March 30 2017:  
A Man Called Ove
Clash
Land of Mine
Ghost in the Shell
Zach's Ceremony

Suddenly we've gone from famine to feast again. Five new films this week! Two are very intense, one dealing with the aftermath of World War 2 in Denmark, the other with revolution in the streets of Cairo. But don't despair, there's a delightful Swedish comedy to keep the balance, along with an action sci-fi starring Scarlett Johansson! Not to mention a Nova exclusive about an Indigenous boy coming to terms with his place in the world. 

A Man Called Ove
Director: Hannes Holm
Length: 116 min

© Rialto - Ove is the ultimate grump with a heart
of gold!

I love the word curmudgeon! It sums up Ove, a grumpy old bloke who enforces the rules at the group of units where he has lived alone since the death of his beloved wife. Depressed and lonesome, Ove attempts to kill himself, but each time is interrupted by something to do with the new neighbours - pregnant Parvaneh from Iran, and Patrick, her Swedish husband. When they move in with their two lively daughters, life changes for Ove. The film's black Scandinavian humour is a pleasant change from mainstream comedies, and while there is an element of predictability, there are plenty of funny and heartfelt moments in which we see the softening influence of the new upon the old. The interwoven story of Ove's former life with wife Sonja will tug at the heartstrings. This year's Oscar contender for Best Foreign Film is a lot of fun, with a serious undercurrent, always the best comedy recipe.  
4 - wholeheartedly recommended!

Clash
Director: Mohamed Diab
Length: 97 min
Limited season exclusive to ACMI

© ACMI/Pyramide - Stunning film-making in an
 eye-opening vision of modern Egypt 

A Cannes nominee in Un Certain Regard section, Clash is almost unmissable, if it weren't so gruelling to watch. The setting is Cairo, in the wake of the election of a new president, Mohamed Morsi from the Islamist party, The Muslim Brotherhood. The army has just forced him from power. Millions take to the streets to demonstrate and clashes ensue between the army, pro MB people, and citizens wanting democracy in their country. A group of demonstrators from divergent political and religious backgrounds is arrested, along with a pair of journalists, and detained in a police truck. The truck gets caught up in the heat and chaos in the streets, but similar mayhem reigns inside the truck. This is an almost nightmare vision of modern Egypt, and what happens when irrationality overwhelms reason. The film builds the tension to an unbearable level in which we wonder if humanity can ever prevail. The style of film-making is about as visceral and in the moment as you can get, and if you can hack it, this is a most worthwhile movie to see.
4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended!

Land of Mine
Director: Martin Zandvliet
Length: 101 min

© Palace - a moving and gripping  tale of compassion, 
set in Denmark after World War 2 had ended.

The centrepiece of last year's Scandinavian Film Festival is, fortunately, now out on general release. This is a gripping film based upon true events at the end of World War 2. In Denmark, after the surrender of Nazi Germany, a Danish sergeant is put in charge of a group of young German POWs, who are ordered to find and defuse thousands of landmines littering the beaches. The boys are treated harshly, and the sergeant is bitter and vengeful. But as he gets to know his charges, most of them barely out of their teens, he starts to have conflicting feelings. The film is suspenseful to the max, extremely moving, and raises challenging moral issues about what the aftermath of war means, and ultimately what it means to show humanity.
4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended!

Zach's Ceremony
Director: Aaron Peterson
Length: 101 min
Exclusive to Cinema Nova

© Umbrella- father Alec and son Zach

Filmed over more than six years, this impressive documentary traces the teen years of Zach Doomadgee, as he battles to find his identity and moves towards the important ceremony which will give him the status of a man in his Aboriginal culture. Living with his dad, Alec, who also produced the film, Zach has the usual troubles of rebellious teenage years, along with the conflict of growing up in a racist culture where he feels caught between the world of urban Sydney, and his traditional culture in the north of Australia. There is much to like and to learn in this important film, which gives a new and optimistic, view of Indigenous Australians, reconciling modern life with their traditional heritage. Audiences are also treated to a seldom seen insight into the actual initiation ceremony.  
4 - wholeheartedly recommended!

Ghost in the Shell
Director: Rupert Sanders
Length: 101 min

© Paramount - a visual treat about a frightening
future in which human brains are transplanted into 

cyborg bodies. 

This is a remake of a Japanese anime film from 1995. This time it's all live action and luscious Scarlett Johansson as a cyborg, who has the brain of a one-time human, now housed in a completely robotic body. She is employed by a counter-terrorism unit, in a futuristic world where most people have some level of electronic enhancement to their brains and bodies, and terrorism may involve hacking into those brains. With ideas we've seen before in Existenz, Total Recall and Blade Runner, this is a surprisingly thought-provoking film, which raises disturbing ideas about where the interface between robotics and biology may be heading. The visual world created is simply breath-taking, with special effects to die for. An added bonus is strong performances from the likes of Michael Pitt, Beat Takeshi and Juliette Binoche. Where the film falls down is in the gratuitous use of protracted "shoot-em-out" scenes, and a later silly sequence involving transformer type tanks that seem to have invaded from another movie. However, if you overlook the flaws, there is much to thrill and entertain in this troubling vision of an AI world run amok.
3.5 - recommended!