March 28th 2025
Alliance Francaise French Film Festival: Before What Comes After
Love of an Icon: the Legend of Crocodile Dundee
Spit
Black Bag
Oh, Canada
Three films this week are absolutely worth seeing. Two a bit more ho-hum. If you are interested in end-of-life issues, don't miss the one I've reviewed first here - it has one more week to go at the French Film Festival. And Aussie-philes should adore the next two!
More from the FFF:
Before What Comes After
Dir: Costa Gavras
Length: 100 mins
 |
© - FFF - confronting, thought-provoking
and so beautiful |
With a more suitable French title, The Last Breath (Le Dernier Souffle), this is an extraordinary, in-your-face, moving look at end-of-life issues from the perspective of a doctor and a philosophical writer. Author Fabrice Toussaint (Denis Poladyles) goes for a routine check up and MRI, only to be told there is a small lesion in his body that must be kept an eye on. From there he forms a friendship with palliative care doctor Augustin Massett (Kad Merad), who takes him on his rounds, so he may better understand the nature of palliative care. Augustin regales Fabrice with stories of his many patients, and their varying approaches to knowing they are ill and near the end, some accepting, some in denial, and fighting every inch of the way, and others accepting it with grace. A topic we all shy away from is handled in a most sensitive way, and not without its humorous moments. Unanswerable questions of human existence are tackled with compassion, along with issues of assisted dying. The critical importance of just listening, especially by the doctor, is underscored throughout. Every character, whether medico or patient, is worth spending time with, and one comes away from this deeply moved, strangely uplifted, and convinced that the word living applies to every moment, right up until the the last breath.4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended
Love of an Icon: the Legend of Crocodile Dundee
Dir: Delvene Delaney & Victoria Baldock
Length: 88 mins
 |
© Kismet - a total delight - homage to a
legend and to love |
The restored version of the 1986 blockbuster phenomenon Crocodile Dundee will hit our screens on May 8. During this painstaking project, filmmakers unearthed a treasure-trove of archival material belonging to co-creator John Cornell. Cornell's wife Delvene Delaney co-helms and hosts this heart-warming documentary that is testament to the spirit of mateship, dedication, and "let's go for it" that went into the making of the original film. I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did. It is a winner of a story, tracing the history of Paul Hogan ("Hoges") and his rise to stardom, starting with his TV show with comedy buddy Strop, played by Cornell. The doco traces difficulties in raising finance for the film, along with umpteen other hurdles. Hoges' leading lady Linda Kozlowski reminisces on their real-life romance, along with the many crew members who regale us with stories of the movie's making. The lovely Delvene holds it all together, creating a lovely tribute to the film and to the enduring love she shared with now-departed Cornell. The many people who were dedicatedly involved and who obviously had such fun making Croc Dundee also make this doco such a delight to watch.4 - highly recommended
Spit
Dir: Jonathan Teplitzky
Length: 105 mins
 |
© Transmission - Wenham is sooooo
grouse mate! |
In the 2003 film Gettin' Square Johnny "Spit" Spitieri (David Wenham) is a small-time crook and heroin addict. Now, in this sequel, he returns from doing a runner to Italy, but is instantly nabbed at the airport's immigration and thrown into a detention centre, along with a diverse assortments of refugees hoping to get a visa to stay in Australia. Spit likes to be of help, and sets about teaching the refugees an assortment of colorful Aussie slang expressions, which makes for hilarious viewing. The humour starts from the word go, as Wenham, looking like a mega-slob in shorts, thongs and with a permanent cold-sore on his lip, bumbles his way through every unfortunate circumstance of his new incarcerated life. Yes, humor is highly personal, and no, I laugh at very little - but this one had me guffawing out loud. The plot is chock-full of fun little subplots that somehow all work well together. Wenham is totally the part, while smaller roles of the bad guys (David Field and Gary Sweet), along with a lovely performance by Arlo Green as asylum seeker Jihad Khalif are all well executed. If you're not into Aussie humour you may not like it, but I loved it.4 - highly recommended
Black Bag
Dir: Stephen Soderbergh
Length: 93 mins
 |
© Universal - two top actors go into
the spy business - where do their
loyalties lie? |
Katherine Woodhouse (Cate Blanchett) and her husband George (Michael Fassbender) are secret agents. When it's discovered there is a traitor in the ranks, and Katherine is one of several under suspicion, George must decide where his loyalties will lie. Have I told you I'm a spy-plot-klutz? Many times! So, as always, I had a spot of bother following the plot, but I have to admire the acting from two such revered performers in the lead; both cool, calm, collected and full of dry wit. Supporting cast featuring the likes of Naomi Harris, Tom Burke and Pierce Brosnan keep a high standard, but somewhere in the script the plot lacks the suspense needed to keep it edgy. The look and lovely color pallette are perhaps my strongest impression, of a film that is indeed watchable but not ultimately memorable. Soderbergh is an esteemed director, but I much preferred his recent and more original supernatural tale Presence.3 - recommended
Oh, Canada
Dir: Paul Schrader
Length: 105 mins
 |
© Transmission - Gere's Fife tells all before
he dies |
Leonard Fife (Richard Gere) is dying. As a documentary maker, he decides he needs to tell his life story in film, uncensored and revealing harsh truths about his past affairs and his dodging of the Vietnam draft. As some of his ex-students man the cameras, and his current wife Emma (Uma Thurman) watches on in distress, he tells his story and progressively weakens. The film's basic premise has potential - an end-of life confessional - but the narrative structure turns it into a dog's breakfast. The times leaps are beyond even an Olympic long-jumper, with not only Jacob Elordi playing the young Leonard, but sometimes Gere transplanted as an old man into his youthful past. A totally unnecessary structure. And while I was initially impressed with Gere's gaunt-faced delivery, I rapidly tired of his endless sighs, confused demeanour and eye-rolling. In a massive paradox, the film gets a Palme D'or nomination at Cannes, and a Worst Foreign Actor nomination for Gere.2 to 2.5 - maybe (bordering on don't bother)
No comments:
Post a Comment