Hursto's five minute films: October 2019

Wednesday, 30 October 2019

October 31st
Yuli
Balloon
Happy Sad Man
Terminator Dark Fate
Mini British Film Festival
More from JIFF

Four more new releases, a new film festival, and more from an ongoing festival - the choices just go on and on!!

Yuli
Director: Iciar Bollain
Length: 109 min

I've never thought of Cuba and classical ballet dancers together, yet here they are. Cuban born Carlos Acosta later joined the London Royal Ballet, becoming the first black man to dance some of the most prestigious roles in the field. The film opens with the childhood of Carlos, nicknamed Yuli by his overbearing truck-driving father Pedro (Santiago Anfonso). The boy is played by cheeky, charismatic Edlison Manuel Olbera Nunez. He leads a carefree life in Havana, loves his family and break-dancing, and defiantly tells his father he does not wish to go to ballet school, despite his rare talent being recognised by Pedro and the dance teachers. The real Carlos plays the older version of himself in this film with Keyvin Martinez dancing the teenage Carlos. Many of the dance sequences we see on screen mirror his life, some inspired by his conflict with his father over his reluctance to dance. The story flits back and forth from Carlos' childhood, to his teen years, to his later age where he is running his own dance school. This is a total treat for ballet lovers, and even those not committed to the art form. Cinematography of Cuba and of dance is magnificent, and the undercurrent of the country's history is a fascinating backdrop to a wonderful story of a highly talented person, never totally at peace with his life's journey.
4 - highly recommended!

Balloon
Director: Michael Bully Herbig
Length: 125 min

Based on true events this is the story of two families, the Strelzyks and the Wetzels, friends who lived in East Germany, in 1979. Anxious to escape the oppressive communist regime, they hatch an audacious plan: to build a hot air balloon and float to freedom in the West. But when their first attempt fails and they crash-land, the Stasi are alerted and start closing in on them. In a battle against time, they start sewing a new balloon. Talk about a tense nail-biter!! The direction of this film is near flawless, as the two plot threads close in on each other - the families racing to effect an escape and avoid detection; the Stasi racing to discover from the crash evidence the identity of the would-be escapees. Both families had two children each, making the mission all the more fraught. Head of the Stasi, played by popular actor Thomas Kretschmann, is a superb performance, and the actors (adult and child) playing both families are a perfect match. As with all films set in this era, it's a chilling reminder of how ghastly life was and still is for those who live under oppression - every glance, every encounter carries fear and suspicion. It's a wonder this film got made as the real-life families had sold the rights of their story to Disney, but with the help of Roland Emmerich, finally a German production eventuated, and it's a beauty.
4 - highly recommended!

Happy Sad Man
Director: Genevieve Bailey
Length: 93 min
Showing from today at cinema Nova. For other locations (Bendigo, Castlemaine, Rosebud, Geelong) visit https://happysadman.org/screenings/#theatrical

This moving documentary tackles a really important subject - men's mental health. As we know, Aussie blokes don't like to talk about their emotions; for them it's a threatening topic, and that's why this film is so important. Bailey (who made the wonderful I am Eleven) interviews a handful of men with troubles ranging from depression, bipolar illness, anxiety attacks, post-traumatic stress disorder and more. The men are refreshingly frank about their feelings: their fears, their joys and what has happened in their lives to get them to this point. Some go on to help other men, like the young man (pictured), who loves to surf and has founded One Wave, which holds a regular "Fluoro Friday" where everyone dresses up and goes to the beach to draw attention to men's mental health. Some use their experiences to counsel others; some express themselves through art and song-writing. Old John, who the director befriends, is especially poignant.
3.5 - well recommended!

