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Baz Luhrmann's Faraway Downs, a mini-series with six episodes, takes viewers back to the early 1940s in the Australian town of Darwin. It explores how an English noblewoman's arrival turns many lives upside down. However, after the show was released on November 26, 2023, it left viewers wondering if it was the remake of the 2008 movie Australia.
The series Faraway Downs is not a remake of the film Australia and is a fictional property that was featured in the film. However, the two do have a similarity as the film is also directed by Baz Luhrmann. The film Australia stars Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, and is an epic historical romantic drama. It is set in Northern Australia during World War II. While Faraway Downs plays a central role in the film's plot, it isn't a remake of the movie.
That being said, Faraway Downs is an extension of Australia.
Is Faraway Downs based on a true story?
While viewers wondered if Faraway Downs was a remake of the film Australia, there were others who questioned if it was based on a true story. However, the answer to that is also no. Baz Luhrmann has written and directed the fictional story of Faraway Downs. That being said, he has anchored the story in certain actual events for authenticity even though the characters are all fictional.
As mentioned earlier, the story begins with an Englishwoman's journey to the Australian Outback, exploring the historical connection between England and Australia. Luhrmann also chose a World War II setting over an 18th-century one for greater impact. He also highlights the Stolen Generation through the character Nullah. This depiction is reflective of the struggle of mixed-race indigenous children in Australia.
Why did Baz Luhrmann extend Australia into a six-episode miniseries, Faraway Downs?
Baz Luhrmann transformed his 2008 film Australia into a mini-series, Faraway Downs. He reimagined the original footage for a serialized version, adding new editing and expanded sequences. The series introduces a new ending and an updated soundtrack. This is because Luhrmann aimed to explore deeper layers and alternative plot twists through the episodic format.
He focused on significant themes like the roles of First Nations people and the "Stolen Generations" in Australian history. The resurgence of episodic storytelling in streaming media inspired this adaptation.
Speaking to Variety, he said that he needed a "big canvas" and while making Australia, he had to "try to fit it into a not-epic box."
"It’s disjointed sometimes because I’ve had to compress the underlying themes and the epic nature of it. The thing that got me going about this idea of revisiting it was episodic streaming," Luhrmann said.
Baz Luhrmann changed the ending of Australia in Faraway Downs to align more closely with the film's central theme. He also shot two different endings during the production of Australia and selected one for the series. In Luhrmann's regard, it was believed to be most true to the story's theme.
Additionally, he felt that this ending, which focuses on Lady Ashley's relationship with her environment rather than with any one person, spoke more directly to the primary theme of the movie.
“It may be a scene you can do without, and I did...But what you learn by including it is the relationship between all those three characters, and you get a better sense of the fabric of the relationship between Hugh and Nicole’s characters. The stakes are higher. You are able to lift things up and lean into them more,” he told Variety.
In another interview with The Wrap, Luhrmann expressed why he was compelled to reimagine the movie's ending. He explained how he aimed to reinvent a classic genre, the sweeping epic melodrama, like Lawrence of Arabia or Gone with the Wind. Despite this, he wanted to twist this old form. He attributes this to his goal to entertain and highlight serious issues of the series.
All in all, Baz Luhrmann's series is a creative expansion of his 2008 film Australia, not a remake. This six-episode mini-series revisits the story with new depth, exploring themes of history, culture, and identity in a World War II setting.
Luhrmann's choice to transform the film into a series allows for a more nuanced exploration of significant themes. It particularly focuses on the experiences of First Nations people and the Stolen Generations in Australia.
