I galapa. I magic-man. I wizard-man

Movie Review:  Australia.
The only thought I had at the conclusion of the three-hour epic, Australia … is that I can’t believe I waited so long to see this!  Although the Oscar run was non-existent, this early front-runner for best picture was easily better than many of the actual nominations.  Words can not describe the incredible detail of costume design, cinematography, and picturesque settings … but the story itself is so special and original that you truly want to get lost within it.  Australia tells a great adventure of love … not so much between man and woman, but rather family to child.

This film thankfully does not follow your standard storytelling, especially at times you think it was set up to do (for example, Nullah paints his face blacker in order to safely walk among the townsfolk.  However, when it starts to rain, the story does not take the easy out of his paint washing away and leading to capture).  The story is hard to pick up at first, as you spend more time enjoying the photography than the dialogue, but you easily fall into the groove quickly.  And last but not least, this soundtrack questions the best score and songs of any film of all time.  From the opening theme song to the credits song “The Dover’s Ballad”, this music will literally carry your heart through the story.  The biggest disappointment of the entire film,  though, is that the soundtrack apparently is not for sale! (though some tracks can be found on iTunes).  And did I mention that the entire film feels like it takes place at sunset?

If you haven’t seen it yet, put aside a few hours to let yourself get lost in what can only be described as a wonderful love story caught between Flags of Our Fathers and City Slickers.