Thursday, 17 July 2025

 July 18th 2025

Trifole (Truffles) - one night only 20 July
The Divine Sarah Bernhardt
One to One: John and Yoko  (cinema and streaming)
Scandinavian Film Festival

This week's films all target different groups of enthusiasts: Fans of John Lennon, lovers of Italian cinema, Scandi movie enthusiasts, and theatre afficionados - there's something to delight you all!

Espresso Cinema
In a collaboration between Cinema Nova Melbourne and Luna Palace Perth, along with ABCG Films, Espresso Cinema brings to viewers some top-notch Italian movies they would otherwise not get an opportunity to see. The trick is, each screening is a one-night opportunity. For more info on Melbourne screenings, visit: https://www.cinemanova.com.au/events/espresso-cinema. And here's a beauty:

Trifole (Truffles)
Dir: Gabriele Fabro
Length: 100 mins
One-off screening sunday 20th July at at Cinema Nova
© ABCG - grandfather, granddaughter, 
a cute dog and stunning scenery!
With plenty of nominations for awards at various international festivals, this gentle film adds to the growing oeuvre of movies about a much-sought-after mushroom - the truffle. Young Dalia (Ydalie Turk) comes from London to the Piedmont area in northern Italy to care for her 90-year-old aging grandfather Igor (Umberto Usini). He has been a passionate truffle hunter all his life, but his way of life is being threatened, as large grape-growing corporations are destroying the forests where truffles grow to plant commercial vineyards. Igor is suffering dementia, at times mistaking Dalia for his daughter Marta (Margherita Buy). When Igor hurts his leg he sends a reluctant Dalia out with his beloved truffle dog Birba to see what she can dig up, hopefully finding a big truffle to show at the annual Alba White Truffle Fair. OK, we have the set up for what I believed would be a fairly predictable plot, but surprises galore abound. The film heads off into a quasi-fairytale direction, with superstitions abounding and mysterious happenings in the night. Dalia returns from her ill-fated truffle hunt to become bizarrely involved in the pageantry and tradition that surrounds the celebrated Truffle Fair. The sudden jump from a delicate story of family ties to the loudness of the festival may jar for some viewers, but it does highlight a colorful longstanding tradition, even if there is a weirdness in Dalia's involvement.  It also underscores the contrast between Grandpa's deep connection to the land as opposed to commerciality of the festival. Most striking are the breathtaking visuals of the Piedmont landscape - glowing autumn forests, mists over the vineyards, winding village streets. This gorgeous insight into 
tradition, love of land, and a dying way of life make for a memorable movie experience.
4- highly recommended

The Divine Sarah Bernhardt
Dir:  Guillaume Nicloux
Length: 98 mins
© Rialto - lavish period piece highlighting
France's famed actress 
With a 60-year career, Sarah Bernhardt was one of France's most celebrated and scandalous actresses, starting her career in the Comedie Francaise in 1872. She toured Europe and the USA, rising to international fame by the 1880s. In this lavish production we first meet Sarah near the end of her life, in the Paris of the 1920s and dogged by illness. It was a decadent era, filled with Bohemian artists, and Sarah was their darling. The film's timeline moves back and forth through several pivotal eras in her life, to portray a most volatile and flighty personality, along with the most scandalous episodes in her life. I believe a more chronological timeline would serve the film's narrative better. It feels as if we don't get to know enough of the trajectory and detail of her amazing career and that the emphasis is on style and era over substance. Regardless, 
Sandrine Kiberlain gives a strong performance as the woman once considered to be the finest stage actress in the world. Her undying love affair with fellow actor Lucien Guitry (Lauren Lafitte) is a central part of the story, along with the countless sycophants and colorful characters that waft in and out. Settings and costumes are absolutely sumptuous, and for fans of theatre history this is a worthwhile watch.
3 - recommended 

