This is a mixed bag of entertainment. Big 1940's cinema-style swells of emotion, panoramic cheeky cattle stampedes, and awesome WWII air raids fill the screen. But the meandering scenes in between have been cut out at the seams so often, you'll be wandering what it all means.

The most notable feature of this feature, is that it doesn't feel like a feature at all. Perhaps it's a mini-series that's been cut down from eight hours to three. The first hour or so is less cut and works like a feature, but after what should have been the climax passes, editors take to the film like a machete-wielding Aussie to the bush. Big screen moments are spliced together, subtle moments that give meaning to the drama are spliced out. It's comical. Australia becomes the energizer bunny (or should I say roo), never seeming to stop, with one would-be-climax after the other.

Hugh and Nicole are both fine actors, but their chemistry ... not so sizzling. Their brief love scene fits into the tapestry like a romance cover slapped on "The Lion King." More of an adventure Disney film than a love story, the initial quirky tone hops off into the outback only to be replaced by a full hour or two of muddled or simply confused direction. This might also be the consequence of such aggressive scene cutting.

Still, there are a few powerful moments that moved me emotionally, and I could sense the potentially potent novel lurking somewhere down under this two and 3/4 hour reel of splices.

-- Books by Author/Illustrator Ross Anthony