Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Moderate
- sweeping
- melodramatic
- romantic
- epic movie night
- historical romance night
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film visually lavish and ambitious but hampered by thin characterization, length, and derivative melodrama.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The cattle drive and unforgiving northern Australian terrain are presented through lavish, widescreen vistas.
The plot includes prejudice, English aristocratic power, indigenous characters, and conflict over land ownership.
The film moves from cattle-drive adventure and romance to wartime bombing while maintaining heightened emotional style.
Lady Sarah Ashley inherits a vast cattle station and confronts English cattle barons plotting to take it.
Films like Australia, and why
Gone with the Wind
lavish historical romance, sweeping landscapes, melodramatic storytelling, and wartime upheaval
The English Patient
romantic adventure, colonial-era setting, spectacular natural environments, and conflict over land
The Last Wave
outback adventure, indigenous cultural context, and emotionally heightened historical drama
Pearl Harbor
large-scale period romance combining personal melodrama with military conflict and visual spectacle
Movie Details
- Director
- Baz Luhrmann
- Release Date
- 2008-11-18
- Runtime
- 165 min
- Rating
- 6.6 / 10 (2503)
Cast
- Nicole Kidman
- Hugh Jackman
- Essie Davis
- David Wenham
- Bryan Brown
- David Gulpilil
- John Jarratt
- Shea Adams
- Nathin Art Butler
- John Walton
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Australia about?
- An aristocratic Englishwoman and a rough stock-man cross the Australian outback to save a cattle station as colonial power struggles give way to wartime danger.
- What is Australia like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Australia as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Australia violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Australia as moderate.
- What did critics think of Australia?
- Critics broadly found the film visually lavish and ambitious but hampered by thin characterization, length, and derivative melodrama.
- Which films are like Australia?
- Films with a similar feel include Gone with the Wind, The English Patient, The Last Wave, and Pearl Harbor.
- How long is Australia?
- Australia runs 165 minutes.
- Where can I watch Australia?
- In United States, Australia is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
