June  6th
Burden - new digital release feature 
Proxima - new digital release feature
Extraordinary - new digital release feature
Unorthodox - Netflix series
Agave: The Spirit of a Nation - documentary DocPlay

Releases are hotting up - more coming out . . . plus film festivals scheduled for online release (not to mention murmurs about cinemas opening). This week I look at three excellent new feature films, an intoxicating doco on tequila, plus a series that you've probably seen but which is new to me. Stay tuned next week for a sneak peek into the forthcoming online Sydney Film Festival and the St Kilda  Film Festival. 

Burden
Director: Andrew Heckler
Length: 117 min
Available to rent now via Foxtel Store until 4 July

© Rialto Distribution - scarily relevant themes - 

a moving story

In a small Carolina town, a redneck group of Klu Klux Klansmen set up a museum of Klan history. Reverend Kennedy (Forest Whitaker) organises protests to try to close it down. Mike Burden (Garett Hedlund) is a Klansman with a blossoming relationship with single mum Judy (Andrea Riseborough), whose little son plays with a local black kid. Torn between Judy and his Klan affiliation, Mike must make some tough choices. This film seems to have divided critics, but viewers love it, giving it the Sundance audience award. I'm squarely in the camp of those who recommend this film, despite its worthy themes sometimes being a little obviously drawn. The physicality of Hedlund's performance is a revelation, Tom Wilkinson as the local Klan leader is scarily evil, and Riseborough is flawlessly believable as Judy, hating Klan beliefs yet loving Mike. Furthermore, the story is based upon true events, and it carries the torch for redemption, grace and forgiveness, much needed in today's world. Not to mention its absolute relevance to the #blacklivesmatter movement, in a world still riddled with hatred and prejudice. 
Highly recommended

Proxima
Director: Alice Winocour
Length: 107 min
June 3rd digital release from Madman Entertainment: https://www.madmanfilms.com.au/

© Madman - astronaut or mother - can you
be both?

French woman Sarah (Eva Green) is a divorced mother, and the only woman astronaut in training for a mission to the International Space Station. As the training hots up, time spent away from her young daughter Stella (Zélie Boulant-Lemesle) becomes more disturbing for Sarah, caught between maternal ties and her own career aspirations. This is a beautifully made film, with a Cesar Best Actress nomination for Green's thoughtful performance. Any mother-daughter saccharine sweetness is carefully avoided, and themes of gender bias are well handled without beating the drum too loudly. Matt Dillon is terrific as one of Sarah's two co-astronauts, and the insights into what is involved in the rigorous training are instructive and fascinating. With the SpaceX mission having just landed at the ISS, it's another very timely story. 
Highly recommended

The Extraordinary
(AKA The Specials on IMDB)
Director: Olivier Nakache, Eric toledano
Length: 116 min
June 3rd digital release from Madman Entertainment: https://www.madmanfilms.com.au/

© Madman - selfless co-workers, tirelessly 
working for autistic youngsters 

Winning the audience award at the San Sebastian FF, and with a swag of other nominations, this film grew on me as it went along. The story is inspired by two real-life charitable organisations and their dedicated staff  who deal with profoundly autistic kids that other places won't take. From the start it is very confronting, as unmanageable and disturbed teens act out violently. Vincent Cassel plays Bruno, the Jewish head of one organisation, with Reda Kateb as Malek, the Muslim head of the other. The two men, and their helpers are selfless, compassionate, and patient beyond belief. The trouble is that this group has not been "certified" by government authorities, and are constantly torn between the knowledge of being the last resort for their charges, and the threat of being shut down. The film is a disturbing insight into a world many of us only hear about, and pays homage to those people among us who rise above the ordinary to help others.
Highly recommended 

Unorthodox
Director: Anna Winger
4 part series on Netflix

© Netflix - one of the best series I've seen.

Many people I've spoken to have already seen this, so I may be preaching to the converted (no puns intended.) Esther is a young woman growing up in an intensely orthodox Hasidic Jewish community in Williamsburg New York. Expectations upon women are to have as many kids as soon as possible after marriage. The gossipy community is closed and rigid and Esther feels she has no choice but to run from it - all the way to Berlin where her own mother, long estranged from the community, lives. This series, based upon a biography, is magnificent viewing, superbly scripted, toggling constantly from the lead-up of what happened in Esty's past to her present plight. Beautifully acted, it is a portrayal of a world many of us will never get to see, and a reminder of how orthodoxy of any form can be totally detrimental to individuality, despite tradition and culture creating strong bonds. 
Unmissable

Agave: The Spirit of a Nation
Length: 79 min
Streaming on DOCPlay: https://www.docplay.com

© DocPlay - intriguing insight into Mexico's culture

DocPlay throws me into decision crisis - so many magnificent docos to choose from - where does one begin? I hadn't initially intended to choose this one, but found it totally absorbing viewing. Expressively shot, it takes us to three distilleries in Mexico, where people pursue the family tradition of distilling the agave plant into both mescal and tequila (BTW: mescal can be made from all agave plants, tequila from only the blue agave). Again, the story has resonance for so much that troubles today's world - the destruction of ecosystems by over-farming, struggles of small producers against big corporations, and the constant battle to preserve indigenous cultures and customs. It's also an uplifting glimpse into the joyousness of Mexican cultural practices, and their strong family bonds. Pour yourself a shot, and savour this terrific doco. 
Highly recommended