Monday, October 20, 2008

australia


LADY SARAH ASHLEY:
he's not important, no. he's not rich. he has no titles, no honors, no property. if that's what you mean when you call him small, he's as small as you please. i call that large. it's the largest thing i know.

['australia' - baz luhrmann, 2008]

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is that an actual line from the movie?

Anonymous said...

That line I believe is from "A Portrait of a Lady", not "Australia"

kiradb said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
kiradb said...

you are correct. part of that line was written by henry james on 'portrait of a lady'. this is one of the reasons why i like baz luhrmann, he can take something from anywhere in the world and make it his. below, the exact line from mr. james' novel...

"i can't enter into your idea of mr. osmond; i can't do it justice, because i see him in quite another way. he is not important -no, he is not important; he is a man to whom importance is supremely different. if that is what you mean when you call him 'small' then he is as small as you please. i call that large -it's the largest thing i know. i won't pretend to argue with you about a person i am going to marry. i am not in the least concerned to defend mr. osmond; he is not so weak as to need my defence. i should think it would seem strange, even to yourself, that i should talk of him so quietly and coldly, as if he were any one else. i would not talk of him at all, to any one but you; and you, after what you have said -i may just answer you once for all. pray, would you wish me to make a mercenary marriage -what they call a marriage of ambition? i have only one ambition -to be free to follow out a good feeling. i had others once; but they have passed away. do you complain of mr. osmond because he is not rich? that is just what i like him for. i have fortunately money enough; i have never felt so thankful for it as to-day."