Terminator Dark Fate
Director: Tim Miller
Length: 128 min

Can you believe it is 35 years since the first film in the Terminator series hit our screens? This latest is the sixth in the franchise, and while nothing for me can beat the first, this one is way better than the last - Genisys. It reunites Linda Hamilton (playing Sarah Connor) with Arnold Schwarzenegger, the one and only original Terminator. In this episode, a new Rev-9 cyborg killing machine (Gabriel Luna) has been sent from the future to kill Mexican gal Dani Ramos (Natalia Reyes). Not one but two wonderfully kick-arse women turn up to protect Dani: Sarah Connor, now mature age, gun-toting and hell-bent on killing cyborgs, along with bionically enhanced super-soldier Grace, who has also been sent from the future. And of course our old fave, Arnie, an outmoded T-800 cyborg, turns up about half-way through to lend a bionic hand. Despite the ludicrousness of the action sequences, and the convoluted timelines (as in all Terminator films) I find myself well entertained by this film. I particularly love the character Arnie has become which gives rise to many laugh out loud lines. As with many films in this genre, I got more enjoyment from it than my score would indicate, and fans of the franchise should definitely get into this one.
3 - recommended (for Terminator fans)!

Mini British Film Festival
Always much anticipated, this festival brings us some top British cinema with those well-loved actors we can't get enough of - think Dame Helen Mirren, Sir Ian McLellan, Timothy Spall, Keira Knightley, Bill Nighy . . . and many more. There's a Helen Mirren retrospective featuring 6 fab films, plus the remastering of two classics: Don't Look Now and Kind Hearts and Coronets.
The festival started in Melbourne on October 30th and runs until 24th November.
Showing at Palace Cinemas.
For ticketing, times, interstate details and more, visit britishfilmfestival.com.au

And now for my impressions of a few I've managed to preview:

Romantic Road: Eccentric London lawyer Rupert Grey heads off on a six-month adventure with his wife of 35 years, Jan. They take his beloved 1927 Rolls Royce and head off from Mumbai, hoping to arrive in Dakha, Bangladesh for the Chobi Mela photographic festival. This documentary highlights English quirkiness at its best. The film is a feast of amazing adventures and perils, and as hard as it was for Rupert and Jan, I can only imagine how the camera crew battled all the challenges along the way. It is also a lovely testament to an enduring relationship and the value of taking time out together to create unforgettable memories.

Liam Gallagher: As it Was: Had I been born in another generation I may have liked this documentary more. I found it:
a) hard to overcome my dislike of the main character - arrogant ex-frontman for the superband Oasis
b) hard to understand most everything he says, except for his incessant use of the epithet f....k.
But, as I always say, most films have something to offer someone, and I have no doubt fans of Oasis and Liam will love this, as it chronicles the dramatic split up with his brother and their band Oasis, his immediate creation of the next band, Beady Eye (a failure), followed by a triumphant return to a solo career and a little well-found humility.

Fisherman's Friends: In the vein of The Full Monty comes a tale, based on a true story, of a group of Cornish fishermen who love to sing sea shanties. When talent scout Danny (Daniel Mays) turns up in the town one weekend, he ends up signing the band for a record contract. I find the humour in this genre of English film always too predictable, but the singing is quite rousing and terrific to listen to. For fans of this style of British comedy, the film should be a real pleasure.

More from Jewish International Film Festival
For session times and ticketing, along with interstate information visit www.jiff.com.au

Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles: Since it was first performed in September 1964, every day there has been a performance somewhere in the world of this beloved musical. Wonderfully entertaining, this vibrant, uplifting doco looks at the many incarnations of Fiddler, and how so many different and unexpected cultures (think Thai, Japanese), all take it to their hearts, feeling it is also the story of their family and traditions. With interviews from its creators, choreographers, and leading actors like Topol and Zero Mostel, along with clips from worldwide performances this doco shows us why this show is so much more than a musical - it is a celebration of life and family for every nation in the world.

Love, Antosha: Many people only know actor Anton Yelchin from his role in Star Trek. In this engaging doco we meet an incredibly prolific young man, whose love for all things creative started in his childhood. We also learn how he battled cystic fibrosis all his life, but, buoyed by the deep love of and for his parents, he maintained a zest for life, albeit driven and perfectionist. He was multi-talented - writing, music, acting, and more, and the many interviewees all attest to what an amazing human being he was. Surprisingly stirring viewing.

Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love: Leonard Cohen was one of the greatest poets and songwriters of his era. For eight years he was involved with Norwegian woman Marianne Ihlen, and they lived on and off on the idyllic Greek island of Hydra. She was thought to be his muse, but life was no bed of roses for the lovers. In this warts and all doco, using the love story as its anchor, we discover Leonard in all his varied guises - tortured genius, intense lover, womaniser, depressive, and, according to some who speak about him, at times very funny. This is a marvellous insight into an incredible artist, and not to be missed by Cohen lovers or music lovers.

Paris Song: At the 1925 Paris Expo, a young singer from Kazakstan, Amre Kashaubayev, took the musical world by storm by taking out second prize in a singing competition, beating European men who had always won. The story of this shy young man comes to life in this film, which includes a romance with a nightclub singer (Abbie Cornish), and friendships with George Gershwin and Irving Berlin. A political sub-plot involves Russia's treatment of the Kazaks, and Amre. It's an absolutely fascinating story and beautifully shot with some lovely music. Beyond that it is directed in a very formulaic manner, using so many tired tropes, and having many totally unbelievable moments (eg after torture at the hands of the Russian secret police, Amre has not a mark on him). Perhaps I'm a little harsh, as it has won several awards overseas, but not my pick of the crop.

Thursday, 24 October 2019

October 25th
Pavarotti
Blinded by the Light
After the Wedding
Promised

EXTRA!!!
JIFF - Jewish International Film Festival - EIGHT reviews

It's a massive film week. Four new releases are previewed, plus eight films for JIFF. So many film festivals arew coming up between now and year's end, plus the plethora of mainstream releases. It's a smorgasbord of choice for film lovers.

Pavarotti

Director: Ron Howard

Length: 112 min

Up front: I've never been an opera fan, except for the handful of well-loved and over-played arias that are so beautiful they bring one to tears. But this film is simply a joy to watch, regardless of one's relationship with opera. As the title says, it's the story of one of opera's superstars, Luciano Pavarotti, who, as soon as he started to sing, went from strength to strength, towards the end of his career bringing opera to the masses with the fabulously successful Three Tenors shows and recordings. But behind the fame is often a bag of worms, and Pav was no exception. With an eye for the ladies he surely put his wife and three daughters through the mill, incurring the wrath of the Italian public when he remarried . . . a woman 34 years his junior. The daughters, and his ex-wife all speak to camera of their relationships and life with the maestro. Interspersed with the most glorious singing, and the awareness that this man was hugely generous of spirit (and money), this film leaves one feeling uplifted, inspired, and almost overwhelmed to experience such a sublimely beautiful voice, in a man with an absolute passion for life, his art, and other people.
4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended (for opera fans, unmissable!)

Blinded by the Light

Director: Gurinda Chadha

Length: 120 min

Javed (Viveik Kalra) is the 16-year-old son of Pakistani immigrants, and an aspiring writer. Frustrated by the traditional expectations of his family, he becomes inspired to follow his dream when his Sikh friend introduces him to the music of Bruce Springsteen. Something in the Boss's celebration of the working class hero lights a fire in Javed, and, encouraged by his English teacher (Hayley Atwell), he starts to see a possible future for himself. Based upon the true memoirs of English journalist Sarfraz Manzour, this film is definitely not one for the cynics amongst you. Jaded critics sometimes label this type of film formulaic and schmaltzy . . . but that is to discount its overwhelming charm and entertainment value. Something in Chadha's style captures the sweet optimism and innocence of youth, and Kalra is such a gorgeous screen presence, he carries the film to extra heights. There's also a winning cross-cultural love story, with Nell Williams as girlfriend Eliza, and a disturbing sub-plot of the racist neo-Nazi movement of Thatcher's Britain. Fortunately there is no attempt to wring jaded humour out of Javed's struggling parents; both are played with empathy and subtlety. A cameo by Rob Brydon is an unexpected delight. The film is an unashamed celebration of Bruce; his lyrics are displayed on screen when Javed listens, and the entire soundtrack pays homage to the best of Bruce. The film is an absolute crowd-pleaser and a joy to watch. (Try not to sing out loud in the cinema!)

