July 23rd
House of Cardin
Guilty (DOCPlay)
La Haine (Kanopy)
Calm With Horses
The Vigil

What a strange and disturbing life we are leading, especially those of us in Victoria. While three of the films I review today are screening in other states, viewers will have to wait a while to catch them in our virus-plagued city. However, the reviews may pique your interest, and if you live elsewhere, go track ' em down. Meantime, for the housebound lockdownees, I cover a couple you can catch up with on online platforms. Keep safe folks, stay home, and wear your masks! 

House of Cardin
Dir: David Ebersole, Todd Hughes 
Length: 97 mins

© Umbrella - the man behind the legend  

Over the years there have been many films about iconic fashion designers, but none so fascinating and inspiring (for me) as this one, featuring Pierre Cardin, a creative genius in not only haute couture, but furniture, accessories, the arts and more. The film is a virtual smorgasbord of fabulousness - his ground-breaking clothing, his branded accessories and furniture, theatrical spaces he has created, his visits to other cultures and lands where he has become a household name, and the invaluable  insights from so many unexpected people: singers Alice Cooper and Dionne Warwick, actress Sharon Stone, other famed designers to name a few. Best of all the man himself - a workaholic who lives to enjoy his work and is still going strong at 98 years old. For anyone who wants to see that age is no barrier to keeping on creating, this is the film for you. It's vibrantly shot, with so much packed in - a treat for the eyes as well as the heart. 
4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended

Guilty
Dir: Matthew Sleeth
Length: 82 mins
Streaming on DOCPlay: https://www.docplay.com

© DOCPlay - Heartbreaking anti-death penalty doco

In 2015, after ten years in prison in Indonesia, Myruran Sukumaran and Andrew Chang, two of the so-called Bali 9, were executed. This heart-wrenching documentary looks at the lead up to their deaths, focusing on the last three days of Sukumaran's life, as all appeals for clemency fell upon deaf ears. Adam McConvell plays Sukumaran in the recreated scenes; other segments of the film deal in archival footage. The grief of Sukumaran's family is near impossible to watch. The film-maker shows Sukumaran's incredible talent for painting, fostered by Ben Quilty, and which he developed and used to also benefit other inmates. Without preaching, the film asks the question of whether redemption is possible, and if it should be a reason to show mercy. With searing emotion, it makes the viewer feel the ultimate penalty is too harsh and cruel a price to pay, even for such a crime as drug-trafficking. This is powerful, thought-provoking film-making.
4 - highly recommended   

La Haine 
1995
Dir: Mathieu Kassovitz
Length: 98 mins
Streaming on Kanopy (https://www.kanopy.com/ - accessed with your local library card)

Recognise the young Vincent Cassell?

Winner of the 1995 Palme D'Or for Best Film and Best director, this film is a French classic, following the lives of three young men in the Paris suburbs, a day after rioting has occurred. Vincent Cassell, now a household name, plays Vinz, a restless, violent youth whose aimless day goes downhill. Not a heap happens, but it is the capturing of an era, a milieu, a feeling of the youth malaise of the time that is wonderfully portrayed in stark relief in impressively broody black and white cinematography.
4 - highly recommended  

Calm with Horses
(Also known as The Shadow of Violence)
Dir: Nick Rowland
Length: 101 mins

© Vendetta - tough story of a man torn between two
very different senses of duty

In a rural town in Ireland, Doug Armstrong (Cosmo Jarvis) tries to be a good father to his special needs son Jack. His estranged partner Ursula (Niamh Algar) is distressed because Doug hangs out with local criminals, the Devers family, headed  by father and son Paudi (Ned Dennehy) and Dympna (Barry Keoghan). Torn between his job as enforcer for the gang, and his love for Jack, Doug's life is headed for disaster. This is a confronting story, superbly acted, complex in its issues, and yet recognisable in the basic themes of parental love, forgiveness and redemption. Not everyone likes viewing such gritty tales, but this is worthy watching.
4 - highly recommended  

The Vigil
Dir: Keith Thomas
Length: 89 mins

© Rialto - Hasidim meet horror

Yakov (Dave Davis) is a former Orthodox Jew from Brooklyn's Hasidic community. Bad things happened in his past that alienated him, but now he needs  money, so takes a job via the local rabbi to act as a Shomer. This means watching over a dead body for a night. But creepy things are afoot in the Litvak household, and this will be no ordinary night for Yakov. Fans of horror should enjoy this genuinely creepy tale, but what gives it an extra twist is the clever blending of traditional horror tropes with aspects of Jewish tradition and superstition, featuring a malevolent presence known as a mazzik. Equally creepy is the wizened Mrs Litvak (Lyn Cohen), but there is intriguing interweaving of a more serious backstory into her character. Davis is a standout as he goes through th emotional wringer and holds the film together. 
3.5 - well recommended