November 15th

The Old Man and the Gun
Spitfire
Shoplifters
Cinelatino Film Festival

Once more into the viewing breach, dear friends! And this week brings yet more worthy films for your delectation. Handsome Robert Redford is back, an elegant fighting aeroplane stars in a wonderful doco, the Japanese explore the meaning of family, while the Cinelatino Film Festival brings us the best from Latin America. 

The Old Man and the Gun
Dir: David Lowery
Length: 94 min 

© Entertainment One -  Redford is as charming as ever
in this film based upon the criminal career of
an audacious oldie

Yet another film based (loosely) on a true story, that of Forrest Tucker, a career bank robber and serial prison escapee. Tucker apparently had more jail escapes than anyone in America. Robert Redford, in what he says is his swansong, plays the old man with charm and charisma: a gentlemanly bank robber, who pursues his passion ever so politely and with little violence. Danny Glover and Tom Waits are Tucker's long-term amiable accomplices, while Sissy Spacek is Jewel, the woman Tucker meets in her later years, and who loves him despite discovering his criminal bent. Detective John Hunt (Casey Affleck) pursues the wily crim with a grudging admiration for the thief's craft. The film is relatively light, with good humour and nods to past Redford films. The actor, now 80, is so enchanting to watch, his weather-beaten still handsome face and engaging smile so mesmerising, it makes the film definitely worth a look.  
3.5 - well recommended! 

Spitfire
Dir: David Fairhead & Ant Palmer
Length: 99 min 
Showing at Classic Elsternwick, Cameo Belgrave, Lido Hawthorn, Sun Yarraville and select Village cinemas

© Rialto - a love-song (or love-film) to the 
fighting machine that helped win WW2

The Spitfire is the aeroplane credited with changing the course of world history by winning the Battle of Britain and ultimately World War Two. This is the story of that plane, from its innovative design, through to the determination and heroism of the gutsy pilots who flew it. Interviews with the surviving combat pilots are fascinating and moving - all remember well the terror and thrill of their wartime experiences. (Including the many women who flew the planes from the factories to the airfields). You don't have to be remotely interested in planes to enjoy this informative and stirring documentary. In what is almost a love song to the plane, the film-makers use stunning aerial cinematography and recreations of some of the most gripping air battles.
4 - highly recommended! 

Shoplifters
Dir: Hirokazu Koreeda
Length: 121 min 

© Rialto - Japanese slice-of-life films
are usually winners - this sure is

Director Koreeda has no less than 43 various wins to his name. He is known for his humanistic approach to his story-telling, and this latest is no exception, on both counts, having won the Palm D'or at this years Cannes FF. The ragged family is a motley crew of  husband, wife, Grandma, son, daughter, and the late addition of a tiny girl they find hungry and cold on the street. Dad and son regularly shoplift, and all supplement life with Gran's pension. It's what we call a slow-burn film - nothing dramatic happens until well into the story, but the picture created of this family is then opened up to reveal truths we didn't imagine at the start. There is much genuine love between the characters, and, despite their poverty, a generosity of spirit to provide and protect. The minutiae of daily life is lovingly created, from mending, cooking, children playing, through to, of course, shoplifting. As you probably know by now, I love the delicacy of this style of film-making, and the Japanese do it so well. When finally the carefully constructed house of cards comes tumbling down, there is much poignancy and emotional pain. 
4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended! 

Cinelatino Film Festival
Melbourne November 13-28
Astor, Palace Como, Palace Westgarth
For other states and program times: www.cinelatinofilmfestival.com.au

Not to be confused with the Spanish Film Festival, this is Australia's largest festival of films from Latin America. The 26 features and three documentaries come from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic and Paraguay. Though the wonderful opening night film Roma screened two days ago there will be further opportunities to catch it during the festival. I'm lucky to have previewed a selection.

© Cinelatino FF - Roma is a slow-burn, deeply 
compassionate film about family, caring and more.

Roma: Winner of the Golden Lion at Venice this year, Roma revolves around a year in the life of a middle class Mexican family in the 1970s. Apparently the story is highly inspired by Cuaron's own youth, and the film feels like a the diary of a family with all its foibles; raucous kids, a messy dog, philandering husband and a wife rediscovering her identity. There is also a background thread of political turmoil and protest at the time.The central focus however is on the family's beloved maid Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio) who unintentionally falls pregnant. The non-professional actress is sublime in her portrayal of the stoic, loving, hard-working girl. Cuaron displays a genius for observing the tiny details of life and employs exquisite black and white cinematography in carefully constructing each scene. The film is suffused with a depth of emotion around love, loss, and the deep attachment one can develop for others who are not necessarily family. Some colleagues declared it boring; I was transfixed. 
Etiqueta No Rigurosa (No Dress Code Required): This award-winning doco strikes a major blow for gay rights. It chronicles the struggle  Victor and Fernando have in being allowed to marry, in the Mexican state of Baja California. With wonderful interviews with the men, and live footage of their verbal confrontations with government officials, this is a film to both inspire and enrage. The patience and peaceful persistence of the men and their friends is admirable while the obstructionist prejudice of the authorities is enough to make me throw epithets at the screen. 
In Love and Hate: Nominated for many Argentinian awards, this stylish crime/romance, based on a 1949 novel, harks back to the days of elegant hotels, unexpected murders and femme fatales. Doctor Hubermann is running from a painful love affair. He heads to a remote hotel on the beach, but who should be there - the woman he is avoiding, with her sister and sister's lover. This is highly entertaining in a light and somewhat melodramatic way. The film's production design is so eye-catching, especially the use of colour, and it's a while since I've seen such a back-stabbing, double dealing, entertaining collection of villainous characters.