One to One: John and Yoko
Dir: Kevin Macdonald & Sam Rice Edwards
Length: 101 mins
Various digital platforms from the 21st July, also still screening at Cinema Nova
© Madman - a great insight into 
a rare talent and a world-famous relationship
Ah, the nostalgia for the 1970s! After the break-up of The Beatles in 1970, John Lennon went on to forge a solo career, in which he only ever performed one live concert, One to One, to raise money for disadvantaged children. This in-depth doco is about that wonderful concert and much more; it delves into the time in the early 1970s when Lennon lived with Yoko Ono in New York, a time of creativity, counterculture and vibrant activist lifestyles. Making excellent use of archival footage and old interviews, the filmmakers give us a deep insight of the couple's views on politics, music, and each other. We learn how committed Lennon was to social justice, and, in that turbulent time, just how influential his music was in promoting his  world view. (Think, Imagine, an iconic plea for world peace.) John's fascination for TV also serves as a backdrop, with crazy ads, talk shows and clips of the Vietnam war reflecting the feel of the era. I learned a lot about the man that I never knew, and for any fans of Lennon this is no doubt a must-see.
4- highly recommended

Hurtigruten Scandinavian Film Festival 
Until 3rd August - Melbourne
Palace Cinemas
For other states, session times, etc visit https://scandinavianfilmfestival.com/
The best cinema from the chilly Nordic lands is always something to look forward to. I'm often impressed by strong scripting, impressive settings, and an originality that is very different from many of the Hollywood mainstream offerings. Again, some recommendations from me.

Number 24: A thrilling true story of bravery, resistance and espionage. World War 2 has erupted and the Nazis have invaded Norway. 22-year-old average guy Gunnar Sonsteby (Sjur Vatne Brean) immediately signs up for the resistance. He heads up the Oslo Gang, and, with support from British MI5, mounts daring acts of sabotage throughout Norway. Gunnar is the country's most decorated resistance hero. His story here is told with an interesting framing device, as the now elderly Gunnar (Eric Hivju) gives talks to students about what it was like to fight for your country's very survival. The morality of wartime killing is explored via students' questions, and it is obvious many issues haunted Gunnar for the rest of his life. The film is beautifully executed, with plenty of tension, but never played for shock value. Through the lens of one man dedicated to his cause, the greater issues of freedom, justice and war are powerfully explored. Excellent scripting, acting and period recreation. 
 
The Mountain
: An unusual Icelandic film about an astronomer Maria, her husband Atli and their teenage daughter. When Maria heads off on a trip north, attempting to photograph a comet, her husband and daughter are both too busy  to accompany her. When tragedy strikes, the father and daughter must come to terms with their guilt over how they could have influenced a different outcome. Although the ultimate resolution is predictable, the film paints a realistic portrait of 
grief, loss and guilt, with strong believable scripting. Shot among Iceland's highlands, the film also makes terrific visual use of the light and stark dramatic landscape. 

Saturday, 12 July 2025

 July 13th 2025

Grande Maison Paris
El 47

Relatively uplifting films reviewed this week. Foodie fanaticism and fun as a Japanese chef aim for a Michelin star in Paris. Plus a historical story of a bus driver who helped stand up for the poor people and change the face of Barcelona in the 70s. 


Grande Maison Paris
Dir:  Ayuko Tsukahara
© Sony - temperatures rise in trhe 
kitchen of Chef Obana, trying to make it big 
in the Paris culinary scene. 
Chef Obana (Takuya Kimura) runs an upmarket restaurant in Paris, and is striving to get a coveted three-Michelin star ranking. Pitting oneself against the French gastronomic institution is a mighty tall order, and Obana struggles to figure out where his cuisine fits in: should it be all French or allow itself to be inspired by his Japanese roots, along with influences from his multi-cultural staff?  After preparing a not-so-successful banquet for a bunch of wanky Michelin critics, he has a major falling-out with his sous-chef Rinko (Kyoka Suzuki) who leaves. We then follow Obana's painful journey of self-examination as he struggles with his perfectionist nature and his confrontational relationships with those around him. Additional sub-plots involving the pastry chef being hounded by loan sharks and the restaurant's owner angling to evict Obana so he can install his son, add an extra layer of intrigue. The plot overall is fairly predictable, but is never less than highly entertaining, with its mouth-watering scenes of meticulous slicing, dicing, tweezering and all that goes into preparing fine-dining dishes. It's what I term "food porn" which, for lovers of foodie films, is a great reason not to go hungry to the cinema!
3.5 - well recommended

