Australia, the Movie

Ken and I went to a movie last night. This is a major historical event in our household, because we see a movie about once every ten, maybe fifteen years, whether we need to or not. Sitting in a darkened room with a bunch of strangers isn't, for the most part, my idea of a comfortable situation.

But I made an exception yesterday, because Baz Luhrman's Australia is playing, and I HAD to see it. 

I had two major goals in going to Australia:

1. To see the Australian Outback, which I loved when we saw it with our own eyes in April.

2. To see Hugh Jackman shirtless

Neither was a disappointment. 
The movie has something for everyone, beyond the scenery and Hugh Jackman shirtless.

It has a great love story. It has awesome ("awesome" in the old, original meaning of the word, that which creates awe in the viewer; not awesome as in "That pizza was, like, awesome, man!") scenery. It provides an historical view of Australia during WWII. It tells of the Australian government's treatment of the aborigines until just recently. And it's even more than all of this combined.

Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman both do an outstanding job in their roles. But Ken and I were especially taken with the young boy who portrayed the half-caste child, Nullah. Brandon Walters is a natural for the part.

I'll be replaying in my mind scenes from this movie for days to come.