Mumbai: The filmmaker talks about making Australia in Australia
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Baz Luhrmann with Nicole Kidman during the filming of Australia |
You have been quite busy?
I was making an epic! My poor family... this is a circus life for my wife (Catherine Martin) and children (Lilly, 5, and William, 3), constantly moving around. It has its pros and cons but I have to say, it's all we know.
Define an epic for us?
In its simplest form, it's big. But in storytelling terms, it's also about the size of spirit, emotion, stars, comedy and tragedy. It's not subtle. A food analogy would be: it's not sushi, it's a three-course meal. The first course contains the comedy that allows you in. The second is the meat, the relationship, everything coming together. And the third is the dessert, the talking about the meaning of life and the tragedy of it all.
What inspired you to make Australia?
I grew up in a very isolated place and I saw a lot of cinema. My dad ran the projector at the gas station for a while when the guy who owned it died, and the two genres I loved most were the musicals and the epics. The latter being the idea of landscape and historical background used to amplify a story. And then, when I saw Westerns, I always thought that we had a similar landscape, up in the north deserts and weird animals. So fast-forward to wanting to do a largescale work to speak on a universal human level, using historical events and identifiable landscapes. All those thoughts and loves came together.
There was a segway first though wasn't there after you finished Moulin Rouge?
Yes. I'd started off doing Alexander the Great with Steven Spielberg. It was escalating into a huge experience which then suddenly froze. I mean we'd started building the sets! So CM (Baz's nickname for his wife, Catherine) and I stopped. We were living in Paris, mourning the loss of Alexander, and we decided we wanted to have children. And we had our little girl, Lilly. It was she who got me thinking: 'we are constantly on the road, where will my children's roots be?' And it drew me back to Australia. We moved back and lived in the north, somewhere remote, no civilisation at all. It's where we shot the film.
Was Nicole Kidman always your lead?
Nicole, Russell Crowe and I had talked about working together on this for a long time. Nicole is a pretty extraordinary package... there was no question about her. Russell has a complicated personal life and we tried to do this together but realised we'd have to wait a year I couldn't. There was Hugh who was always going to be in the movie and he was, at the time, bursting to life as a performer. For The Drover, I needed that combination of fearless, relentless and cool a man who could not be phased and Hugh is just a cool guy. Now I consider Hugh and Nicole to be my partners in this venture and adventure.
The rest of your casting â isn't it entirely Australian?
Yes, I've used all Australians. Every actor. The hardest part to cast was finding a mixed race child to play Nullah. We saw over 1,000 children and I drove into the desert to see 250 more. And there we found Brandon Walters, who is incredible. I had to go to his family and live with them tribally in order to ask their permission for him to be in the film and to get their trust. That experience of finding Brandon was one of the most magical parts of the process.
Your representation of indigenous people is a crucial part of the film but anything photographic is against their spirituality. How did you manage?
We had an Aboriginal film unit which helped. We shot the house, (a cattle station in north western Australia) on land owned by a cattle company and an Aboriginal tribe. We had to explain to them that we wanted to tell a story about the land and how beautiful it is and because the land is so important to them, they agreed. I want to go back out with Brandon's family and participate more in the hunting, cooking in the sand, singing with the waves and pulling in the fish. Only in India, have I felt that close to or at one with every thing. I love the singing and the ceremony. Last time I did it, I was sitting there deliriously watching them pulling in a shark that had tried to eat my assistant!
So is there a parallel between Aboriginal and Indian culture?
There is a similarity and a school of thought that believes the Aboriginal people reached Australia through India. And spiritually there is a kinship. Being with Aboriginals has taught me a great deal. They do nothing disingenuous no small talk. Things are or are not and the longer they take to answer you, the more they respect you. They help you tap into their silence and your own.
Sounds like you fell back in love with your homeland?
I did. Where we shot is truly one of the last frontiers; it's un-chartered territory. You have to take a goat route to get there. The climate changes constantly it's wet, then it's desert and then you have the incredible coastline and clear waters.
Anywhere else in the world you'd compare it too?
In many ways it's very Asian and also a bit Med it has its own outback-y glamour. It's mind-blowingly beautiful for starters and there are massive white fleets of ships and helicopters and seaplanes. And it's full of luxury goods. You can get the best pink diamonds and the best South Sea pearls and the best crocodile skin and sandalwood.
Are you relocating with your family to the Down Under?
We've re-established our home here as well as in Paris and New York. We met a German woman who owned a diamond mine near Noah and she lent us her house. It was croc-infested and extraordinary you get lost on your own property. I'd like to get lost there on a regular basis.
What would you say to those who might think the film is just a big advert for Australia?
You know what, it's not about 'Australia.' It's a metaphor; like Casablanca, or Brazil, or Oklahoma. My Australia is a metaphor for the far away; to surrender, to experience and to be reborn through a relationship. Of course it's my country, my own journey but it's about humanity too. I'm supporting Tourism Australia because the film is such a juggernaut. I'm working with them to protect the brand and not dilute the overall message... about Sarah's journey. Sarah is all about possession and control and it's about her learning that when she lets go, it's all still there. It's a very Aboriginal philosophy. You can't own land, relationships or your children. All you own is your story and you can't just stand still and hold on to it either you have to live it.
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