PAGE 34 - KANATA KOURIER-STANDARD - DECEMBER 5, 2008

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7 km North of Perth on Hwy. 511 (across from the old cheese factory)
613-264-1500 Downtown Balderson
Come see what the girls are up to ... a taste of Christmas has arrived
On Saturday, Dec. 6 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Meet Caroline of Ouellette Farms
and sample some of her organic products.
Homemade Christmas ice cream featuring Highland Honey
with Village Treats almond bark and candy cane
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BALDERSON FINE FOODS
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Sunday, December 14 10 A.M. and 6 P.M.
A.Y. Jackson High School
(150 Abbeyhill Road, Kanata)
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our name says it all!
Canadian Diamonds Engagement Rings
Wedding Bands Bridesmaid Accessories
Anniversary Gifts Custom Designs Repairs
Come see our Christmas Selection for
that special one in your life
613-271-8887
www.theweddingjewellers.com
160 Terence Matthews Crescent, Kanata
268229
HOLIDAY HOURS - Dec 1-23
Mon-Fri: 10:00 to 8:00
Sat: 10:00 to 6:00
Sun: 12:00-5:00
December 25 and Jan 1 Closed
Personal and Business Bankruptcies
Credit Counselling
Proposals to Creditors
LET US HELP YOU FIND A NEW BEGINNING
Serving Individuals & Businesses in the Ottawa Valley for over 50 years
For a Free Consultation Call 613-236-9111
300 March Rd. Suite 432, Kanata www.macleod.ca
343 OConnor St.
Ottawa
238179
C O M P A N Y L T D
Trustees In
Bankruptcy
Arts & Entertainment
REEL REVIEWS
KATIE BRADFORD
KOURIER-STANDARD
Baz Luhrmann is perhaps
not as big a household name
as someone like Stephen
Spielberg, but his past
three films have made this
Australian one of the most
profitable and recognizable
directors in Hollywood.
His other films, Strictly
Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet
and Moulin Rouge are all
very well-known. Highly
stylized and praised for it,
these three films mark what
many refer to as Luhrmanns
red curtain period, due
to the theatrical nature of
his films, often featuring
stage performances and (of
course) red curtains.
Australia is constructed
in a way reminiscent of
the greatest epic Westerns
of Classic Hollywood. It
is 1939 and Lady Sarah
Ashley (Nicole Kidman)
travels to Darwin, in north-
ern Australia, to check in on
her husbands cattle com-
pany. When she arrives,
she meets her guide: the
Drover (Hugh Jackman).
The Drover is a wild man, a
cattle driver who lives in the
brush and associates with
Aborigines, making him a
pariah amongst the wealthy
English crowd.
When she arrives at her
husbands ranch, Faraway
Downs, she finds that he
has been murdered. When a
little mixed-race boy named
Nullah (Brandon Walters)
tells her she is destined to
save the ranch, and a feud
with former manager Neil
Fletcher (David Wenham)
begins, Lady Ashley makes
her stay far more perma-
nent.
A battle for land and
money begins. Fraught with
murder plots and extor-
tion, it becomes the least of
their worries when Darwin
is attacked by the Japanese
and the lives of every citizen
of Darwin, black or white,
is thrown into turmoil.
The acting in the film is
excellent. Kidman eventu-
ally grew on me, despite the
fact that her performance
is ridiculously over-the-
top. I think this has a great
deal to do with Luhrmann.
Jackman, this years Sexiest
Man Alive, finally proved to
me why he is deserving of
the title.
If youre ready for a
tear jerker, and a film that
is long mainly due to its
insistence on slowing down
every sad moment (of which
there are many) and show-
ing each characters reaction
face about four thousand
times, then I would see this
film.
Australia made like a Western
3.5 OUT OF 5 STARS
KATIE BRADFORD