Faraway Downs

Disclaimer: I have only watched the first episode, which premiered at SXSW Sydney.

Faraway Downs is a masterful retelling of the 2008 film "Australia". In this adaptation, a young Brandon Walters is given more time to shine as brightly, if not more so, than the illustrious Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman.

While paying homage to the spirit of the original "Australia" from 2008, this rendition strives forward in narrative form and stylistic feature. It's a refreshing take on a well-loved tale, breathing new life into the story.

What immediately captures my attention is the exquisite cinematography. The film makes brilliant use of the 600 kilometres of footage originally captured during the production of the 2008 film, resulting in awe-inspiring visuals that skilfully weave together an uplifting presentation of place and people. The landscape becomes a character in its own right, enhancing the overall storytelling experience.

This time around, Faraway Downs takes a unique perspective, focusing more on Nullah's view, an exceptional portrayal by Brandon Walters. This shift in emphasis introduces a fresh and captivating narrative lens, providing an enticing glimpse into Nullah's storytelling.

Faraway Downs is a captivating and innovative retelling of a beloved classic. With its dedication to portraying the significance of place and people, combined with an exciting new perspective, this adaptation promises a visually stunning and thought-provoking cinematic journey. I look forward to the upcoming episodes to see how this story unfolds.

I missed the original movie, but this series caught my attention from a year studying abroad in Australia. The scenery is beautiful. The story had me looking up different events in Australian history, which to me is always a good thing when a show draws a viewer to research the actual history.

Loved Nicole Kidman & Hugh Jackman in their roles. Bryan Brown & David Wenham do a great job at making you dislike their characters. David Gulpilil and. Brandon Williams are wonderful in showing aspects of Aboriginal culture. The actors all do a great job at bringing their characters to life.

I enjoyed the cinematography and most of the musical accompaniment. All in all a very enjoyable watch.

I almost didn't watch this, but so glad I did. This is filmed on an epic scale especially the big cattle drive. And if you think you don't like Westerns, you might be surprised. It was quite thrilling. The storyline was so good, the actors were perfect and the photography was amazing. It started a little quirky with Nicole Kidman as quite a foolish character and then she morphs into this fantastic strong woman who leads the story. And a great story! It is a western, a love story and a story of the magic of the Aboriginal people. All the actors in this are at the top of their game. And of course, you can never go wrong with an Australian production. Baz Luhrman did an amazing job with this. I highly recommend this!

It's not as good as you would have hoped. It's got a lot of Indiana Jones type action, storyline and production. Too much Hollywood in this and it's too bad. Predictable bad guys and of course the indigenous characters are highly moral and God like. White man bad. It's probably good for fans of the Hallmark Channel since there is an obvious Love Story. The rough cowboy and the sophisticated lady. Yawn fest. It looks very saturated and there is a lot of CGI and melodramatic music. The intro music and credits music is possible the worst thing about this series. You'll want to move quickly off the credits to make it stop.

You must actually get Baz Luhrmann to get the brilliance here. Haunting and eloquent. Insightful and poetic. Tragic and breathtaking. All at once.

This will no doubt be a show that I will watch again and again. And I will encourage my writing students to study the example that Luhrmann demonstrates in this masterpiece of how to put an audience squarely in the skin of the protagonists, give those characters believable, sympathetic qualities and a balance of flaws, and then take the audience on a thrilling ride.

This adaptation sweeps us up from the very beginning and transports us to another world. I fully expect Emmys all around. Nothing was left on the floor.