El 47
Dir:  Marcel Barena
Length: 110 mins
© Palace - true story of a modest bus driver
who changed the face of Barcelona
Hot from the recent Spanish Film Festival, this inspiring true story is set in Barcelona in the late 1970s. Poor folks who have ventured north from southern Spain are living in shanty huts, in Torre Baro, a neighborhood they have built themselves, on the outskirts of Barcelona. They are disliked by the locals and municipal officials refuse to improve their suburb with basic amenities like electricity, and a bus service. Local bus driver Manolo Vital (
Eduard Fernandez) decides to take matters into his own hands, and in the form of peaceful dissent hijacks his own vehicle to prove that a bus can go up the narrow streets of Torre Baro. He is credited with having helped form what is now modern Barcelona. This is a realistic slice-of-life drama, grounded in history, and the winner of  25 prestigious awards and a host of nominations, including a Best Film at the 2025 Goyas. Fernandez gives a powerful performance, as does Clara Segura as Carmen, his devoted wife.
3.5 - well recommended

Wednesday, 2 July 2025

July 3rd 2025

The Shrouds
The Wolves Always Come at Night
Jurassic World: Rebirth
I'm Your Venus (streaming on Netflix)

What a wondrously varying assortment of films this week. From erotica and death, to dinosaurs, nomadic Mongolians and the murder of a transgender movie star.  

The Shrouds 
Dir:  David Cronenberg
© Rialto - Vincent Cassel is wonderful in this 
confronting story of staying too close to 
departed loved ones. 
Sex, death and love are a powerful combo. And who can handle this better than Cronenberg, a master of sci-fi and technology, 
body horror, and psychological motivations. In this reflection upon loss, we meet Karsh (Vincent  Cassel), whose wife Becca (Diane Kruger) has died of cancer. He is a tech entrepreneur, and devises a shroud which encloses the body, and, through its sensors, allows the bereaved to observe their departed loved one, in the grave, as they decay. He runs cemeteries which specialise in allowing this technology to be shared by other bereaved souls. But when the cemetery is vandalised, speculation arises as to whether foreign powers are trying to harness this technology for nefarious purposes, and conspiracy theories start to fly. Meantime Karsh gets closer to Becca's sister Terry (Kruger again), while also starting a relationship with Soo-min (Sandrine Holt), whose husband wants to finance one of Karsh's high-tech graveyards in Budapest. To add to the convolutions, Karsh's virtual assistant Hunny starts to go rogue. Enough plot twists for you yet? While not totally hanging together plotwise, and having a most perplexing ending, the film never shies away from thorny issues: the true meaning of debilitating grief, the ravages that cancer can make upon the body, (and how that intersects with sexuality), and the confronting fact of death and mortal decay. Cassel is at his best in this role, and is on-screen most of the film's runtime. His chemistry with Kruger is erotically charged, with one especially impressive sex scene. While the confronting nature of the film's subject matter may not be to everyone's taste, it's an unforgettable watch.
3.5 - well recommended

The Wolves Always Come at Night
Dir:  Gabrielle Brady
© Madman - powerful hybrid film-making - 
documentary and fiction merge in a Mongolian tale
Daava (Davaasuren Dagvasuren) and Zaya (Otgonzaya Dashzeveg) are Mongolian goatherders and keepers of wild ponies. They live in their yurt with their children, and while life is certainly tough, their connection with the land and their animals is hard-wired into their very being. But as climate change brings increasingly drastic weather events, one day a sandstorm wipes out half of their goat herd. Daava makes the drastic decision to relocate the family to the city and to take a job with a construction industry. This fascinating and lovely film sits between a documentary and a feature film. The director (an Aussie) has constructed it in collaboration with the two people whose lives it portrays, and as they are revisiting the life they once led, of course it feels really authentic. Cinematography is truly impressive, ranging from vast sweeping shots of the barren desert landscape, to the most intimate interiors, where the little family eat, sleep, play and debate their future. The film is bookended with Daava riding his favorite horse - free and at one with the land - but sadly, as the film underscores, this way of life is rapidly under threat as climate change forces people into the cities. The final scene, where Daava listens to a song, drives home the disconnect so many people of the land  throughout the world feel when they are displaced. Not every viewer has the patience to enjoy this sort of careful observational film, but for those who give it a go, it is richly rewarding. 
4 - highly recommended

