July 27th 2023
Barbie
Alcarras
A Bigger Splash (streaming on SBS on Demand)
These three films couldn't be as different from each other if they tried. This week each one carries a four-star recommendation from me.
Dir: Greta Gerwig
Length: 114 mins
 |
© Warner Bros - not at all what you
would be expecting. Wild and imaginative. |
Are you ready for some pink-soaked craziness? This wild and whacky ride is chock full of fun, feminism, frivolity and some pretty serious underlying commentary upon gender roles. It's virtually impossible to briefly outline the plot; suffice to say Barbie (Margot Robbie) lives a perfect life in Barbieland, a matriarchal society where the women hold down all the major jobs and the men are only sidekicks. One day Barbie starts pondering upon death. This leads her to an existential crisis, involving flat feet and cellulite. To solve her problems she has to travel to the real world, and find the child who has been playing with her and caused her to become malcontent. Ken (super-buffed Ryan Gosling) goes along for the ride, where he discovers what the patriarchy is all about - this is going to cause some mighty shake-ups in Barbieland. Meantime the CEO of Mattel (Will Ferrell) is horrified that a Barbie has escaped into the real world, and must go in hot pursuit, executives in tow, to solve the problem. The jokes, skits and subversiveness in this wonderful film come thick and fast, while the subtext of everything in the plot is so dense, it's almost impossible to wrap your head around all the ideas that writer/director Gerwig, plus her co-writer Noah Baumbach, are throwing around. The film's visual look is a masterpiece of creativity, with its hand-painted sets for Barbieland, leading into a very LA feel for the "real world". Robbie plays her role to perfection, going from the plasticity of "Stereotypical Barbie", as she is called, to a genuine depth, as Barbie starts to discover what it means to be human. Possibly the less said the better; this is really one to discover for yourself. It may be too crazy and satirically obscure for those who prefer their films more "straight", but I certainly got total enjoyment out of this film.4 - highly recommended
Dir: Carla Simon
Length: 120 mins
 |
© Palace - family solidarity and a way of life
threatened by progress |
Set in the village of Alcarras in Catalonia, northern Spain, this is a slow-burn film that interweaves the story of an individual family with a larger issue of a crisis that is enveloping much of the modern world, as agricultural land is taken over to develop industry. The Sole family have been allowed to grow peaches on land that is not theirs for several generations. Now the landowner has died and his son wants to repossess the farm, destroy all the peach trees, and install solar panels. There are more characters in this extended family than you can shake a stick at, ranging from small carefree kids through to brothers, sisters, in-laws, parents, and grandparents who seem close-knit until one of their number decides to go out in support of the solar farm. The actors are mostly non-professionals bringing a truly authentic feel to their characters. The languid pace of life, combined with the passion they all have for their land and its harvest, is beautifully conveyed - it is this sense of place, along with the family dynamics, that feels so engaging in this film. A worthy winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. 4 - highly recommended
2015
Dir: Luca Guadagnino
Length: 125 mins
Streaming on SBS On Demand
 |
© Four outstanding performances in a
rivetting story of desire and intrigue |
Famous rock star Marianne Lane (Tilda Swinton) is recuperating from vocal surgery at a remote villa on an Italian island. She and her boyfriend Paul (Matthias Schoenaerts) are having an intimate time, when Marianne's ex-manager and lover Harry (Ralph Fiennes) unexpectedly turns up with his daughter Penelope (Dakota Johnson). Things can only get tricky from there on in. The film has a deep vein of sensuality running through it, with all the characters falling prey to desire and levels of subterfuge. Fiennes is simply mesmerising as the overbearing Harry, who still carries a flame for his ex. The languidness of life at the villa is well juxtaposed with the deep emotional currents coursing through the characters. Surprises abound. This much-awarded film from one of Italy's great modern directors richly rewarded my rewatch. 4 - highly recommended
3.5 - well recommended
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