4 - highly recommended!

After the Wedding

Director: Bart Freundlich

Length: 112 min

When I saw that this Danish film directed by Susanne Bier was being remade by the Americans I felt a sense of dread. But no need to fear - this is a worthwhile remake of the original. Isabel (Michele Williams) runs an orphanage in India. When a wealthy benefactor in New York promises a huge bequest, Isabel goes to America to meet media mogul Theresa (Julianne Moore.) She is coerced into staying on for the wedding of Grace (Abby Quinn), daughter of Theresa and Oscar (Billy Crudup). To her shock and distress, Isabel discovers a connection from her past, and soon dramatic revelations change everyone's lives. As you know, I'm very partial to this sort of relationship drama, and such films rely heavily upon the calibre of the acting. Moore gives her usual excellent performance depicting a confident, successful, at times almost brittle woman who is brought low by life's cruel vicissitudes. Williams does the strong/vulnerable thing really well, and Crudup is excellent as a basically good man who has to 'fess up to some morally dubious decisions in his past. I'm deliberately not giving too much away here, but as a story of redemption, forgiveness, and making fresh bonds it works really well. (The scenes in India are also pretty good.)
4 - highly recommended!

Promised

Director: Nick Conidi, Tony Ferrieri

Length: 97 min

Angela (Antoniette Iesue) has been "promised" by her parents since she was a baby to Robert (Daniel Berini). Now they are adults, charming Robert back from studying law at Oxford, vivacious Angela an aspiring writer and literature student. But times have changed. She is dating Tom (Santo Tripodi) and does not want to go through with the promise. But the parents are adamant - in Italian society, obligations are important. What can I say? I really wanted to like this film, especially with Tina Arena making her acting debut opposite Paul Mercurio as Angela's Mama and Papa. But unfortunately the script in many places is too clunky and prosaic to give any of the actors much to work with; maybe some of them are simply not up to it or the direction lacks oomph. The best moments are those between Angela and Robert, when some liveliness gets injected, despite the situations feeling "ordinary". Much of the film has an amateurish feel. Not to mention when the time frame fast-forwards about 20 years, none of the adults seem to have aged a jot. Although director/writer Conidi has based it upon his own parents' life, something just falls short here. Sadly, as I really like to support Aussie film-makers.
2 - you have better things to do with your time

Extra:
JIFF - Jewish International Film Festival
The Advocate
Ask Dr Ruth
Avenging Evil
Beyond the Bolex
Curtiz
Last Stop Coney Island: The Photography of Harold Feinstein
Man on the Bus
The Tobacconist
What Will Become of Us

Every year I run an extra, featuring some of the wonderfully curated films from JIFF. So many intriguing, riveting docos to choose from; so many outstanding feature films from around the world, not to mention the many special events. As I always say, you don't have to be Jewish to get heaps (entertainment and edification) out of these films dealing with themes that are universal to us all.

Films will show mainly at the Classic Elsternwick and the Lido Hawthorn, with an occasional screening at the Cameo Belgrave. Some films have multiple sessions, others only a few.

For times, ticketing, interstate details and more, visit www.jiff.com.au

Previewed so far (In order of my enjoyment).
More to come next week.

The Tobacconist

With 20 screenings in JIFF Melbourne alone, this award-winning film should definitely be put on your short list. Set in Austria just as the Germans occupy the country, it is the story of innocent 17-year-old Franz (Simon Morze), a young country boy whose mother sends him to Vienna to be apprenticed to a tobacconist, Otto (Johannes Krisch). One of the shop's customers is Sigmund Freud (superbly played by Bruno Ganz), and Franz and the great professor develop a friendship, as the lad initially asks Freud for advice on matters of the heart. This film is simply exquisite to look at, with glorious attention to period detail. The writing captures a delicate balance between a personal story (fictional), of a boy who is a dreamer and gets hard lessons in life, and the historical/political facts of yet another ghastly chapter in the Nazi saga.

