October 18th

A Star is Born
The Cleaners
Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist
Donbass

Many people have been waiting for this latest incarnation of A Star is Born. For me it's a winner. While the other films are not so easily accessible, each will no doubt have its appreciative viewers. 

A Star is Born
Director: Bradley Cooper
Length: 125 min

© Roadshow - Cooper and Gaga make a great couple
and boy, can they sing up a storm!

Inevitably with the fourth remake of a well-known film, there will be knockers. As I always say, I look at a film on its own merits, forget the past incarnations, and just go with it. And I certainly went with this one, loving every minute. It's the story of Ally, (Lady Gaga), a talented singer who has almost given up on ever making it, until she meets star  country-rock singer Jack (Bradley Cooper), who, despite his success, is battling his own demon - alcoholism. (No surprise they meet in a bar where she's singing and he's drinking.) He drags her reluctantly into the limelight, and as her career trajectory ascends, so his goes on the downhill slide. Yes, it's a melodrama, and yes, it unashamedly wrenches your heart strings, but here's the thing: the songs written for the film are marvellous, Gaga and Cooper are both talented singers, the chemistry between them is sizzling, and the film moves along at a cracking pace that rarely flags. The amount of analysis generated by this film on gender roles, the fame machine and whether it lives up to past versions is unnecessary. Just go along and revel in the ultimately old-fashioned love story, the unforgettable screen presence of Gaga, and the wonderful music (even if Cooper has indulgent moments of turning the camera full-pelt on himself in the grizzled pop-God role).
4 - highly recommended!

The Cleaners
Dir: Hans Block & Moritz Riesewieck
Length: 88 min
Exclusive to ACMI - Oct 19 - Nov 6

© ACMI/Madman -  is social media sending our society
off the rails? 

This is a timely documentary about just who is controlling what we see on the many ubiquitous social media sites. We meet a group of workers in the Philippines who must sit for hours each day trawling through Facebook content, determining what is acceptable to leave on, and what should be deleted. Because of the nature of the content, from violence, to child pornography, to propaganda, this work is psychologically damaging, and some of the people even know very little about the subject matter they are deciding upon. Underneath this surface level of the doco, are the many burning questions for today's world - the nature of journalism, the power of "fake news", the easy incitement of hatred. While the doco is stylistically a bit dry, with many talking heads and visual devices trying to spice this up, the actual content is deeply disturbing, highlighting a twisted world in which this behemoth we casually call social media or the Internet, could have the power to change every social value, belief and norm that we take for granted - and all in the name of more money for the companies backing them. Super-scary food for thought. 
3 - recommended!

Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist
Director: Lorna Tucker
Length: 80 min

© Madman - Vivienne Westwood is anything but
your average designer - punk and out there. 

Dame Vivienne Westwood has been a foremost British fashion designer for the last 40 years. She is a child of the punk scene of the 1970s. This doco traces her early times with partner Malcolm McLaren, a member of the Sex Pistols, who showcased Westwood's early designs. It then tracks the development of her own design house, renowned for some pretty outrageous fashions. For a women considered to be majorly counter-culture, she now reaps in the capitalist dollars, with a world-wide empire. For someone so iconic and rebellious she comes across as somewhat . . dare I say . . . mainstream? I fear this is a problem with the film-maker who allows the interviews to remain somewhat bland (even if Westwood is cantankerous). By comparison scenes of Vivienne cavorting with her models, or the energetic younger version of herself, underscore her remarkable energy, but not enough is done to really showcase how/why she became so popular. Scenes in the cutting room preparing collections with Westwood's current husband lack pizzazz, and the line of expensive clothing comes across as more crazy than inspired. I'm no fashionista, but when I compare this to a stunning film like the recent McQueen, I imagine die-hard fans of Westwood will be the ones to get the most out of this film.
2.5 - maybe!

Donbass
Director: Sergei Loznitsa
Length: 121 min

© Backlot Films - such unpleasant people in a corrupt
war-torn part of the world. 

Winner of Best Director in Un Certain Regard Cannes 2018, this is the sort of movie that presents me with a great dilemma. Everyone says it's wonderful, but politico-klutz that I am, knowing little about the Ukraine/Russia conflict. I found it tough going, though certain scenes are almost horrifically spellbinding. In about a dozen vignettes, Loznitsa presents horrific visions of a degraded society torn apart by factional conflict, ongoing war, corruption, and a pervading sense of inhumanity to one's fellow humans. The characters are generally unlikeable, and with a typical Eastern bloc sensibility, almost like mocking versions of bleak, ugly  stereotypes. Every scene takes place with protracted, carefully constructed shots, stressing the gloom of these war-torn lives.  Corrupt officials expropriate citizens' cars, refugees live in squalor, loud, moronic folk marry, and a group of people are made up for a staged TV news show that is definitely "fake news", with a most disturbing outcome. For political buffs and fans of this style of movie making and story-telling it could be a winner, but I'm left appreciative but mostly floundering. I suggest boning up on a few historical facts before viewing. Nevertheless . . .
3 - recommended!