Sept 20th

The Secrets We Keep
The Fight - DocPlay
Our Little sister (SBS On Demand)

Keeping sane with movies is one way of coping with these crazy days. The three I've chosen to review this week are all well worth watching and come highly recommended from me.

 

The Secrets We Keep
Dir: Yuval Adler
Length: 97 mins
Cinematic release (Victoria to come) 

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Jv6f59Z4Y8

© Rialto -  Rapace gives a strong perf in this
intriguing psychological thriller

Romanian Maja (Noomi Rapace) is a 1950s mother, of gypsy descent, now living in the USA and  married to a  doctor, Lewis (Chris Messina). One day Maja sees a man who, she is sure, she recognises from her time in a concentration camp during WW2. Suffice to say this dude ends up tied to a chair in her basement, while she tries to extract a confession from him. (It's all in the trailer, so no spoilers here). Thomas (Joel Kinnaman) swears he is Swiss, was never in the war, and he has an American wife and two kids to support his case of innocence. Maja is sure he was a Nazi officer, involved in her rape and the murder of her sister and other Roma people. This powerful psychological drama hooks the viewer in, never knowing whether Thomas is who he says he is, or whether he's an expert liar. Has Maja nabbed the wrong man, and are her memories of the past even accurate? Despite a few plot holes and ethical questions, strong performances and plenty of tension make this a good thriller, with the ever topical thematic thread of the mistreatment of women.

The Fight
Dir: Eli B. Despres, Josh Kriegman, Elyse Steinberg
Length: 96 mins

Streaming on DocPlay 

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK8Pj4kN0YQ

© Docplay -  lawyers at their best

It's always been hard for the lawyers of the not-for-profit ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union), but it's even harder under the right-wing Trump administration. The inner workings of this group is highlighted in four cases involving abortion rights, transgender military service, removal of kids from immigrant parents, and a controversial question in the census. I didn't expect to become so engaged in these legal preparations, but the film is powerfully constructed in a way that not only highlights the extreme dedication of the group's lawyers to their battles, but also the progressively repressive trajectory the current US government has taken. This is a strong doco for anyone concerned with issues of social justice and wanting a hitherto unseen insight into the work of the group.

Our Little Sister
Dir: Kore-eda Hirokazu 
Length: 127 mins

2015

Streaming on SBS On Demand

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtTeSQFce2A

Heartfelt, beautiful family story

If you know the films I Wish, Shoplifters, and Like Father, Like Son, you'll appreciate what an empathetic, humanistic film-maker Kore-eda is. Catching up with this much awarded film was a delight. On the day of their estranged father's funeral, three adult sisters, Sachi,  Yoshino and Chika meet their 15-year old half sister Suzu, and invite her to come and live with them. Not a lot of conventional action happens at all - the film simply traces the passing of the days, the building of bonds between the girls, the changing of seasons, and the reconciliation and acceptance of issues from the past. The four lead performances are blisteringly good, and even every minor role is pitch perfect. The film-making is low key, yet so lyrical - beautifully shot capturing a certain delicacy of Japanese culture, but with a modern sensibility, and above all a depth of emotion and human connectedness that should speak to all viewers.