Jurassic World: Rebirth
Dir:  Gareth Edwards
Length: 134 mins
© Universal - the dinos had better not
mess with this gal!
Just when you thought dinos had done their dash . . . they're back, scary as ever but weirder than before! In this, the seventh in the "Jurassic" franchise, scientists breed a mutant dino, Distortus-Rex, in the lab on a remote island. When containment protocols are breached, the creature escapes and the facility is shut down. Fast forward 17 years, and a dodgy pharmaceutical company run by Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend), is looking to extract live dino DNA to make a new drug that will eliminate heart disease. The deserted island is now a no-go zone for all, but Krebs cobbles together a team to illegally go in and get the required samples. Mercenary Zora (Scarlett Johansson) and  paleontologist Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey) employ the boating services of Duncan (Mahershala Ali) to get them to the island. Meantime an intrepid family of Dad Reuben (Manual Garcia Rulfo), two daughters and a boyfriend are sailing across the ocean, blissfully unaware of the prehistoric creatures that lurk in equatorial waters. Several hair-raising adventures later, the two groups combine, and end up on the island where they must fight for their lives. I could pick the hell out of the film - predictable, a formulaic plot repetitive of the previous six (without the surprise value), and too "creative" for its own good: why invent these non-existent dinos with idiotic names, and even worse why have the D-Rex so derivative of the Xenomorph in Alien
Also, attempts to make oblique references to climate change and other socially aware issues like the evil of "Big Pharma" don't really work. But . . . there are enough exciting and fun set pieces to entertain, most of the creatures are wonderful to behold, and watching Scarlett strut her stuff is indeed worthwhile. Nothing will ever impress as the first Jurassic Park, but for what the film sets out to do - namely provide easy thrills - it does its job. So . . .    
3 - recommended (but maybe the franchise should call it quits?)

I'm Your Venus
Dir:  Kimberley Reed
Length: 85 mins
Streaming on Netflix - 2024
© Netflix - moving documentary on an 
unsolved murder and a community 
fighting for their rights
In an era where America is trying to wind back the rights of gay and transgender communities, this documentary couldn't be more timely. In 1988 Venus Pellagatti Xtravaganza was murdered at the age of 23. She was a trans woman and upcoming star of the film Paris is Burning, a doco about the New York ballroom scene, fabulous events showcasing dance and fashion for the LGBTQ+ scene. Her murder has never been solved. In this film her brothers, John, Joe and Louie Pellagatti, are trying to find answers, and to honor their baby sister by getting her name officially changed to Xtravaganza (the house to which she belonged). 
We only see Venus in scenes from her film, all intercut with the present and ongoing grief of the brothers in their quest for justice. This is a fine showcase for a community of people who create chosen families and "houses", as a support and celebration of their lifestyles. The doco shows deep compassion and humanity and is a worthy memorial to a life lost too young, and a rallying cry for acceptance, as well as a fascinating insight into an alternative definition of "family" and "mother". 
3.5 - well recommended

Thursday, 26 June 2025

June 27th 2025

F1
Riviera Revenge
The Story of Souleymane
Ocean with David Attenborough (streaming on Netflix)


What a week for diverse and engaging films. French films feature large, with one excellent comedy, and one heart-rending, award-winning refugee drama. Then we have a big blockbuster pulse-racing experience in the world of Formula One. Finally David Attenborough gives his view on the dangers our oceans are facing in a visually beautiful streaming doco. 

