Over the Rainbow

Last night we finally got to watch Australia. And while I never thought I would, I think I have a favorite director... Baz L....lurhman? Luhrman? How do you spell it... let me check... Baz Luhrmann. Moulin Rouge won me over. It was unavoidable. So I finally dragged Adam to see it.

I don't usually like Nicole Kidman, but I don't ALWAYS hate her like Claire Danes or anything. She's just so... so... pale and fragile seeming. Which I guess worked for her benefit as a strange crazy white lady in Oz.


Hugh Jackman aka wolverine was .... muscular, to say the least. He evn poured water over his glistening muscle mass of over tanned meat he calls his body. ala herbal essences in the shower wet hair tossing. It was ridiculous and hilariously wonderful allll at the same time.



But what I can say? I always love a good love story, especially an epic one. I loved the movie. I left feeling happy and warm and like I could fly.

But enough o' dem white fella.

My faaaaavorite part.... was the magic.

Adam said that he understood why the movie wasn't well received by audiences. Because people don't like hocusypocusy magic like especially next to some silly european "epic" love story. That they seem silly and unbelievable in the same movie. 

But that's just my favorite kind of thing... Magic Realism.

   That's where it's at.  That's where I fall in love.

This guy was so bad ass it was 5 stages of ridiculous. Look at him in this picture. He alone was epic.

Now I'm torn, don't get me wrong, I saw the perpetuation of stereotypes as the non whites as crazy bush people. And a little bit of that white man's burden thing. They want to gloss over the atrocity of Australia's Stolen Generations. I heard an interview with Luhrmann and this was his way of playing ode to those ripped from their cultures. case studies: I don't think it was played like savages v. whites. It didn't play out like that. It was more of the racist whites v. everyone else. It was how does someone who doesn't belong to white or black find a place to belong somewhere in between. That had more resonance than the negative with me.

I could see why a lot of people won't like it. But me? I love it.