting in the beginning is extremely hammy. So much so I could not take this seriously. It was not Nicole Kidman's finest display, I have to say. Hugh Jackman - meh. Always find him meh, quite honestly.
    The stars of this ... read morewere the Aboriginal actors - they put the rest of the cast to shame. The little boy who plays Nullah, Brandon Walters, is excellent as was his mum and aunt (?) - I think she was his aunt, not entirely sure on that. Once the mum died, I found my interest level going steadily down, and even though the acting had got a bit more realistic by now, it wasn't enough to keep me watching another two hours... half an hour... maybe would have stuck around to see how it ended. Two hours... just too much to ask!
    Filmed beautifully, I have to say, very nice movie to look at, but I live here every day - I don't need to see a substandard movie to look at the scenery.
  • BEACHBUNNI
    May 9, 2011
    BEACHBUNNI
    Starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman,i wasnt going to watch this movie as im not a huge fan of Nicole Kidman, but I love the Wolverine and the X-men franchise with Hugh Jackman. It is set against the background of Second World War and the movie runs at an extremely slow pace t... read moreelling the adventures of an English lady (Lady Sarah Ashley) who not only runs the ranch in the middle of nowhere in Australia,quite affectively, she chooses to live there permanently too.
    I thought there was some really good acting by Brandon Walters as the young aboriginal boy Nullah who keeps the whole story together.
  • DreamExtractor
    May 2, 2011
    DreamExtractor
    I enjoyed this movie. Im not like other guys, I enjoy romances, but god forsaken me I HATE ROMANCE COMEDIES!!! They used great scenery and music and it made it even more a beautiful movie. There was okay acting in this but they had their strong points. This movie was really l... read moreong, I thing they could've kept it at about 2 hours.really some beautiful moments in this movie. A very good movie that many people will like I think.
  • wildaly14
    January 30, 2011
    wildaly14
    Moving and of epic proportions. Loved Kidman and Jackman.
  • Tomassgringo
    September 8, 2010
    Tomassgringo
    One very thin story line basically connects multiple stories. If edited to just over 2 hours instead of almost 3 hours... it would have been much better.
  • FrizzDrop
    August 19, 2010
    FrizzDrop
    Great visual effects, incorporation of the true feeling, history, and politics of Australia at the time, and great casting. Only complaint is the the holes in parts of the plot. Otherwise riveting.

View All Australia Reviews

Critic Reviews

Ben Mankiewicz
December 2, 2008
Ben Mankiewicz, At the Movies

There's a lot to admire here, but not enough. Full Review

Ben Lyons
December 2, 2008
Ben Lyons, At the Movies

It's trying so hard to be epic instead of just being epic. Full Review

Joe Morgenstern
December 1, 2008
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

Sometimes Luhrmann seems to be living in a Dreamtime of his own; his movie is all over the map. But what a gorgeous map it is. Full Review

David Denby
December 1, 2008
David Denby, New Yorker

Luhrmann is drawn to kitsch as inevitably as a bear to honey. Full Review

Sean Means
November 26, 2008
Sean Means, Film.com

The massive panoramas of wild Australia suddenly make Luhrmanns wild flourishes look puny.

Ann Hornaday
November 26, 2008
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

A wildly ambitious, luridly indulgent spectacle of romance, action, melodrama and historic revisionism, Australia is windy, overblown, utterly preposterous and insanely entertaining. Full Review

Claudia Puig
November 26, 2008
Claudia Puig, USA Today

Australia tries to be a sprawling, romantic epic. Instead, it's a melodramatic exercise in tedium. Full Review

Peter Howell
November 26, 2008
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

At once sprawling and intimate, melodramatic and comic, magnificent and utterly bonkers, it bears entertaining witness to Luhrmann's love of old movies and his Down Under homeland. Full Review

Richard Schickel
November 26, 2008
Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine

Australia delivers with real panache. Full Review

Mick LaSalle
November 26, 2008
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

[Luhrmann] veers from earnest drama to brisk comedy and then tries to hold it together with awkward voiceover narration. Within five minutes, Australia seems headed for trouble. It gets there and stay... Full Review

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    • Drover: Need a drink?
    • Lady Sarah Ashley: Poppy-cock poppy....cock!
    • Neil Fletcher: It's been a pleasure working with you, a real pleasure! [with a sinister voice]
    • Drover: Welcome to Australia! [spits on the ground]
    • Nullah: We gotta get those no good bloody cheeky bulls to the big bloody ship!
    • Nullah: Mrs. Boss! I can say your name!
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