November 15th
Ford v Ferrari
The Irishman
Ailo's Journey
I am No Bird
More JIFF

Two huge films (in run time and in impact) are reviewed this week, plus a couple of unusual docos. JIFF continues on, and the overall movie pace just never seems to let up. 

Ford v Ferrari
Director: James Mangold
Length: 152  min

© Fox -  start your engines
for a thrill-a-minute true tale. 

A true tale from the annals of motor sport, this heart-stopping, high-revving film will put you on the edge of your seat. In 1959 Carol Shelby (Matt Damon) won Le Mans 24-hour race, but was told he couldn't race again due to a heart condition. So he went into car design, using British mechanic Ken Miles (Christian Bale) as his test driver. When the Shelby cars did well at Le Mans against the legendary Ferrari team, Ford recruited Shelby to design a car that could take on the Italians. Despite the endless battles with the Ford bureaucracy, by 1966 Shelby and Miles were ready. To give the viewer a sense of what it's like to be on the track at those speeds, special tracking camera vehicles were used, and the many extreme close-ups are probably as close as most viewers will get to being in the driver's seat. As well as the thrilling action, there is a strong sense of authenticity in the relationships of the characters, including Catriona Balfe (from Outlander) as Mollie Miles, and Noah Jupe as Ken's young son. Damon and Bale are wonderful together, and a fabulous ensemble cast rounds out what is a wonderful movie experience, not only for rev-heads (like me), but for anyone who appreciates the sort of dedicated, obsessed characters who give their all and more to the thing they love best in life.
4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended!

The Irishman
Director: Martin Scorsese
Length: 230 min
At Classic, Lido and Cameo, then starting on Netflix November 27th. Best to catch it on the BIG SCREEN!

© Netflix - Scorsese, Pacino, de Niro and Pesce
 at their best.

In Pennsylvania in the 1950s, truck driver Frank Sheeran (Robert de Niro) sells some of the meat he delivers to local gangsters. From there, it is a short hop to total involvement with the local mafia, led by Russell Buffalino (Joe Pesce). Frank, aka "the Irishman", starts to do Russell's dirty work. Frank is eventually introduced to Jimmy Hoffa, (Al Pacino), volatile union leader of the Teamsters, who also has financial dealings with the crime family. Frank and Jimmy become great friends, but the convoluted politics of crime, unions, rivalry, the Kennedy's and more, all lead to a sad and sorry ending. What can I say about this magnificent film? It's an epic, confirming just what a consummate director Scorsese is, as he embraces his favorite recurring themes of criminality and religion. The film is book-ended by Sheeran (in the present, an old man), reminiscing upon the past. The make-up (along with digital effects) employed in getting these three leads to look so many different ages, is simply brilliant and mind-boggling. I don't pretend to understand all the politics of the union, but it doesn't matter; I simply immersed in a thrilling, classic Scorsese gangster movie, which carries a psychological truth about power and evil at its heart, and which features three of the best performances you've seen in years from de Niro, Pacino and Pesce.
4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended!

Ailo's Journey
Director: Guillaume Maidatchevsky
Length: 86 min

© Vendetta - catch the lives of not only reindeer,
but many other inhabitants of the Arctic

An antidote to the violence and evil of Scorsese's gangsters, here is a refreshingly old-fashioned story about a baby reindeer, Ailo, his mother and his herd, and the first year of his life trying to survive in the harsh Arctic areas of Lapland. Described by the director as a "docu-fiction", it is constructed from 600 hours of amazing footage shot over four seasons. The cinematography is glorious and the close-ups of the many amazing Arctic creatures will astonish you. From somersaulting stoats, fierce wolverines, delicate Arctic foxes, fearsome wolves, and bumbling lemmings, to the majestic reindeer themselves, all these magnificent creatures will entrance viewers. I remember many saccharine-sweet narrations to the animal films of my childhood; fortunately there's none of that here in the witty, dry, sometimes ironic and downright funny narrative voiced by Donald Sutherland. The accompanying soundtrack is beautiful. This is the sort of film to uplift, while gently reminding us that the changing climate could soon put all this wondrous splendour into jeopardy.
3.5 - well recommended!

I Am No Bird
Director: Em Baker
Length: 77 min

© Potential - marriage is alive and well, in  many
forms around the world

Marriage means different things to different people, and this documentary explores what it represents to four different women. Australian Anna, deeply religious and still a virgin, is marrying her first love and hosting a hen's night at a sex shop. Luthanlu, from Assam, India is continuing her minority tribal traditions, by marrying a man of the same background. Benay in Turkey looks forward to creating a new family after her mother's death, and Dalia in Mexico, is thrilled to be marrying the woman she loves and having her mother (initially against the union) at the ceremony. The film shows a universality of attitudes towards love and the optimism that goes with making a commitment, even though the title refers to not being a bird in a cage. Segments of the film are shot in a misty, old-fashioned nostalgic way, imbuing it with a strongly romantic feel. Tracking the course of "true love", from meeting, to proposals, to choosing dresses, to the actual ceremonies, this film is something girls of a certain age will strongly relate to, while also getting a good insight into other cultures.
3 - recommended!

More from JIFF - Jewish International Film Festival
For session times and ticketing, along with interstate information visit www.jiff.com.au

JIFF still has a week to run, so there's still a chance to catch some of the magnificent films I've reviewed over the past four weeks. Here's another one for you - it's an absolute treat for lovers of cinema history. 

At only 5 ft 2 in he was a giant
of a movie maestro!

Carl Laemmle: German Jewish immigrant, Carl Laemmle, emigrated to the USA as a 17 year old, and went on to create Universal Pictures in 1912. He is the classic immigrant success story. He went head to head with Thomas Edison who tried to destroy the new studio by issuing countless patent challenges. He gave countless directorial jobs to women, and he gifted the world with unforgettable monster movies such as Frankenstein and Dracula. Laemmle launched the careers of people like John Ford and William Wyler, and won Oscars for All Quiet on the Western Front in 1930. He also gave jobs to all those Jewish refugees he managed to get out of Germany as the Nazis rose to power. The film has fabulous archival footage, and creates an endearing portrait of a man committed to his industry, and who was much loved by all those who worked with him. 
JIFF is of course absolutely recommended - one of my fave festivals!