F1
Dir:  Joseph Kosnski
© Universal - teammates but rivals - 
all the roar of the track in a stunning movie experience
Three very sexy handsome men, throbbing, roaring car engines, precision driving and competitiveness, globe-trotting exotic locations, and more nail-biting, adrenalin-fuelled energy than you could imagine! What's not to like?  This is the story of a Formula 1 driver who gets a second chance, and while the Apex Grand Prix team may be fictional, all the other racing teams are real. Shot over a couple of years at most of the world's Formula 1 Grand Prix tracks, we are taken behind the scenes of the planning, the strategies, the training, the rivalry and the mechanics of high level motor sport. All of it set in the framework of a most absorbing story, even if it has its formulaic moments. A
fter surviving a horrific crash 30 years prior, Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) is recruited back into an ailing F1 team. His old pal and team boss Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem) pairs him with up-and-coming rookie driver Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris). Can they overcome their rivalry enough to form a winning team? The way this has been shot is as near as possible to putting viewers in the driver's seat and that makes for nail-biting, exhilarating tension, as the cars scream around the track, career into barriers and avoid near misses (or crash) with each other. I'm a closet rev-head so I really loved this film. Pitt seems to only get better with age, balancing laid-backness with emotion; Bardem is winningly cast, while one of the few female characters Kate (Kerry Condon) epitomises a clever woman with remarkable aerodynamic engineering skills (and a minimal love interest for Sonny). With Hans Zimmer's dynamic driving (!) score, plus a fabulous soundtrack of high-octane songs, this is excitement and escapism at the top of the sporting elite game.
4 - highly recommended

Riviera Revenge
Dir:  Ivan Calberac
© Potential - French fun wih a few serious
undertones
Ex-military man Francois (Andre Dussolier) has been married to Annie (Sabine Azema) for 50 years. He runs his family in army fashion, and his three adult children all have varying issues with him. While trawling through old papers in the attic, he discovers a love letter to Annie, and, putting two and two together, discovers she had an affair a few years into their marriage. Infuriated, humiliated,  and threatening divorce, Francois heads off to Nice to confront the ex-lover Boris (Thierry Lhermitte). I'm not usually a big fan of French comedies, but this one really hit the spot for me, not only because it is sweet, funny and at times silly, but also because of the deeper issues lurking below its comedic surface. The dialogue always feels authentic, and the comedy, while sometimes bordering upon farce, is joyous and fun. The examination of the nature of long-term marriage brings a thoughtful edge to the plot, as do the subtleties of the parents' relationships with their children, and secrets they also harbor. Set on the glorious Cote d'Azur the film naturally looks splendid, and all in all, it's a delightful, distracting romp of a film (even if the ending was a little disappointing).
3.5 - well recommended

The Story of Souleymane
Dir:  Boris Lojkine
© Palace - realism and poignancy: the
human face behind the refugee crisis
Films dealing with the refugee experience can often be both moving and disturbing, and so it is with this much-awarded French film about Souleymane (Abou Sangare), a young refugee from Ghana, hoping to be accepted for a residency permit in France. He has two days to prepare his story (not necessarily true) for his interview by the French authorities. Meantime he is working as a food delivery courier in Paris and sleeping night to night in a variety of homeless shelters. Everything seems to go wrong, from accidents, to people not paying him, and as the interview nears, so his stress heightens. The pace and tension of this film is impressive; a man frantically pedalling through the city, racing the clock, feels almost like a thriller and we are invested in his every move and daily challenges. Sangare's performance is so compelling, we feel for him from the word go. (He knows the role, having lived the part in real life!)  The few lighter moments with his African street buddies soon give way to a poignancy that is absolutely heartbreaking.  The near-final scene of his actual interview is as totally memserising as it is surprising. This is fine film-making with deep humanity at its heart.
4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended

Ocean with David Attenborough
Dir:  Colin Butfield, Toby Nowlan & Keith Scholey
Length: 95 mins
Streaming on Netflix
© Netflix - marine life under threat
from many sources
As we have come to expect from 99-year-old Attenborough, this is yet another documentary that is both exquisitely filmed, but also features the measured wisdom, knowledge and warnings from one of nature's staunchest supporters. David takes us into the ocean depths to show us the remarkable 
beauty of marine life in all its diversity, but also to raise the alarm. Deep sea trawling and overfishing, along with climatic changes are depleting the oceans of life and destroying the ocean beds. If some of these images don't shake you out of complacency, nothing will. As usual though, he is not without hope, saying regeneration is possible, if only humans will create more marine parks and prohibited fishing zones. 
4 - wholeheartedly recommended

Wednesday, 18 June 2025

 June 19th 2025

CHIFF: Children's International Film Festival
HSBC Spanish Film Festival
The Unholy Trinity
Sinners
Ellis Park

You'll have to do a bit of googling to track down where to find this week's films, but for sure they are all worth the hunt. Music features large in two of them, while festivals are in full swing. And fans of Westerns have something new and fresh to get their teeth into. 