Man on the Bus

Melbourne producer/director Eve Ash gets curious about some old home movies after her mother's death. They show an unknown man looking lovingly into the camera, and Eve as a girl playing with a little boy. She starts researching, and what she unearths about her mother's secret life will turn everyone's lives upside down. This is intriguing, shocking, funny in parts, and basically compelling entertainment on an intensely personal scale. I refuse to tell you too much since the film plays out like a good detective story; just know that the fabulous old recreations of the North Rd Brighton bus hold the key to a story that perhaps is not so far removed from many families' skeletons in the closet!

Ask Dr Ruth

The opening night film will have more than 20 more screenings, so you can definitely make a time for this wonderful doco about America's celebrity sex therapist. This spritely 91-year-old hasn't lost a skerrick of enthusiasm for life, (and talking about sex) but as the movie shows, she had a traumatic childhood. Orphaned at the age ten of by the Holocaust, she went on to handle the grief and become an esteemed therapist, helping countless people overcome sexual problems, and changing the way the world talked about sex. With excerpts from her many TV and radio appearances and famous talk show, as well as some beautifully crafted sketches that tell the story of her sad childhood in Germany, this is both entertaining, uplifting and absolutely inspiring watching.

What Will Become of Us

Frank Lowy is a name well known for years to then shareholders of the huge company Westfield. Less well known is the story of Lowy's life, from Slovakia, to Hungary, to Israel and finally to Australia. This short but intriguing doco is a real eye opener, as the iconic businessman man reveals his vulnerability and talks about his traumatic past, the coming to terms with his father's death in the Holocaust, and his grief at the fate of his beloved wife Shirley who has Alzheimer's. It's a real rags to riches tale, with terrific footage of Lowy visiting the notable sites from his past, and explaining how he went from a single delicatessen bringing much missed goodies to European refugees, to being the CEO of Australia's largest shopping empire. Surprisingly moving and fascinating.

Last Stop Coney Island: The Life and Photography of Harold Feinstein

For lovers of photography, and of New York this is a doco to cherish. Feinstein was an amazingly talented and insightful photographer, yet does not seem to be well known in the pantheon of famous clickers. Harold loved New York and this reflects in the tenderness, melancholy and delight with which he shoots some of his subjects. His exquisite black and white shots, capturing a nostalgic age now past, are something rare in this age of digital clicking. The later color work he did, when he came more to the public eye, is also to be marvelled at. For lovers of great photographs this film is a real treat.

Curtiz

Hungarian born Michael Curtiz will always be remembered as the man who directed Casablanca. This film recreates the making of Casablanca, with Ferenc Lengyel excellent in the lead role. It is shot beautifully in fitting black and white, and exposes the controversy that surrounded the making of the iconic movie. It was 1942 and the US government desperately wanted a propaganda film, but disputes raged about how various characters should be represented, and what the ending should be. Add to that Curtiz's problems with his estranged daughter Kitty, and news of his sister's attempts to flee Nazi Hungary, and you had a fraught situation. This is an intriguing film, about a classic that went on to win Best Picture and Best Director in the 1944 Oscars. A treat for film historians.

Avenging Evil

When you think of the Avengers, you tend to think superheroes. Well, this lot of Avengers were a secret organisation of Holocaust survivors, who were hell-bent on revenge, following the "eye for an eye" motto. In tapes discovered years after the war, was the evidence of some seriously vengeful plots to take out tens of thousands of Germans as revenge for the destruction of the Jewish people. The survivors, today very old men and women in their 90s, express varying attitudes now, to what they were planning to do. Some still burn with the rage, others now look with shock and mortification at what they were planning to do. It's a fascinating reflection upon the nature of crime, justice and vengeance. And who would have thought this society even existed. Yet another revelation from the Holocaust.

