August 4th - this week:  
Embrace
The Clan

Most film aficionados are out MIFFing to their heart's content, and there are many fine blogs covering the festival. I'm holding the fort reporting on the general releases, and this week there are two very disparate films, both intriguing in their own way. 

Embrace
Director: Taryn Brumfitt
Length: 90 mins

© Transmission - the pix that caused the furore

If, like so many women, you feel constantly assailed by media pressure as to how you are supposed to look, then this is the film for you! If you are constantly hating your body and dieting to attain a certain size, then this is the film for you! The director posted pix of herself on Facebook, before and after babies. The furore prompted her to go out and interview all manner of women, from anorexic, to obese, to handicapped, to injured, as to how they feel about their bodies. This is a really important film about the critical need to accept (and value) what we are as women. It is also a salutory lesson on how destructive media (and men) can be in destroying self-esteem in women.   

3.5 - Recommended!
For my full review:
http://www.cinephilia.net.au/show_review.php?movieid=6065


The Clan
Director: Pablo Trapero
Length: 110 mins
Exclusive to Cinema Nova

This true-crime story is set in Argentina in the 1980s. Arquimedes Puccio is a relic of the fallen dictatorship. He's a loving family man, with the hardened heart of a killer underneath. He makes money on the side by kidnapping wealthy folk and demanding ransoms. His son Alex is beginning to make a career as a renowned rugby player, but soon his involvement with his father's nefarious activities will throw everything into turmoil. This strangely compelling film about amorality at its worst is well acted, especially by the lead man, and even though it's all true it is quite hard to believe. There is often a sensibility about films set in Latin America that is perplexing for we mere Aussie folk who haven't lived through such harrowing times! It's an intriguing watch, nevertheless. 

3 - Recommended!!
For a full review from Bernard Hemingway:
http://www.cinephilia.net.au/show_review.php?movieid=6056