August 8th
Palm Beach
Late Night
Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan
Who You Think I Am
Indian Film Festival
More Miff

It's a massive week with plenty of new releases (two of them Aussie), MIFF in full flight, and the Melbourne Indian Film Festival opening tonight. 

Palm Beach
Director: Rachel Ward
Length: 100 min

© Universal -  three old pals (and band members)
relive a moment of lost youth

Frank (Bryan Brown) has sold his business for a small fortune and lives with wife Charlotte (Greta Scacchi) in a stunning house on Sydney's northern beaches. To celebrate a "significant" birthday he invites lifelong pals, with whom he was once in a one-hit-wonder band, for the weekend. Leo (Sam Neill) and wife Bridget (Jacqueline McKenzie), Billy (Richard E Grant) and wife Eva (Heather Mitchell) arrive. Along with Frank's two adult kids Dan (Charlie Vickers) and Ella (Matilda Brown), Leo's stepdaughter Caitlin (Frances Berry) and Franks's niece Holly (Claire van der Boom) with new beau Doug (Aaron Jeffery) the scene is set. Phew!!! What a cast list of Aussie acting royalty, and what a terrific set-up for what will become an explosive weekend in which old resentments and long-held secrets will surface. While there are predictable elements in this comedy/drama, it targets many aspects of growing older, and should totally hit the nail on the head for the baby boomers, and for audiences of their kids' ages. Written by smart playwright Joanna Murray-Smith, it has all the trademarks of her incisive dialogue that feels very credible, and the cast all give honest, truthful performances. With a plot so many can relate to, along with gorgeous scenery and architecture, an A-list cast, and a spot-on soundtrack of nostalgic hits, what's not to enjoy?
3.5 - well recommended!

Late Night
Director: Nisha Ganatra
Length: 102 min

© Roadshow - Emma Thompson shines in a role
custom-made for her

Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson) has been anchor of a late night talk show for decades. As ratings drop, she is threatened with replacement. She and her team, along with newly hired writer Molly Patel (Mindy Kaling) fly into action to prevent this happening. This film is an absolute delight on so many levels. The obvious one is Thompson, who attacks this role with such alacrity as if it's made for her. Newbury is a supercilious type who doesn't relate well to her staff; her only real connection in life is her ailing husband Walter (John Lithgow). Her writing team has been all blokes, and production manager Brad (Denis O'Hare) urges that a gal be hired, so enter feisty Indian born Molly, who is a rallying cry for anti-sexism and also for anti racism. The film is funny, touching, has wonderfully well written lines for all the characters, and, as said, Thompson simply leaps off the screen, looking magnificent to boot in her many elegant and sexy outfits.
4 - highly recommended!

Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan
Director: Kriv Stenders
Length: 118 min

© Transmission - a horrendous battle 
brought up close and personal 

Conscription - compulsory enlistment for military service. In 1966, young Australian men with no military background had already been drafted into the army and sent to fight in the Vietnam War. This is based upon the true story of an infamous battle in which 108 Aussie soldiers, (mostly conscripts) led by Major Harry Smith (Travis Fimmell), found themselves surrounded by 2000 Vietnamese troops in a rubber plantation. The 3-hour battle and its outcome went down in the annals of Aussie military history. There's perhaps two ways of judging this film - some are calling it  a generic war piece with little individual character development and an overload of furious fighting, bombardment, blood and gore. I however found myself utterly gripped, as the film captures the ghastliness of war, and the futility of lives (on both sides) cut down in an instant. There are subplots of divisiveness between officers Brigadier Jackson (Richard Roxburgh) and Lt Townsend (Anthony Hayes), danger for visiting troop entertainers Col Joye and Little Pattie, and the dogged bravery of Smith who initially thinks he's too good for these conscripts, but ultimately changes tack. My physical reactions to having this horror in my face on the big screen spoke for themselves as I gripped the armrest; director Stenders achieved his aim and despite any superficiality of character development, as a historic record, and an anti-war message (maybe unintended?) it works.  
3.5 - well recommended!

Who You Think I Am

Director: Saffy Nebbou
Length: 101 min

© Palace - a cautionary psychological love thriller

set in the age of Facebook

Divorced mother of two, fifty-year-old Claire (Juliette Binoche) is dumped by her younger lover Ludo. To keep tabs on him she invents a new identity on Facebook - that of Clara, a 24-year-old beauty. She deliberately connects with Ludo's housemate Alex (Francois Civil), and what is meant as a way of tracking Ludo turns into a passionate but virtual, affair. Alex is desperate to meet Clara but she is determined to keep her non-identity under wraps. This chilling and thrilling film is framed by Claire's recounting to her therapist Dr Bormans (Nicole Garcia) of what happened. It works on many intriguing levels - a cautionary tale about the dangers of being lured into the virtual world, as well as a very sad examination of how hard it is for some women to accept growing older with the accompanying feelings of invisibility. Deeper philosophical questions of who you are at heart (your looks, your voice, your age, your basic personality?) infuse the story. Binoche is at her absolute best, plumbing, as always, the depths of so many varied emotions. With some terrific twists and turns it's tense and yet feels quite truthful in the age of deception.
4 - highly recommended!