Beyond the Bolex

This complex documentary looks at the origins of a camera much loved by movie-makers, both professional and amateur, since the 1920s. Filmmaker Alyssa Bolsey explores her family's history from great-grandfather Jacques Bolsey, who invented the camera, when he lived as a refugee in Switzerland during WW1. Finding boxes of diaries, gadgetry, invention sketches and more, she turns the family history inside out to really reveal the influence of this invention on the world of film-making, along with the personal connections within her ancestral family. Famous filmmakers like Wim Wenders talk about their love affair with the camera and we discover how many others used it in their years as embryonic film-makers.

The Advocate
(by guest reviewer Peter Levy, not seen by me)

Lea Tsemel, an Israeli Jewish lawyer, spends her working life committed to defending Palestinians no matter what they’ve done or how much she is criticized for it. Her aim, and the aim of the movie, is to show that there exists two levels of justice in Israel and it’s an uphill battle to change that mindset. What one person would call an act of terrorism, another would call an act of a freedom fighter … but the main issue for Tsemel has always been the concept of human rights for all peoples. Most of her cases end up being lost, but that does not diminish her positivity or belief that the system will ultimately change one day. As she said in an interview, "I am the future and it is my responsibility to ensure that it happens sooner rather than later." The film is hard going because of the complexity and intensity of the subject matter but well recommended.

Thursday, 17 October 2019

October 18th
Joker
Ride Like a Girl
Judy
Maiden
Strange But True
Stay tuned for Film Festival mayhem: Jewish, Iranian, British, Japanese, and Russian are all heading our way!

My catch-up continues with the extraordinary film Joker, and the Aussie crowd-pleaser Ride Like a Girl. Now I'm on to the new releases, ranging from films about a singing legend, to women changing the course of history in a yacht (as opposed to on a horse), and a bit of a mind-bender about a pregnant girl and her dead boyfriend. Certainly got all bases covered this week.

Joker
Director: Todd Phillips
Length: 122 min

Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) is a mentally disturbed man, living in run-down, grimy Gotham City. He works as a part-time clown, has weekly meetings with the apathetic social services department, looks after his aging mother, and aspires to be a stand-up comic. He is generally picked on, bullied and misunderstood. To make matters worse, he has a condition which causes him to laugh inappropriately. When he makes one fatal error in his job and is sacked, life spirals downwards. This could well be called "Making a Mass Murderer" . . . that murderous man who becomes Batman's nemesis, but the film is so much more than that. As a study of mental illness, isolation, marginalisation and a society full of dysfunction and hatred it works really well. I also see many political messages that can be read into this film - it feels creepily relevant to much of today's splintering society which is prone to hang its hat on the wrong causes. And of course it mirrors current neglect of mentally ill people. Best of all it is a tour de force of acting from Phoenix, who lurches from empathetic nice guy (almost), to deranged psychopath. Amazingly he manages to generate empathy for his poor, lost character, and the physicality he imbues the role with is jaw-dropping. In another wonderful support performance Robert de Niro plays talk-show host Murray, Arthur's hero, but who ultimately contributes big time to creating the "the Joker". The settings look stunningly grimy and depressing, supporting cast are uniformly excellent, and if you're up for some serious soul-searching as to why people become the way they are, this is definitely the ticket.
4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended!

Ride Like a Girl
Director: Rachel Griffiths
Length: 95 min

Michelle Payne grew up as the youngest of ten kids in a horse racing family. Ever determined to race horses in a male-dominated field, she suffered a catastrophic brain injury after a fall, but went on to become the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup. This is her story and is also Griffiths' directorial debut. I'm not a horse-racing kinda gal - in fact I hate the sport, but to the film's credit it totally engaged me, despite being a bit sentimental in parts and using over-bearing music at times. Teresa Palmer who plays Michelle brings a passion and steely determination to her character. (Apparently she had to do a crash course in everything about horses and riding.) Her stubborn and authoritarian dad is played by the ever-charismatic Sam Neill and the father/daughter conflict plays out nicely on screen, him constantly trying to hold her back, and she rearing to go. Michelle's older brother Stevie, who has Down Syndrome and is a horse strapper, plays himself; what a charming performance (well, it's not really acting). Despite following a formulaic and predictable narrative arc (we know the outcome), much excitement is nevertheless generated, particularly with the impressive close-ups that almost put the viewer in the rider's seat. I truly felt the awe and majesty of the regal steeds, as well as the terrifying fear of what could happen if rider or mount put a foot wrong. The film has a truckload of heart, and is the sort of uplifting movie-going that we sometimes really need to offset the stresses, negativity and dramas of the world.
3.5 - well recommended!

