September 14 2017
I am Not your Negro
Victoria and Abdul
Mother!
American Assassin
Lavazza Italian Film Festival

From one of the year's best docos, through to historical drama, CIA action, psychological mind-blowing arthouse and the always entertaining Italian Film Festival, there's another huge variety this week.  

I am Not your Negro
Director: Raoul Peck
Length: 93 min

© Madman - an unmissable doco, as relevant today as 
when all its subjects lived  

A nominee for this year's Best Documentary Feature at the Oscars, this astonishing doco has won 20 awards, and been nominated for 40. Justifiably so! In 1979 author and activist James Baldwin proposed to his literary agent that he write a book about the murders of black leaders Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jnr and Medgar Evers. He never completed the book and died eight years later. Now director Peck makes a film inspired by Baldwin's unfinished manuscript, and yet so much more. Using old footage of Baldwin speaking on TV and in lectures, archival footage of past and current race riots, scenes from old American films of an idealistic sanitised white society, and a narration by Samuel L Jackson giving voice to Baldwin's writing and philosophy of race relations, the film challenges audiences to examine in greater depth than ever before what it means for America to have created such dramatic racial inequality. The film could break your heart, with its juxtaposition of the white American dream compared with the black nightmare. The conclusion that "white" is just a metaphor for "power" is chilling. The philosophies expressed are complex, and challenging, and the film requires careful attention but is worth every minute with Baldwin's ideas as relevant today as they were then.    
5 - unmissable!

Victoria and Abdul
Director: Stephen Frears
Length: 112 min

© Universal - Judi Dench is marvellous as Queen Vic in
this little known true story of friendship 

In 1887 a young Indian clerk, Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal), was sent to England to present Queen Victoria (also Empress of India) with a ceremonial coin. He soon became part of the Queen's household and a special friendship sprang up between the aging monarch and the young Muslim. Keen to escape the drudgery of her royal life, Her Maj elevated Abdul to the status of Munshi (teacher), studying Urdu with him, but more importantly enjoying him as a warm confidante and friend in her lonely life. The Queen's affection for the young man stirred up a hornet's nest of racism and anger among the royal household. The Grand Dame of English acting, Judi Dench, is awesome in the role of Queen Victoria, portraying all the nuanced complexities of the royal personage. Fazal couldn't be more perfect as the sweet and caring Abdul, and the inter-age friendship is convincingly portrayed, underlining that not all love has to be of a sexual nature. The sumptuous settings, lavish costumes, and ludicrous extravagance of the royal life are poignantly juxtaposed with the heart-warming intimacy of this little known friendship.     
4 - highly recommended!

Mother!
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Length: 115 min

© Paramount - this will either knock your socks off
or disturb you out of your mind - or both!

An unnamed married couple (Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem) live an isolated existence in his old family home which has suffered a terrible fire. She is renovating it, while he, a poet, spends his time creating. Their blissful existence is interrupted when a stranger (Ed Harris) knocks on the door, and the poet invites him in. Soon the stranger's wife (Michelle Pfeiffer) turns up, and that's just the start of the visitors! To say much more about the plot of this extraordinary film would probably spoil things - I knew only that it had elements of horror, but was more of a psychological thriller. Well, I now think it to be one of the most disturbing, fascinating and thought-provoking films of the year. I will be pondering what it all means for weeks to come, but it sure taps into some of my worst actual nightmares. Overarching themes include invasion of one's sanctuary, misplaced generosity to strangers, what it means to truly love one's partner, motherhood, manic celebrity worship and more, heading off into realms of religious allegory and possibly supernatural happenings. The tension barely lets up, with the distraught wife dominating most scenes, and the house taking on its own creepy presence.  For a director who has come up with plenty of "out there" films (Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, Black Swan), he's really pushed the creative envelope here. But this is a film to see at one's own peril - fine as it is, it had me in knipchens of shock, outrage and downright mental distress! 
4 - highly recommended (possibly unmissable, if you're up to it!)

American Assassin
Director: Michael Cuesta
Length: 111 min

© Roadshow - for lovers of espionage,
and revenge! 

Mitch Rapp (Dylan O'Brien) suffers tragedy when his fiance is killed in a terrorist attack. He dedicates his life to taking revenge, by attempting to infiltrate the cell who perpetrated the atrocity. When the CIA takes him into its fold, as part of a covert operation, he comes under the command of ex-CIA operative Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton). Hollywood mainstream is the order of the day here, with all the requisite shoot-'em-outs, double crossings, car chases, anti-Islamic sentiment, bomb timer countdowns and heavy duty violence and torture. Despite the cliches and plot holes, the international settings are terrific, the pace relentless, and the main drawcard is the always-watchable Keaton toughing it out as a bad-ass anti-hero. 
2.5 - maybe!

Lavazza Italian Film Festival
14 September - 8 October
Melbourne Palace Cinemas

It's back with all the flair and variety we've come to love about this festival. A couple I've managed to catch in advance:
Fortunata: Winning a Best Actress award  for Jasmine Trinca at Cannes this year, this powerful film is the story of a single mum desperately trying to get her life on track, but battling her aggressive ex-husband for custody of their child. 
Indivisibili: The touted festival highlight is the story of conjoined twins Daisy and Viola who are exploited as a money-making singing act by their sleazy father. When it is revealed they could be separated, all the different agendas, of both the girls and their father come into play. 
Sea Dreaming Girls: a sweet and heart-warming doco about a group of elderly ladies who live in a remote mountain village and have never seen the sea. In honour of their social club's 20th anniversary, they decide to raise money for a seaside jaunt. This is a delightful story, showing it's never to late for new things in life. 

For more details on the films, venues, special events  and purchasing tickets visit: 
www.italianfilmfestival.com.au