Australia debuts in rainy Sydney

Kidman brought a brolly to the Sydney premiere

Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman have attended the world premiere of period epic Australia in a rainy Sydney.

Directed by Baz Luhrmann of Moulin Rouge! fame, the film - reported to have cost $120m (£80m) - is the most expensive ever made on the continent.

Speaking at a press conference earlier, Kidman expressed her delight at being "part of the Australian cinema".

"Rarely do you get to make a film that you've dreamed of doing since you were little," said the 41-year-old.

Kidman plays an English aristocrat who falls in love with Jackman's rugged cattleman against the backdrop of World War II.

It is hoped the film - mostly shot in the north-west of Australia - will boost local tourism.

"We have amazing landscapes and historical events," Luhrmann said of his homeland. "Epics are made of these things."

"This is a celebration for me, and hopefully for this country," added Hawaii-born Kidman, who was raised in Australia from the age of three.

'Stolen generation'

Part of the film, which clocks in at two hours and 40 minutes, focuses on the Japanese bombing of the city of Darwin in 1942.

The story also deals with the so-called "stolen generation" of Aboriginal children who were taken away from their families to be raised by white foster parents.

Hugh Jackman (left) plays Kidman's romantic interest in the film

Brandon Walters, a 13-year-old Aboriginal from Broome in Western Australia, was hand-picked by Luhrmann to play a leading role.

The boy, who had not left his home state prior to making the film, said he did not know of Kidman before he was cast.

Kidman said she felt "very protective" towards her co-star, who also appears in a £17m tourism campaign linked to the film.

"If the film does really well he is going to need a lot of protection," she told reporters ahead of the Australia premiere in downtown Sydney.

Australian critics have given a mixed reception to the film, with one saying it was "good but way, way too long".

"There is a lot of narrative flab and longueurs," wrote Jim Schembri in the Canberra Times, adding the film "often has the pace of a steamroller with engine trouble".