By Angie Han. Television Critic. If the hope was that Faraway Downs would restore the reputation of a film that had received mixed reactions upon release, however, the series unfortunately comes up short. Mostly, it serves to demonstrate that a change in format can only accomplish so much. Airdate: Sunday, Nov. Well, anyway, Faraway Downs inserts a few minutes of Sarah showing off some fancy equestrian tricks to prove she does know a lot about horses. The most significant deviation between the two storylines comes in the closing minutes.
Luhrmann famously shot multiple endings for his epic, and Faraway Downs opts for a different, and better, one than Australia got. Faraway Downs reinforces the story as a melodrama, cutting the treacle with a welcome note of bitterness. Perhaps in another 15 years, Luhrmann can serve up yet another version to right that wrong.
Nullah, endearingly performed though he is by Walters, spent much of the film as a vaguely magical victim to be saved by white heroes.
His grandfather, King George David Gulpilil , was flattened even further into a largely silent symbol, myth, landmark β but never an actual person with relatable thoughts or feelings or motives.
Not much of that has changed in the new version. Likely not much could, since the project involves no new footage. In the end, the biggest distinction between Australia and Faraway Downs might simply be the experience. The scope that had felt sprawling for a movie feels limited for a show; even at close to four hours, the new version has little room for curiosity about the everyday details of this work, and even less for the characters who linger at the margins.
