Movie · 2008 · Adventure, Romance, Drama · 2h 45m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 1.6/10 (191.4K ratings)
Welcome to Australia!
Overview
Set in northern Australia before World War II, an English aristocrat who inherits a sprawling ranch reluctantly pacts with a stock-man in order to protect her new property from a takeover plot. As the pair drive 2,000 head of cattle over unforgiving landscape, they experience the bombing of Darwin by Japanese forces firsthand.
Ratings
Curator score: 1.6/10
IMDb: 6.6/10
Letterboxd: 2.91/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 53%
Metacritic: 53
TMDB: 6.6/10
Director
Baz Luhrmann
Production
Bazmark, 20th Century Fox, Dune Entertainment, Ingenious Film Partners
Cast
Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Essie Davis, David Wenham, Bryan Brown, David Gulpilil, John Jarratt, Shea Adams, Nathin Art Butler, John Walton, Nigel Harbach, Eddie Baroo, Arthur Dignam, Sandy Gore, Bill Hunter, Jacek Koman, Ben Mendelsohn, Barry Otto, David Ngoombujarra, Bruce Spence
Curator Review
Verdict
A big, glossy Baz Luhrmann melodrama with sweeping scenery, romantic excess, and a strong sense of spectacle, but it is also overlong, tonally unruly, and widely criticized for its handling of history and representation. It’s worth it mainly if you want maximalist filmmaking and star-driven romance over realism.
Best for
Viewers who enjoy lush, oversized period melodramas
Fans of star chemistry and romantic adventure
People who like visually flamboyant filmmaking
Audiences open to a flawed but ambitious epic
Skip if
You want historical accuracy or nuanced treatment of Indigenous history
You dislike long runtimes and melodramatic excess
You prefer restrained, naturalistic storytelling
You are sensitive to white-savior framing or colonial romanticization
Overview
Australia is Baz Luhrmann at his most expansive: a romance, a war picture, a cattle-drive adventure, and a myth of national identity all shoved into one enormous studio epic. The film has real visual sweep, a pulpy sense of momentum, and enough star wattage to sell even its most absurd turns. When it works, it’s because it fully commits to being bigger than life.
Worth noting
But the movie is also messy in ways that are hard to ignore. Its emotional beats can feel overcooked, its structure drags, and its treatment of Aboriginal history and colonial power has drawn well-earned criticism. The result is a film that is often more fascinating than satisfying, with spectacle and sentiment constantly fighting each other.
Bottom line
If you come for Luhrmann’s excess, the outback grandeur, and the central romance, there is something here to admire. If you want coherence, subtlety, or a responsible historical drama, this is probably not the ride for you.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Fiona White (0.5★) · 614 likes
Please change your name, you're embarrassing us.
𝚮𝖆𝖗𝖑𝖊𝖖𝖚𝖎𝖓𝖆𝖉𝖊 🙏🏻 (2★) · 549 likes
We'll always have the water bucket scene.
jack ✿ · 480 likes
crikey baz what a steaming pile!! some alternate titles:
- everything's fine & australia is perfect!!!
- Now That's What I Call Historical Revisionism™
- wizard of oz (official trailer)
- baz luhrmann presents: Gender Roles!
- australian history for ur casually racist apologist aunt
- Visually Pretty But Deeply Shitty
- how to misrepresent and alienate ppl
- hugh jackMAN: he's white & a guy
- gone with the wind (200m8)
- cgi + stereotypes
- bloody idealised masculinity mate!
- strictly bullshit
Itamar Livne (0.5★) · 366 likes
All movies feel short after this one
ash (1.5★) · 326 likes
Me: Wow, this is quite over-dramatic...
*checks director*
Me: Oh yeah, makes sense.