CHIFF: Children's International Film Festival
Weekend screenings Until 20 July
Classic Elsternwick, Lido Hawthorn, Cameo Belgrave & Randwick Sydney

An appreciation of film is one of the greatest gifts you can give your children. And this festival will make your job so much easier, especially since it brings some of the best children's films from around the world, not merely the usual American studio fare that is in mainstream cinemas. And as I always stress, the best kids' films have universal appeal for all age groups. I haven't been able to preview many this year, but the program looks excellent with something for all ages from tiny to teens. The one film I've seen is wonderful and so relevant, especially in the light of the current world situation.  

Bartali's Bicycle
Length: 80 mins
Director: Enrico Paolantonio


Gino Bartali was a real-life Italian bicycle champion who won the Giro d'Italia twice and the Tour de France once before World War II. During the war he used his bike to smuggle documents to help Jews escape from Italy. His story serves as the backdrop to an alternating tale set in modern-day Israel.  David is a 13-year-old Jewish boy training with his local bicycle team. Out on the track one day he meets Ibrahim, who is training with the local Arab team. The pair, initially hostile, decide to train together. Their subsequent friendship will create ructions in their families but will hopefully help to overcome the divisions in their society. This film moved me more than I can say, maybe because it represents a glimmer of hope in this divided world and because it represents old-fashioned values that seem  to have become lost along the way - respect, civilised dialogue and friendship. The characters are all delightfully portrayed, the two interwoven stories work really well together, and the fact that it is dubbed into English makes it easier for youngsters to follow. A lovely painterly style reminiscent of Studio Ghibli work makes it lovely to look at. This is absolutely worth seeing for peope of all ages, and a great way to help kids understand the dangers of prejudice and the meaning of courage. 

HSBC Spanish Film Festival
Melbourne until 2 July
Palace cinemas
For all bookings, other states etc visit https://spanishfilmfestival.com

The festival is in full swing with the latest and best cinema offerings from Spain and Latin America. The festival closes with a 25th anniversary screening of the terrific Argentinian crime thriller Nine Queens. As always I've caught a few, including the centrepiece film El 47. Two of the three reviewed here feature fabulous performances by Eduardo Fernandez.
 
El 47
: This inspiring true story is set in Barcelona in the late 1970s. Poor folks who have ventured north from southern Spain are living in shanty huts, in Torre Baro on the outskirts of Barcelona. They are disliked by the locals and municipal officials refuse to improve their suburb with basic amenities like electricity, and a bus service. Local driver Manolo Vital (a wonderful
Eduard Fernandez) decides to take matters into his own hands, and in the form of peaceful dissent hijacks his own vehicle to prove that a bus can go up the narrow streets of Torre Baro. He is credited with having helped form what is now modern Barcelona. This is a lovely slice-of-life realistic drama, that has won 25 prestigious awards and a host of nominations, including a Best Film at the 2025 Goyas. 

Babies Don't Come With Instructions
: Leo lives a carefree life, working as a bartender and womanising. Until one day Julia arrives and drops off a baby - the result of a fling with Leo over a year ago. At first aghast at how to raise a child, he quickly learns to love Alba, but when the girl turns eight Julia unexpectedly returns, demanding custody of her daughter. The film is full of joy and laughter, but becomes progressively more serious with a dramatic turn towards the end. Overall a very enjoyable watch. 

