Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Faraway Downs’ Is Plagued With the Same Issues That Made ‘Australia’ Overblown and Paternalistic: TV Review

variety.com:

Aramide Tinubu Baz Luhrmann’s work has always been infused with an air of grandeur. An homage to his homeland, his 2008 film “Australia” is no different.

Set just before the outbreak of World War II, the movie is a sweeping epic, comprising adventure, romance and war. It also attempts to address the country’s notorious race laws, which have affected the Aboriginal populations for centuries.

When the 165-minute movie debuted, neither critics nor audiences knew what to make of it. Now, as more films are being converted into series, Luhrmann has created a serialized version, titled “Faraway Downs,” for Hulu.

The show is told in six chapters and includes unseen footage from the original film. While the series boasts easily digestible sections running 45 minutes or less, the disappointing elements plaguing “Australia” remain the same. “Faraway Downs” opens in September 1939, just as World War II begins.