Judy
Director: Rupert Goold
Length: 118 min

In 1968 legendary singer Judy Garland (Renee Zellweger) headed to London for a 5-week tour to pay off debts and try to get her life back together. How those weeks panned out is the subject matter of this mesmerising, magnificent biopic which in fact is not a chronological look at her life; rather a homage to a brilliant artist and a deeply sad look at the last months of someone so gifted, who had been exploited all her life, and was now victim to drugs, alcohol, and her own craving to be loved. I love the way this film doesn't try to overstate anything - it gives minimal background to Garland's teenage breakthrough in Wizard of Oz, but enough to set the scene for emotional abuse that obviously colored the rest of her life. I haven't got the words for Zellweger's amazing performance; she embodies this character with her vulnerability, bluster, optimism, difficult nature, and of course the voice (Renee does all the singing.) There are many unforgettable moments in this film that rip your heart out, from touching scenes with gay fans, to the mental torment for Judy of being apart from her younger children. All the support cast including Jessie Buckley, Finn Wittrock, Rufus Sewell and Michael Gambon are perfect. I'm tempted to give it an unmissable. It's a stunning addition to the many music themed films of the past couple of years.
4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended!

Maiden
Director: Alex Holmes
Length: 97 min

"We're not having a girl on board; girls are for screwing when you get into port." So says an obnoxious crew member, when approached by Tracy Edwards asking for a job as a cook on a racing yacht. Having fallen in love with sailing as a teenager travelling in Greece, Tracy became determined to not only become a sailor, but to skipper the first ever women's team to enter the Whitbread round the world race, a gruelling 33,000 nautical miles. In 1989 she realised that dream, with no thanks to the misogynistic male world who constantly said women couldn't do it and condescending media who asked idiotic condescending questions they wouldn't dream of asking a man. This terrific doco is a fabulous "up yours" to that sort of chauvinistic thinking. The film uses archival footage to show the race, some of it absolutely hair-raising as the boat ploughs through terrifying seas. This record of the ground-breaking race is counterpointed with interviews with Tracy and several of her crew in the present day as they reminisce on what was probably the most important experience of their lives, a major testament to team-work. You don't have to be a yachtie to be uplifted by this moving and inspirational film.
3.5 - well recommended!

Strange But True
Director: Rowan Athale
Length: 95 min

A tragic accident on prom night kills Ronnie, the boyfriend of Melissa (Margaret Qualley). Five years later a heavily pregnant Melissa turns up at the home of Ronnie's mother Charlene (Amy Ryan), claiming she is pregnant with Ronnie's child. Initially dismissive, an irate Charlene and sceptical brother Philip start investigating the strange possibilities of there being any truth to this. Charlene's ex-hubby Richard (Greg Kinnear) is called in, while the dear old couple from whom Melissa rents a cottage, Gail (Blythe Danner) and ex-cop Bill (Brian Cox), are too good to be true, supportive and loving to the expectant mother. This is an odd-ball film, though not as atrocious as some critics would have you believe. The cast is excellent, especially Ryan as the rampaging, embittered, grieving mother and ex-wife. Qualley, the daughter of Andie McDowell, is a lovely screen presence, but the two brothers are relatively bland. Danner is perfect for her nanna-ish role, but Cox, while he acts well, contends with a major flaw in his character's scripting - that of lack of credibility, as things take a dark turn towards the film's denouement. The writer tries to blend themes of dysfunctional family, possible supernatural doings, murderous mayhem and personal truths in a way that doesn't quite hang together. But for idling away a Sunday arvo, there could be entertainment to be had.
2.5 - maybe!