October 9th 2025
Sovereign (streaming on digital platforms)
The Lost City of Melbourne (streaming on Netflix)
Irish Film Festival - Sydney this weekend (9-11 Oct), Melbourne 23-26 Oct
I've missed a few of the latest releases, but things come so quickly to streaming these days, one can usually catch up. However, the many festivals we are lucky to have afford an opportunity to catch films that may never come to cinemas or streaming, so I feel most fortunate to see some real gems. One small and short festival with such gems is the Irish Film Festival. Sydneysiders can catch it this weekend, and Melbournites can check it out and prepare for it in two weekends' time.
Sovereign
Dir: Christian Swegel
Length: 100 mins
Available to buy or rent on digital platforms: Apple, Prime, YouTube, Google, Fetch
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© Rialto - a most timely true story of
a man and his son caught up in the
"sovereign citizen" rabbit hole |
Jerry Kane (Nick Offerman) is out of work, and in arrears on his house payments, bringing on foreclosure. He is a single father and home-schooler to teenage son Joe (Jacob Tremblay). Jerry is becoming more and more enmeshed in the "sovereign citizen" ideology, in which people believe they are not subject to government laws and any authority. He tries to inculcate his son with the philosophy, but Joe is starting to question things. Father and son tour the country giving talks to like-minded people, training them in how to get out of debt by employing the quasi-legalese speak of the movement. But as Jerry goes progressively down the rabbit-hole, he ends up in confrontation with the police and things turn tragic. I'm puzzled as to why this fine film, based on true events, isn't getting a cinematic release. It is so prescient, especially considering the recent events in Porepunkah, Victoria. It is a salutory commentary on the dangers of conspiracy theories and radical beliefs. At its heart Sovereign also has a powerful and moving father son story, with another father-son pair featuring in the narrative. Dennis Quaid plays police officer John Bouchardt whose son Adam has recently graduated from police college. While Adam is a gentle soul, we also are privy to the tough police training that sometimes leads to deadly interactions between police and citizens. Offerman is scarily compelling as a loving but disturbed father, Tremblay exceptional as Joe, and with its strong themes and tense psychological drama and action, this is an impressive film.4 - highly recommended
The Lost City of Melbourne
Dir: Gus Berger
Length: 80 mins
Streaming on Netflix (2022)
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© Madman / Netflix - time changes so
much - and not always for the better |
Anyone of my age who grew up in Melbourne will remember the sad and sorry decades from the 50s to the 70s, when huge signs boasted "Whelan the Wrecker is Here". It was a time when countless glorious old buildings were bulldozed, starting in 1956 when the Olympic Games came to Melbourne and the authorities wanted to showcase a "modern" city. Fortunately filmmaker Gus Berger loves the city enough to put it up on the big screen, in all its glory, before the annihilation began. Featuring fabulous archival images and footage, the film highlights a time in the 1850s when Melbourne was the world's fastest growing city. It then traces the wanton destruction of so many beautiful buildings, with historians and even members of the Whelan family giving their perspective. As a tribute, the doco is mesmerising; surprising is the emotional impact the film had on me. And so I cried at this film, but also accepted Gus's optimistic "glass half full" approach, that we are still fortunate to have a few of the grand old edifices left - the Exhibition Buildings and such wonderful movie houses as the Regent, the Astor, the Forum and the Sun, along with pockets of the city here and there that remain, thanks to recent attitudes towards heritage and preservation. I believe cities are only as glorious as their history, and the relentless push to update (including the demolition of mid-century housing that goes on today), can only impoverish a city, so let's hope this marvellous doco helps to drive the lesson home.4 - highly recommended
Irish Film Festival
Australia-wide 9 Oct - 10 November
Sydney 9-12 October, Melbourne 23-26 October (Palace Kino)
With 16 films to choose from, this Festival showcases the vibrancy of today's Irish film industry. As well as documentaries, dramas, comedies, and thrillers, there is plenty to enchant music fans. Here's a chance to see some excellent movies that will possibly not find a mainstream release. Great to hear the Irish Gaelic language being used in quite a few of the films too!
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Keoghan and Abbott - generations
at loggerheads |
Bring Them Down: On a remote rural farm in Ireland life is bleak, and made bleaker by what happens in the opening scene: Michael (Christopher Abbott) drives recklessly, killing his mother and injuring his girlfriend Caroline who later marries neighbor Gary. Their son Jack is played by the always-excellent Barry Keoghan. Michael cares for his obnoxous infirm father Ray (Colm Meaney), who endlessly harangues him. As the film progresses, neighborly relations deteriorate. When Michael's sheep are found mutilated these resentments reach boiling point. The film is a dark and broody psychological thriller, made all the more tense by the percussive soundtrack, and the dark and ominous settings, both in the windswept Irish hills and often shot at night. It can also be rather disturbing with the level of implied animal cruelty. However, with strong scripting, important themes and an excellent cast, the film is a worthy recipient of the awards it already has, and deserves a wider release.
Fidel Ghorm: (The Blue Fiddle). Winner of the Best Debut Irish Feature, this is the heart-warming story of eleven-year-old Molly, an aspiring violin student, who is learning from her father. But when the family is involved in a car accident, her dad falls into a coma, and Molly's little brother Jack refuses to speak another word. Molly becomes convinced that if she can win the All-Ireland Music Championship her father will wake from his coma. In the nursing home where her Dad is cared for is an old man Malachy, who plays a blue fiddle, and takes Molly under his wing, teaching her how to "feel the music". Totally in the Gaelic language, the film features winning performances from Edith Lawlor as Molly and Barry McGovern as Malachy. It is guaranteed to bring a tear to your eye, as you revel in the gorgeous Irish fiddle music, and a story of hope love and family. (Breaking news: the film has just won the European Children's Film Award in Germany!)
David Keenan - Words on Canvas: Many of us may not know of this musician in Australia, but the documentary is an insightful portrait of what it means to be just that - a singer/songwriter. Moving away from his first musical outings with a rock band, Keenan explains how he wanted to return to a more emotional and truthful expression of himself. As he describes his journey and his process, it becomes a story that many musicians will be able to relate to. The doco also features some beautifully creative cinematography, in parts a bit like a music video clip, and of course a great selection of Keenan's music and reflective lyrics.
Chasing the Light: In 1973 Peter Cornish bought land and set up a Buddhist retreat on the Atlantic coast of County Cork. People flocked from all over Europe and Ireland to immerse themselves in tranquility, Buddhist teachings, and the majestic coastline. Some years later the centre, called Dzogchen Beara, employed a Tibetan lama, Sogyal Rinpoche, as their spiritual leader. This engaging, visually stunning doco tells the story of Peter, the tragic death of his wife, and also the scandal that then enveloped the centre when Rinpoche was accused of sexually abusing some of his followers. With a mix of archival footage and present-day interviews, the film blends nicely one man's personal story, that of a wider spiritual community, and the endless human contradiction of the good and bad within us all. The Irish Film Festival comes highly recommended!
