Omari Gates
Faraway Downs is a recut and reimagined version of the 2008 film Australia by Baz Luhrmann. The film was adapted into a six-part miniseries for Hulu. While the main plot and central romance remain the same, the series expands on the story and includes new scenes and plot twists. The biggest difference is that the series is reframed around Nullah, an Indigenous child, and focuses on amplifying Indigenous representation.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of the movie | Australia |
| Name of the series | Faraway Downs |
| Director | Baz Luhrmann |
| Year of release | 2008 |
| Type of content | Movie |
| Type of content | Series |
| Number of episodes | 6 |
| Length of the movie | 2 hours and 45 minutes |
| Length of the series | 3 hours and 45 minutes |
| Streaming platform | Hulu |
| Streaming platform | Disney+ |
| Main plot | Lady Sarah Ashley, an English aristocrat, heads to Australia to force her husband to sell his struggling cattle ranch called Faraway Downs. |
| Main plot | After her husband’s murder, Lady Sarah enlists the help of a local driver to protect the property from a greedy cattle baron. |
| Main difference | The series primarily focuses on Nullah's (Brandon Walters) perspective. |
| Main difference | The series amplifies Indigenous representation. |
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What You'll Learn
Faraway Downs is a recut of the film Australia
Faraway Downs is a recut of Baz Luhrmann's 2008 film Australia. The six-part limited series expands on the story and themes of the original film, with additional footage and a new focus on the Stolen Generations, a government-backed effort to separate biracial children from their First Nations families. The series also deepens the perspective of the Indigenous child character, Nullah, who was brought up under the Australian government's Draconian racial policy.
The series format allows for a slower pace and more time with Aboriginal characters, expanding on the real-life tragedy of their treatment during this period. The additional runtime also allows for new characters and expanded relationships, with critics praising the episodic storytelling. Luhrmann has described the series as "episodic storytelling" and a "more complete version" of the film, allowing the story to "breathe a little more".
While the narrative remains largely the same, there are some notable differences. For example, the series includes a fistfight between Drover and Neil Fletcher, intercut with scenes from The Wizard of Oz, and an expanded disagreement between the two characters about what to do with the ranch. The series also reveals the name of Jackman's character, The Drover, as Jack Clancy.
Faraway Downs is not a prequel to the film, as some may assume, but rather a recut and reimagined version, with a different flow to the opening sequence and new footage that changes the way the film plays. The series also features new music, including a title sequence song from Budjerah.
Luhrmann has described his motivation for revisiting the material as a desire to "finish the story" and to find new perspectives within the original film. He has also acknowledged the challenges of filming Australia, including equine flu among the horses and rare rainfall in the outback, which delayed production.
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The series expands on the film's narrative and themes
Faraway Downs is a recut and reimagined version of the 2008 film Australia, which was directed by Baz Luhrmann. The film was adapted into a six-part miniseries for Hulu, with the episodes running at or under the half-hour mark. The series is not a prequel to the film, as some viewers initially thought, but rather a director's cut of sorts, with new footage interwoven with the original.
In addition to amplifying Indigenous representation, the series includes new scenes that deepen the character development and expand on existing relationships. For example, there is an expanded disagreement between Neil, Drover, and Sarah about what to do with the ranch and their conflicting views on Australia as a country. The series also adds a fistfight between Drover and Neil, intercut with scenes from The Wizard of Oz, which symbolically aligns a drunk Neil with the Wicked Witch of the West.
The additional runtime of the series allows for a slower pace and a more nuanced exploration of the film's epic love story. The series format also enables a more episodic style of storytelling, which helps viewers better digest the characters and events. Overall, the series provides a more complete and layered version of the story told in the film.
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The show focuses on the character Nullah
Faraway Downs is a recut of Baz Luhrmann's 2008 film "Australia", with additional footage and a new perspective. The show focuses on the character Nullah, a young Aboriginal boy played by Brandon Walters. Nullah is an Indigenous child brought up under the Australian government's harsh racial policies, who links Lady Ashley and The Drover.
