Australia (2008)
Adventure, Comedy, Drama |
Australia is a epic romantic historical drama film directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. The screenplay was written by Luhrmann and screenwriter Stuart Beattie, with Ronald Harwood and Richard Flanagan. The film is a character story, set between 1939 and 1942 against a dramatised backdrop of events across northern Australia at the time, such as the bombing of Darwin during World War II.
Production took place in Sydney, Darwin, Kununurra and Bowen. The film was released to cinemas on 26 November 2008 in the United States and in Australia on 26 December 2008, with subsequent worldwide release dates throughout late December 2008 and January and February 2009. Australia received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $211 million on a $130 million budget. The film received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design at the 81st Academy Awards. It is the third highest grossing Australian film of all time, behind Crocodile Dundee (1986) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).
In 1939, weeks before the start of World War II, Lady Sarah Ashley of England travels to Australia to force her philandering husband to sell his faltering cattle station, Faraway Downs. The huge station straddles Western Australia and the Northern Territory, reaching north to the Timor Sea. Her husband sends an independent cattle drover, called “The Drover,” to transport her to Faraway Downs.
Lady Sarah’s husband is murdered before she arrives; the authorities tell her the killer is an Aboriginal elder, “King George”. The station’s manager, Neil Fletcher, is trying to gain control of Faraway Downs, to support Lesley ‘King’ Carney’s effort to garner a complete cattle monopoly, for negotiating leverage over an Australian Army logistics officer, Captain Dutton, who is buying beef.
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Writers: Stuart Beattie (screenplay), Baz Luhrmann (screenplay & story), Ronald Harwood (screenplay), Richard Flanagan (screenplay), Ron Diesel (concept)
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Shea Adams, Brendan Walters, Bryan Crown, David Wenham
► Cast:
| Shea Adams | … | Carney Boy #3 |
| Eddie Baroo | … | Bull |
| Ray Barrett | … | Ramsden |
| Tony Barry | … | Sergeant Callahan |
| Jamal Sydney Bednarz | … | Mission Boy (as Jamal Bednarz-Metallah) |
| Damian Bradford | … | Constable #1 |
| Bryan Brown | … | King Carney |
| Nathin Butler | … | Carney Boy #1 |
| Tara Carpenter | … | Essential Services Woman |
| Rebecca Chatfield | … | Magarri’s Niece |
| Lillian Crombie | … | Bandy Legs |
| Max Cullen | … | Old Drunk |
| Essie Davis | … | Cath Carney |
| Arthur Dignam | … | Father Benedict |
| Michelle Dyzla | … | Hairdresser |
| Haidee Gaudry | … | Essential Services Woman |
| Sandy Gore | … | Gloria Carney |
| Terence Gregory | … | Mission Boy |
| David Gulpilil | … | King George |
| Jamie Gulpilil | … | Porter (Wharf) |
| Peter Gwynne | … | Lady Sarah’s Butler |
| Sean Hall | … | Soldier (At Government House) |
| Nigel Harbach | … | Carney Boy #4 |
| Joy Hilditch | … | Essential Services Woman |
| Matthew Hills | … | Flying Boat Steward |
| Jimmy Hong | … | Carney Manservant |
| Bill Hunter | … | Skipper (Qantas Sloop) |
| Jarwyn Irvin-Collins | … | Mission Boy |
| Hugh Jackman | … | Drover |
| Robert Jago | … | Military Police |
| John Jarratt | … | Sergeant |
| Eugene Kang | … | Waiter |
| Nicole Kidman | … | Lady Sarah Ashley |
| Jacek Koman | … | Ivan |
| Crusoe Kurddal | … | Aboriginal Tracker (as Crusoe Kurdal) |
| Liam Lannigan | … | Mission Boy |
| Siena Larsson | … | Flying Boat Passenger Child |
| Nathan Lawson | … | Constable #2 |
| Cody Lea | … | Mission Boy |
| Jack Leech | … | Ball Guest |
| Charles Leung | … | Waiter |
| Jacob Linger | … | Evacuee Child |
| Mark Malabirr | … | Porter (Wharf) |
| John Martin | … | Ball Guest |
| Logan Mattingley | … | Mission Boy |
| Adam McMonigal | … | Darwin Policeman |
| Ben Mendelsohn | … | Captain Dutton |
| Dylan Minggun | … | Mission Boy |
| Phillippe Moon | … | Ball Photographer (as Philippe Moon) |
| Nyalik Munungurr | … | Mission Boy |
| Patrick Mylott | … | Naval Officer |
| David Ngoombujarra | … | Magarri |
| Barry Otto | … | Administrator Allsop |
| Angus Pilakui | … | Goolaj |
| Robin Royce Queree | … | Ball Guest (as Robin Queree) |
| Mark Rathbone | … | Stockman |
| Garry Scott | … | Downtown Pub Patron |
| John Sheerin | … | Fireman |
| Bruce Spence | … | Dr. Barker |
| Jack Thompson | … | Kipling Flynn |
| Wah Yuen | … | Sing Song (as Yuen Wah) |
| Kerry Walker | … | Myrtle Allsop |
| Elaine Walker | … | Ball Guest |
| Brandon Walters | … | Nullah |
| John Walton | … | Carney Boy #2 |
| David Wenham | … | Neil Fletcher |
| Matthew Whittet | … | Brother Frank |
| Ursula Yovich | … | Daisy |
| Brendan Byrne | … | Ball Guest |
| Danielle Carey | … | Evacuee Mother |
| Will Gabriel | … | Drover / Guest / Waiter |
| Jedda | … | Drover’s Dog |
| Shaun R.L. King | … | Soldier |
| Anton Monsted | … | Maitland Ashley |
| Brennan Muhoberac | … | Military Policeman |
| Harrison Norris | … | Crying Boy |
| Chris Polzot | … | Firefighter |
| Derek Steen | … | Soldier |
| Schuyler Weiss | … | Man at Ball |
Source: imdb, wikipedia