The Hindu : New Delhi News : A touching tribute to generations lost and found…. Cinema

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 04, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

New Delhi

New Delhi

A touching tribute to generations lost and found…. Cinema

RANA SIDDIQUI ZAMAN

Good show: Director Phillips Noyace‘s ‘Australia’ is a praiseworthy attempt to take us through the country’s bitter historical experience while ‘Outsourced’ (right) reveals India’s sweet and sour flavours to an American protagonist.

AUSTRALIA

(At DT Cinemas, Gurgaon, and other theatres elsewhere)

Queen Elizabeth of England may have tendered a formal apology some years ago for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre by General O’ Dwyer in Amritsar, but has that changed the life of the families who lost so many precious lives? The Australian Prime Minister may have offered an apology to the nation recently for stolen generations in Australia, but how does it impact their lives now, no one knows. If you really want to know what are the “Stolen Generations”, wh y are they called so, what happened to them and where are they now, you may well click on a search engine on the Internet and find out some information, but producer Baz Luhrmann and director Phillips Noyace here in this film give you oceans of graphic detail in 2 hours and 45 minutes.

A 20th Century Fox film, Australia is set at the beginning of World War II in northern Australia. It is a story of love, courage, compassion, treachery and empathy.

In brief, an English aristocrat called Lord Ashley inherits a cattle station which is as big as Maryland. But the size of the cattle station called Faraway Downs is his biggest threat as the cattle barons hatch a conspiracy to take it over. Here his wife Sarah, or Lady Ashley, reluctantly joins him. She is faced with untoward situations – the mysterious murder of her husband at the station, the woes of the people of Stolen Generation, a few of whom work at the station, the truth of the cattle barons and charity houses for children, and so on…. Now, in order to save her land and 2,000 cattle, she must march them across hundreds of miles, through tough terrains, rivers and desert, to the city for sale.

She begins by dismissing the services of Fletcher (David Wenham) who actually works as a cattle baron, King Carney (Bryan Brown). She takes the help of Drover (Hugh Jackson) and Nulla (debutant Brandon Walters), an aboriginal eight-year-old boy (from Stolen Generation), who work at the cattle station.

What makes this historic epic interesting is that the tale is told through a “half-caste” Nulla whose grandfather he calls King George (David Dudphill) has taught him some magical power of story-telling that connects generations and the power of music that tames violent animals and connects lost people.

Tilted to serve the cause of the Stolen Generation, the film despite certain loose ends that make it dreary and tedious at places is a brave attempt. Going back to 1939-41 through the costumes, valleys, market places, harbours, regal houses, cattle station and aboriginals is no easy task.

More than Jackson, Nicole or Bryan, it is Brandon Walters who takes the cake. His voice mesmerises and his innocence captivates the audience. You shed a tear when his mother dies in the water tank as she attempts to save him from the hands of the white Australians who come visiting the cattle station.

Nicole’s hard work is convincing and Jackson steals many young hearts. David Dudphill gives a chilling, compelling performance as an aboriginal. The film essentially is a moving advertisement for Australia’s spectacular scenic marvels, but it’s the scene of cattle marching that is perched in the memory as you leave the cinema hall.

Hats off to the film-makers for coming up with a make-believe saga in these high-tech times. It compels you to spare a thought for the Stolen Generation. Had the film not failed at places, it would well have stood up against the Titanic today.

OUTSOURCED

(At Wave, Raja Garden, and other theatres)

It’s a good way to introduce India to an American: first bring its shortcomings out in the open and then justify the positive points about them! This film starring Ayesha Dharker, Josh Hamilton and Asif Basra in the main roles is a funny way of looking at semi-urban India.

Directed by John Jeffcoat, it has a simple story. A vice-president of an American BPO, Tawd (Josh Hamilton), comes to Mumbai’s suburb Dharapuri to “teach the American way of tele-marketing” that includes the famous American accent, and, well, a lie that they are based in Chicago!

Bruised by the Indian mentality and vast cultural differences, Tawd initially wants to escape the job when “the celebration of colours –Holi” sets the ball rolling. He gradually accepts the change while he falls in love with one of his employees, Aasha (Ayesha Dharkar).

The film truly reveals the hypocrisy of both Indian and American societies, but subtly. It makes you laugh at your own country – the roaming cows on the road, a “spiritual” beggar, the anomaly of McDonald’s as Mac Donnelle – a burger eating joint, street food and beverages such as “chuski”, jam-packed dirty lanes and by-lanes, kids playing on the roads, dhobi ghat, Indian toilets and so on.

Ayesha Dharkar minus her weight looks good but Josh wins the heart. You pity him as he confronts cheats on the road and an aunty trying to “show” her daughter to him, and so on. With adequate cuts, great local feel through cinematography, simple everyday dialogue and lots of humour, the film leaves a feel-good impact on the audience.

Watch it for fun and to see if at all we need to change our ways to impress a foreigner.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi
News: ePaper | Front Page | National | Tamil Nadu | Andhra Pradesh | Karnataka | Kerala | New Delhi | Other States | International | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous | Engagements |
Advts: Retail Plus | Classifieds | Jobs | Obituary | Updates: Breaking News |