Indian Film Festival of Melbourne
Fri 9 - Saturday 17th August

At Hoyts Docklands, Chadstone, Highpoint, Melbourne Central, Fed Square and Palais

For venues, ticketing and schedule of films visit: http://www.iffm.com.au/

This festival is always a treat for those who love Indian films, especially films that go "Beyond Bollywood", as the Festival's  major stream is called. (That's not to say there aren't a few good all-singing, all-dancing Bollywood spectacles in the festival!) Films showcasing different Indian sub-cultures, a variety of languages and fascinating and beautiful parts of the land are here, as well as deeply human stories universal to all our lives. 

Sweet Requiem: Winning many Indian festival awards, this film is about Tibetans, desperate to escape Chinese oppression in their country by crossing the mountainous border pass to India. Dolkar, a young woman living and working in northern India, meets a man who stirs up her past. When she was a child, her father took her on a perilous journey across the high pass into India, with tragedy transpiring along the way. The film toggles between present and past, as hidden layers of Dolkar's traumatic past unfold. It is a beautiful, gentle slow film, with resonance for refugee situations worldwide. 
Widow of Silence: Aasiya lives in poverty in Kashmir, a province between Pakistan and India and with a history of conflict. Many people have gone missing, and Aasiya has not seen her husband for seven years; he is presumed dead. She cannot remarry without a death certificate and a local government official is determined to make her pay for it, one way or another. This is a remarkable film, highlighting a proud woman determined to stand up to hateful and misogynistic practices. Cinematography is quite stunning, and the various characters, especially the optimistic taxi driver, linger in one's mind. The film is ultimately greater than the sum of its parts, sneaking up on you with quiet power.

Namdhev Bhau in Search of Silence: Namdev is a 60-something chauffeur living in Mumbai. Sick to death of the endless prattle of his wife, the constant talk of his boss, and the noise of the city, he packs a bag and heads off to a place he has read about - Silent Valley. On route he meets a young boy who says he is on a quest to find the Red Castle. After Namdev's initial aversion to the boy and his chatter, both have much to learn from the other, and from the endpoint of each of their quests. This mildly amusing film is ultimately quite deep and philosophical. It is quietly engaging, in an almost meditative way. A real treat. 
Amais (The Ravening): PhD student Sumon meets married doctor Nirmali when he needs help for a sick friend. He introduces her, normally vegetarian, to some of the meat delicacies he tries in his "meat club" and gradually the pair bond over meting to sample increasingly bizarre offerings. What starts out as a seemingly twee and typically Indian chaste romance, gradually becomes darker and more twisted. This will not be to everyone's taste (ha ha!!) with the subject matter transgressing some serious taboos, but fans of kinky horror should really enjoy it.
The Gold-laden Sheep and the Sacred Mountain: High in the remote Himalayas a shepherd and his servant hear a loud noise. They speculate that a plane has crashed and head off in search of any bounty that may be at the site of the wreckage. This film is remarkable in its cinematography, capturing a remote way of life. But it also very slow, almost glacial in its pace, and you need to be prepared to experience the film as sort of meditation, as you follow the men step by step, along with the constant grazing of sheep and goats. There may even be allegorical ideas to be extracted, maybe even deeper life lessons, which will require your concentration.    
 More from . . . 
Melbourne International Film Festival

Running until the 18th of August
20 venues around the inner city, Melbourne
For information on timetable, ticketing and venues visit www.miff.com.au

MIFF is in its second week, and the wonderful films just keep on coming. I've caught up with a couple more:
Dark Place: For fans of the horror genre this is a fascinating offering, described as a trip into the "dark heart of terror nullius". Five emerging Indigenous filmmakers explore relevant themes via the horror/terror genre, and for the most part they hit home. Especially powerful is the opening story Scout, highlighting horrific female oppression, and the cathartic power of revenge. Other stories feature zombies, outback horror and supernatural happenings in a housing estate. After the success of television series Cleverman, this is a great follow-up. 
Give me Liberty: Set in America's mid-west, this is a crazed but moving tale of Russian/American Vic, whose job is to get wheelchair bound folks to their destinations. But a group of elderly relatives hijack him to get them to a funeral on time. So begins a most chaotic day. This is zany to the max, and at times laugh-out-loud hilarious. Many of the cast seem to be amateurs and they come across as such authentic characters as they sing, squabble, and harangue their way through the day. There is some haunting singing, a touching scene of mentally disabled folk putting on a concert, and much philosophising, especially from a bed-bound quadriplegic friend of Vic's. It's a story of marginalised people just getting through their day, but in a way that underscores the shared humanity of us all, and the challenges we all must face.  
Buoyancy: Winner of the Ecumenical Jury Prize at the Berlin Film Festival, Buoyancy is the story of Chakra, a 14-year-old Cambodian boy who is sick of working in the rice paddies and leaves home to seek work in Thailand. He is whisked away to work on a fishing trawler, where he and the other workers are slaves to a ruthless and cruel captain. More about this brilliant film when it releases later next month, but see it now to get an important eye-opening insight into the modern slave trade, which, according to the film, affects more than 200,000 boys and men in the south-east Asian fishing industry. Makes one rethink just which prawns and other seafood we should be buying to be ethical in our choice.