March 5th
Dark Waters
Honeyland
Citizen K
Undertow
Escape and Evasion

A strong feature film based on a true legal case, a doco nominated for this year's Oscars, another doco showcasing corruption in Russia, and two new Aussie dramas feature in this week's offerings. 

Dark Waters

Director: Todd Haynes
Length: 126 mins

 © Universal  - another  important true story- well told, 
finely acted, and totally relevant 

In 1990 Robert Bilott (Mark Ruffalo) is an attorney at a law firm in Ohio, mostly defending large chemical companies. When asked to represent a poor farmer Wilbur Tennant (Bill Camp) whose cows have been dying, Bilott ends up swapping sides, initiating one of the most dramatic environmental law-suits in US history. For more than 20 years he pursues powerful chemical corporation DuPont for knowingly poisoning water with a substance known as PFOA (C8), a toxic chemical used in Teflon products. (Rest easy, Teflon was banned some 15 years ago.) In the lofty tradition of socially conscious films like Erin Brockovich and Silkwood, Haynes brings the true story of a dogged, courageous man to the screen. Ruffalo is, as always, an actor who totally inhabits his role. Anne Hathaway is his long-suffering wife, while Tim Robbins plays Tom Terp, head of the law firm, as passionate an activist in his on-screen persona as he is in real life. Legal procedures can be tedious, but little of this reflects in this compelling, disturbing film, which has moments of extreme tension, as Bilott even fears for his life. This story is important in a world where corporations try to ride roughshod over the little people. Not to mention, we all are using products in our daily lives with so little knowledge of their chemical composition. This is solid socially relevant story-telling that should give us all pause for thought.
4 - highly recommended!

Honeyland
Director: Ljubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska
Length: 85  mins

 © Umbrella  - visit a world miles away from the
lives we know - a honey farmer in the Macedonian
mountains 

Somewhere in the remote mountains of Northern Macedonia is a woman known as the last wild beekeeper. Hatidze Muratova lives in a hut with her ailing mother - no electricity, no running water, just the bees and the honey she sells in a market, four hours walk away. When a rowdy family of itinerants, with umpteen kids and cows moves onto the land next door, life is turned upside down. This is an extraordinary documentary about a way of life fast fading. The filmmakers shot over three years, but they never intrude into the film. There is no voice over - we simply accompany the real-life characters, sharing their days, and learning of the conflict that ensues when the new family try to inflict their unsustainable farming practices on the traditions that Hatidze knows so well. She is a generous-spirited kind woman who wishes no-one ill, making what happens to her all the more tragic. With wide sweeping shots of remote areas, and intimate glimpses into the lives of those who dwell there, this is a gem of a film and a rare opportunity to get a glimpse into a way of life that could well be on the way out.
4 - highly recommended!

Citizen K
Director: Alex Gibney
Length: 126 mins

 © Jigsaw -  once the richest man in Russia, now

exiled in London and leading an anti-Putin movement.

Powerful documentary making. 

For those who've never heard of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, here's the definitive guide from master documentarian Alex Gibney. It's also a wonderful lesson in the politics of modern Russia, and from someone like me (a politico-klutz), let me tell you this film is incredibly good. Mr K was an oligarch (a rich business leader with political power) in the 1990s after the USSR broke up. He became the richest man in Russia through owning oil companies, but when Putin came to power Mr K was arrested and sentenced to 10 years in prison. After his early release he fled to London, where he now leads a pro-democratic anti-Putin movement. This is my simplification of things, but this film is so well crafted it makes the complexity of the machinations and corruption in modern Russian politics almost possible to comprehend. The film feature extensive interviews with the charming Mr K, interviews with countless other journalists and commentators, and uses much excellent archival footage to put the story across. This is an important insight into a powerful country and its leader, and reflects the ongoing battle for personal freedom and less corruption in today's world.
4 - highly recommended!

Undertow
Director: Miranda Nation
Length: 95  mins

 © Issues of concern to women are front and centre 
in this psychological drama of angst and motherhood 

Claire (Laura Gordon) is grieving her stillborn baby. Some months later she sees her husband Dan (Rob Collins) at a motel with teenager Angie (Olivia de Jonge) and suspects an affair. She tracks Angie down then learns that Angie is pregnant, supposedly  by footballer Brett (Josh Hellman). Claire becomes obsessed with Angie and her pregnancy, but sadly that obsession soon destroys Claire's psychological equilibrium and tragedy ensues.  Set in Geelong, the film is very much focused upon women, their experiences of their bodies, and their unhappy experiences at the hands of men. De Jonge gives a breakout performance as the rebellious teen, heedless of the life inside her, while Gordon really bares the torture in Claire's soul at having lost her baby. There are some excellent themes, but at times the film feels a little too jumbled, with the director mixing the psychology of grief, sex, obsession, with a plot that plays like a thriller. The important plot thread of toxic masculinity among sportsmen could have been further explored, rather than the extensive ambivalent focus upon the women's bodies. The cinematography is highly commendable, with water and blood as recurring visual motifs. I liked many things about this film, especially the strong performances, but somehow the script doesn't hang together cohesively enough to make for a totally memorable experience. Still, let's support our Aussie film industry, especially films about important women's issues. 
3 - recommended!

Escape and Evasion
Director: Storm Ashwood 
Length: 92 mins

 © Backlot Films - PTSD is 
the focus of this film 

Seth (Josh McConville) has just returned from a mission in Myanmar, where he has been sent with a military special force to track down a rogue soldier (Steve Le Marquand) who has joined up with drug traffickers. Seth's best friend Josh (Hugh Sheridan) has died on the mission and Seth is suffering severe post traumatic stress disorder. He desperately tries to reintegrate into society, and establish a relationship with his daughter, despite his ex-wife's hostility. Things are made worse when Rebecca (Bonnie Sveen), Josh's twin sister, pushes him to reveal what exactly caused her husband's death. McConville acts persuasively to give audiences an insight into the soul-destroying nature of PTSD. The poignant relationship with his daughter is nicely handled, but the film remains an odd mix of a psychological personal drama, and a jungle shoot-em-out military tale. Nevertheless, the horror of warfare and inhumane treatment of prisoners is compellingly shown. PTSD is an important and relevant theme for military men, and many others, so good to see a film tackling the topic.
3 - recommended!