Marco, The Invented Truth: Winning Best Actor at the Goyas for Eduard Fernandez, this is yet another film inspired by a true story, that of Enric Marco, a man who claims to have been deported from Spain to a concentration camp during World War II. Marco manages to deceive everyone around him, becoming a publicly admired figure. Until one day a journalist catches up to him and the truth comes out. The fabulous lead performance manages to elicit both contempt and pity for the deluded man. There is also quite a swag of lesser-known Spanish history about their Civil War and about Spanish victims of the 
Holocaust. An intriguing psychological study.  

The Unholy Trinity
Dir:  Richard Gray
Length: 95 mins
Now on digital platforms, at select cinemas, and at Hoyts from June 26
© Rialto - a western with a difference - 
strong characters, great plot
Montana late 1800s. Henry Broadway (Brandon Lessard) witnesses his estranged father's execution by hanging. Just before mounting the gallows, his father instructs Henry to go murder the sheriff who framed him. So Henry travels to the town of Trinity, where he 
learns the old Sheriff is dead and meets the new Sheriff, Gabriel Dove (Pearce Brosnan). Not quite what he seems, a black man calling himself St Christopher (Samuel L Jackson) rides into town maintaining there is a stash of stolen gold buried somewhere in the town. Meanwhile local rough-necks cause problems at the brothel, shootings happen and Henry finds himself caught up in a web of violence that seems to be part of the town's fabric. I normally shy away from Westerns, but this one is a beauty. The strength lies in the strong script-writing (by fellow reviewer Lee Zachariah), the magnificent Montana setting, and the strong acting by not only the three leads, but the entire cast. The story feels authentic, and Brosnan shines as a lawman with decency and honesty. Jackson is a most suitable "baddie, Lessard brings an unusual naievety to his character, and the supports, especially the women, are excellent.
4 - highly recommended

Sinners 
Dir:  Ryan Coogler

© Warner Bros - wow - a totally engaging film to
energise, frighten and provoke 
Twins smoke and Stack (Michael B Jordan in both roles) have just returned to their hometown in Mississippi after making much money in the criminal world of Chicago. They buy an old sawmill from a racist Klansman and decide to turn it into a juke joint for the local black community. They hire caterers, a bouncer, a drunken piano player and their cousin Sammie (Miles Caton), the son of a preacher and an inspired blues guitar player. What starts as a joyous night of dancing and celebration goes pear-shaped when a trio of folk-singing white folk turn up, bringing a great evil to the community. The less said plot-wise the better here. Yes, it is billed as a horror film, but this film is so much more with its rich plot in which all the diverse elements blend seamlessly. Director Coogler sees it as a very personal project with themes of black identity, racism, the overlap between past and present, living and dead, and of course as a homage to blues music. Overtones of religion, voodoo, redemption, vampirism and more add up to something outrageously entertaining and frightening. The centrepiece party scene is so primal, lusty, energised and overwhelming, it sweeps me away, while the music throughout is something for blues fans to relish. Every role from small to large is perfectly executed, and if it weren't for my knowing that horror is not something for all viewers, I'd give it an unmisssable!
4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended

Ellis Park 
Dir:  Justin Kurzel
Length: 104 mins
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vff-oIg6oIE&t=5s

© Madman - music, animal rescue and a
contemplative man 
Musician Warren Ellis takes centre stage in this doco by noted Aussie director Justin Kurzel (Snowtown, Nitram). And so do the animals of an Indonesian sanctuary, Ellis Park, that he co-founded with Dutch animal activist and rescuer Femke dem Haas. Notable for composing film scores for years, Ellis has also played with band The Dirty Three and with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. This doco is not so much about his musical career, as about what seems to drive him - a deep intensity that informs his soulful and at times frenetic violin playing, and his passion for saving animals from cruelty. We accompany him as he visits his aging parents, hear some little anecdotes about his youth, but overall the film feels like a glimpse into the introspective depths of the man. The devotion of the Indonesian animal carers is deeply touching, and the animals themselves are wonderful to see, but hearing of their treatment and the cruel trade in wildlife smuggling  and dancing monkeys is challenging. Despite being a trifle long, this is a fascinating glimpse into the heart of a very talented man, whose career seems to be going from strength to strength.
3.5 - well recommended