Susan Granger’s review of “Faraway Downs” (Hulu)
Do you recall a 2008 Baz Luhrmann film called “Australia”? Starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, I found it an exciting, epic adventure but – at the box-office – it went nowhere, perhaps because it touched too superficially on that country’s notorious Aboriginal race issue.
So resourceful Luhrmann recently re-edited it into a six-episode limited series called “Faraway Downs,” telling a compelling tale as viewed through the eyes of Nullah (Brandon Walters), an enchanting half-Aboriginal outcast child – and adding nearly an hour of never-before-seen footage.
Arriving at the inhospitable outpost of Darwin in 1939, just before the outbreak of W.W. II, Lady Sarah Ashley (Kidman) is an arrogant British aristocrat determined to visit her philandering husband’s enormous estate known as Faraway Downs.
Armed with divorce papers, she’s stunned to discover that he’s been killed by his scheming, loathsome property manager (David Wenham) who’s in cahoots with King Carney (Bryan Brown), a ruthlessly malevolent cattle baron.
Sarah’s only hope of saving the ramshackle Outback ranch lies with the Drover (Hugh Jackman), a feisty, restless stockman. And she becomes immediately protective of young Nullah whose mother Daisy (Ursula Yovich) works on the property; he refers to Sarah as ‘Missus Boss’.
Together – with the help of Nullah’s grandfather, King George (David Gulpilil), a mysterious Aboriginal shaman – they drive 1500 head of cattle across the vast Kuraman Desert to market – just as Japanese warplanes are bombing Darwin in 1942 with twice the airfreight they used to attack Pearl Harbor.
Stunning both as a vibrant journey and as fascinating history, it’s awesomely photographed by Mandy Walker (“Elvis”), intensely emotional and creatively challenging, including an effective “Wizard of Oz” motif.
Nicole Kidman conjures up an incandescent image of a powerful, passionate woman shaped by destiny, while Hugh Jackman exudes charismatic intensity.
In tribute to the Stolen Generations, each chapter begins with a tribute to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their children, who were brutally kidnapped by government officials and forced to assimilate.
New opening credits featuring animated kangaroos were designed by Indigenous artists, there’s a new theme from Budjerah and a new song by Anpuru.
If Luhrmann’s experiment works, look for other filmmakers to re-imagine their lengthy, big-budget extravaganzas into episodic segments for the small screen.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Faraway Downs” is an exotic, exhilarating 8, streaming on Hulu/Disney+.
