- lady laura ashley, australia
my mother-in-law barby and i were discussing movies
during her recent visit. she mentioned receiving
the movie australia for christmas, one of her favorites.
i hadn't seen it, and she could hardly believe it.
{she knows how much i love epic movies}
how had i missed this one? i didn't know.
she recommended i see it, so i put on my list.
days later, i reserved a copy from the library,
and picked it up this past weekend.
i sat on my bed watching this movie on my
laptop - completely engaged for 3 hours.
the cinematography is STUNNING,
and nicole kidman and hugh jackman weren't bad to look at either.
even more than all of this, it was the history of australia
that i found most fascinating.
sadly, i knew {and still know} very little about the land down under,
and the tragedy of the aboriginal culture. in the movie, we see how
the children, similarly to native american children, half-caste children were
taken from their homes and assimilated into 'white' society. they were forbidden
to speak speak their language(s), and practice their rituals and beliefs.
the children, who were taken from their homes between 1909 through 1969,
are referred to as the "stolen generations".
it makes me sad thinking about what's been lost throughout the world's
history - so many cultures gone or almost gone, due to desire for land, power,
and sadly in the name of religion. just 200 years ago austrailia was mostly
made up of the indigenous people, now they only make up 1.5% of the population.
heartbreaking.
the quote above was spoken by nicole kidman's character {lady laura ashley},
when she was questioning the treatment of the aboriginal people.
later, it's repeated by drover, her love interest played by hugh jackman.
finn happened to walk into my bedroom during a
scene when the native people were being treated poorly.
he recognized what was happening and said,
that's just how the black people were treated here in the
united states. through my tears, i said that's exactly right.
though there is a fabulous love story in this movie,
i was more deeply moved by the underlying story of the
times and the treatment of australia's native people.
{i went online and ordered this book the next day to learn more}
despite alot of tears that fell from watching this movie,
i am so glad i took the time to see it.