Nullah's narration traces how Lady Sarah Ashley leaves the United Kingdom for Australia, struggles to adapt to life at the Faraway Downs cattle ranch, and eventually falls in love with Drover while caring for Nullah. Nullah also plays a significant role in the film's main plot, which revolves around Lady Ashley and Drover's efforts to protect Faraway Downs, a struggling cattle ranch, from a greedy cattle baron.
The show expands on Nullah's experiences and the treatment of Aboriginal people, including a scene where Lady Ashley witnesses biracial children being forcibly taken from their families and sent to Mission Island. The creative team intentionally amplified Indigenous representation, with Indigenous artists animating the opening credits and a soundtrack that honours First Nations people.
The character of Nullah was always intended to shine a light on the roles of First Nations people and the Stolen Generations, and Luhrmann felt that reframing the story around Nullah's perspective allowed him to deepen the Indigenous presence in the show and better represent the scars left by the Stolen Generations in Australian history.
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Faraway Downs amplifies Indigenous representation
Faraway Downs is a Hulu series by Baz Luhrmann that revisits his 2008 movie Australia. The narrative of the film centres on the Stolen Generations, with Nullah, a young Indigenous boy, living in fear of being taken away from his mother due to his mixed race.
The Faraway Downs team focused on amplifying Indigenous representation, with Indigenous artists animating the opening credits and a soundtrack that better honours First Nations. The creative team intentionally tried to deepen the Indigenous presence in the show. The additional runtime of the show is dedicated to spending more time with Aboriginal characters, expanding the real-life tragedy of their treatment during that era.
The biggest difference between Faraway Downs and Australia is that the show primarily focuses on Nullah's perspective. While Australia opens with voice-over narration from Nullah, Faraway Downs is reframed around the young character and their experiences. Nullah is the Indigenous child brought up amid the Australian government's Draconian racial policy, who links Lady Ashley and The Drover.
The film was always intended to shine a light on the roles of First Nations people, albeit alongside a romantic drama. One of the threads that inspired Baz Luhrmann to reimagine Australia was the idea of it being Nullah's narrative. Faraway Downs better represents the scars left in Australian history by the Stolen Generations.
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Baz Luhrmann changed the ending of Australia for Faraway Downs
Faraway Downs is not a prequel to Australia, but a re-edited version of Baz Luhrmann's 2008 film. The Oscar-nominated filmmaker has re-edited his melodrama into a story told across six chapters for Hulu, incorporating nearly an hour of new footage and a different ending.
The film Australia was a product of its time, as reflected in its original ending. The final act of the film plays out against the 1942 Japanese attack on Darwin, a real Australian town near the fictional Faraway Downs. In the film, Lady Ashley, The Drover, and Nullah reunite against great odds before letting Nullah go with King George. However, in Faraway Downs, the series, Luhrmann deploys an alternate ending where The Drover is killed after the attack, leaving Lady Ashley to face her next chapter alone.
Luhrmann shot two different conclusions to the film during production, and Faraway Downs features the one he feels is most true to the theme at the story's center. He stated that the ending of Faraway Downs was shot during the production of Australia but was replaced with a happier ending due to the national mood at the time. There was a huge financial crisis, and he felt a sense of deep insecurity and fear in the world. He calibrated the ending of Australia to the audience's feelings at the time.
The new ending in Faraway Downs allows Luhrmann to finish the story he set out to tell in Australia. It is not a director's cut but an opportunity to \"go deeper\" and find new perspectives within the film. The additional runtime in the series allows for more time with Aboriginal characters and expands on the real-life tragedy of their treatment during the Stolen Generations.
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Frequently asked questions
No, Faraway Downs is not the same as Australia. Faraway Downs is a Hulu series adapted from the 2008 film Australia.
The series Faraway Downs was created by Baz Luhrmann, the director of the original film Australia.
Luhrmann wanted to "finish the story" and go "deeper" with new perspectives and additional scenes that were not included in the original film.
The main difference is that the series primarily focuses on the perspective of Nullah, an Indigenous child brought up under the Australian government's Draconian racial policy.
No, Faraway Downs is not a prequel to Australia. It is a recut and reimagined version of the original film.
