Okay, I don't get it. I have just seen the movie Australia for the second time in a week, and seeing it the second time, I am confirmed once again in my judgment that this is one of the great movies of the last ten years. And then I go and check the ticket sales for the movie and discover that it has tanked at the box office.This is very, very unfortunate.
I thought, well, maybe my aesthetic antennae are just all messed up. But I have recommended this movie to friends who, on my recommendation (complete with the high expectations I set for it), went and saw it too. They too say it is a fabulous movie. One of them told me it was the "Gone With the Wind" of the decade. I concur. So that's not it.
So I am slowly settling on two things: First, that the movie was not well promoted. Second, that it was not well received by the critics.
For an analysis of this second point--about the critics--you can wait for my review of this movie which will be out in a couple of days.
If you haven't gone and seen it, you will really miss out on what I think is a classic--literally.
6 comments:
Maybe the reason is that few Americans speak Australian (hmmm... does the movie have subtitles?).
A dingo took my baby...
Art,
There are a couple of scenes where it could have used them.
The greatness was in the story, and the way the story reflects light off of other movies and a million personal stories. It wasn't in acting or script, which is what critics likely looked for.
Casablanca's writers thought it was a quick, cheap B-movie with an heavy helping of war boosterism, and they never did figure out why it was the most best movie ever.
I didn't realize the reviews were so-so. It looks a bit corny, but I wouldn't mind seeing it on tv or when the dvd is available. $8+ is a bit steep these days for any movie. Besides, the Aussie Speak might remind me of creepy Ken Ham.
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