Every single second of the 49-odd minutes of Faraway Downs' final chapter is brilliant, compelling, gripping and emotional cinema-for-television. It hits you right in the feels, again and again. Perhaps Baz Luhrmann's finest cinematic hour. Spectacular action and imagery.
Mission Island, where the Aboriginal children, Nullah amongst them, are taken for forced assimilation is attacked and bombed by Japanese planes en route to Darwin, where Australia experiences it's own Pearl Harbour moment, though the appearance if Japanese fighters in Darwin was much less of a surprise than Pearl Harbour had been. Indeed, the scenes of the bombing of Darwin are reminiscent of Michael Bay's film about December 7, 1941. Of course, all the main players in the Faraway Downs end up in the Northern Territory capital or near it, and against the backdrop of the first Japanese aggression against Australia itself, their fates play out for better or worse.
The new ending will be talked about, but it is in keeping with the rest of the story of Faraway Downs - that of letting go and of loss - so I think it works better than the original one did.
"Australia" was a good film that could have done with a little more fleshing out of some characters and situations. Faraway Downs accomplishes this and more. From a good film to a great miniseries. Very glad Baz Luhrmann found the additional cutting room footage and decided to work on this project during the pandemic slowdown.
10/10.
Mission Island, where the Aboriginal children, Nullah amongst them, are taken for forced assimilation is attacked and bombed by Japanese planes en route to Darwin, where Australia experiences it's own Pearl Harbour moment, though the appearance if Japanese fighters in Darwin was much less of a surprise than Pearl Harbour had been. Indeed, the scenes of the bombing of Darwin are reminiscent of Michael Bay's film about December 7, 1941. Of course, all the main players in the Faraway Downs end up in the Northern Territory capital or near it, and against the backdrop of the first Japanese aggression against Australia itself, their fates play out for better or worse.
The new ending will be talked about, but it is in keeping with the rest of the story of Faraway Downs - that of letting go and of loss - so I think it works better than the original one did.
"Australia" was a good film that could have done with a little more fleshing out of some characters and situations. Faraway Downs accomplishes this and more. From a good film to a great miniseries. Very glad Baz Luhrmann found the additional cutting room footage and decided to work on this project during the pandemic slowdown.
10/10.
