I have an Aussie question. We watched Australia the other night. What did you think of the movie? I loved the little boy, he stole the movie. What has become of him? How much truth in the story is there? I know the lost generation stuff but not so much the war and cattle battles. My uncle was in Australia during WWII. Thanks.

Replies: (list all replies)

Hi GC. I haven't seen the movie because I can't stand either Nicole Kidman or Hugh Jackman. I know they are talented, but both leave me cold. Nor can I take Baz Lurhmann's direction - it was all downhill after he made Strictly Ballroom back in the 1990s. In a nutshell, there is not much truth at all in the film. The bulldust about Aborigines being herded towards invading Japanese troops is a complete falsehood. The Stolen Generations issue is very complex. Certainly, many Aboriginal children were removed from their parents but it was not because they were black or part-black, it was because they were in danger (health, safety) or their parents gave them up. I am sure that being taken away from one's parents at a young age was hurtful to both the children and the parents, and there is no doubt that it is the cause of most of the social ills affecting many Aborigines. Strangely enough, the Labor Government which was very critical of the former government's approach to the Stolen Generation and Aboriginal issues is now proceeding down the track of removing Aboriginal children from disfunctional communities and families for their own safety. No doubt, in future years this will be referred to as another Stolen Generation. The main problem with the film is that its makers misrepresent this work of fiction as being factual. For example, when they were promoting the film both Luhrmann and Jackman made statements likening the treatment of Aborigines to what the Nazis did to the Jews. This statement is offensive on so many levels, I won't even start. The little boy, Jamal Bednarz-Metallah, appeared in an Australian Tourism campaign based on the movie Australia, but nothing since. He is probably off being a kid, which might be the best thing for him....Rose Bush...eom

CG, I forgot to mention the war!! During WW2, Darwin was bombed by the Japanese. People were evacuated from Darwin and the Torres Strait Islands. In Papua New Guinea, Australian troops fought the Japanese. The Americans came to help break the back of the Japanese offensive and this forms the basis of the ANSUS Treaty which is still in existance today (Australia, New Zealand, US). I don't know about the cattle battles. It sounds like another Luhrmann fiction to me.....Rose Bush.....eom

Thanks for the info. I am sending you an email to tell you my uncles story--it is slightly off color! eom CG

---

---