Luhrmann, who belongs to Australia - like Kidman and Jackman (others considered for the role were co-country mates Russell Crowe and Heath Ledger) - shows an understanding of his country tinged by a loving eye.

The story is told in the words of a “half-caste” boy — half Aborigine, half white — who will be sent away to be raised by the Church if found by cops. Every time a vehicle comes driving to the ranch owned by Sarah’s husband, the boy, called Nullah, hides in a water-tank. His mother, forced to sleep with the ranch’s manager, drowns while hiding in one.

Luhrmann captures the tragedy of their lives as simply as he does their deep association with the land through Nullah’s grandfather, a magic man who watches over them. Smeared in ash, standing on a leg, he may be a cliché, but you never doubt the strength of that magic.

Luhrmann then takes it up one more gear when Sarah decides to take on businessman Carney (Brown) who controls the supply of beef to the armed forces. With war near, it’s a lucrative business. Sarah has on her hands some 1,500 head of prime cattle and the contract would be hers if only she can herd them across thousands of miles to the wharf in Darwin.

This can sound complicated, but watch out for how Luhrmann deftly establishes the plot in one walk by Sarah, off the plane from England, across a plank and into a bar, juxtaposing different characters doing different things and ending with her abruptly introduced to what life away from genteel England could be.

... contd.