Saturday, 29 May 2021

30th May

Blog Extra!

Emergency rescue in lockdown - some films to easily catch up with should you be bored!


There is absolutely no need to be bored during lockdown. That is if you are a movie fan (or a reader, or a jigsaw puzzler, or a gardener!) I've just been trawling through a few sites to discover so many wonderful films available (many free!), that we'd need a year of lockdown to scratch the surface of them. 
Most of you know of iView, SBS On Demand, and of course I've appraised you of the benefits of the fabulous DOCPlay for the past year. Not to mention Kanopy, free with many people's library cards. 
In case you're already wandering what the hell to watch, thought I'd bombard you with a few rippers that have caught my eye.


SBS On Demand
I'm overwhelmed by the list of quality films FREE and on demand. They change regularly, so keep on top of the site.
 
A couple I'd consider UNMISSABLE:
A Fantastic Woman: Spanish film about trans-gender 
The Straight Story: old geezer drives his ride-on mower across America - a winner
Predestination - Aussie sci fi that'll do your brain in - fabulous
And several more, all recommended:
Apocalyse Now; Shoplifters; The Band's Visit; Buoyancy; A Prophet; Angel Heart; another country; 7-Up (and the other Up films); Land of Bears; Take Shelter; The diving Bell and the Butterfly; Lebanon; Loving; Hunt for the Wilderpeople; Frozen River; The Ideal Palace - . . . . and a million more.
I recommend all these I've listed - suggest you head to the site, read the synopses and choose from there. 

DOCPlay
For the paltry sum of $7.99 a month (not even the price of two coffees) you can have access to hundreds of the world's best documentaries. The company is constantly adding new ones to their catalogue.
There are gazillions I still want to see, but there is simply not time in life to watch them all. A handful that grabbed my attention (many of which I've reviewed in the past) are:
The Australian Dream: Vital viewing for Adam Goodes fans, and those interested in Indigenous rights 
The Leunig Fragments: Fans of the cartoonist musn't miss it
Suzie Q: The tiny rocker revealed
The Biggest Little Farm: How to create sustainability
Older Than Ireland: Inspiring life wisdom from centenarians
Pavarotti: Opera's biggest voice
Jiro Dreams of Sushi: Insight into Japan's top sushi maker
McKellen: Biopic of the great actor
Night: No past review, but a stunningly beautiful and contemplative  doco from Aussie director Lawrence Johnston about what nighttime means to different people. 
Country Music - 8 part series - a must for lovers of the genre



Wednesday, 26 May 2021

 May 27th

My Name is Gulpilil
King Otto
Final Account
Ema
German Film Festival
Don't forget: BOFA is still going - online - over the weekend. (see last week's blog)

What a bummer of a day for Victoria - again. I guess these recommendations are:
1. for non-Victorian movie goers
2. For Victorians to put on their list of films to see as soon as this latest lockdown ends

My Name is Gulpilil
Dir: Molly Reynolds
Length: 101 mins
© ABCG Film - special doco about
a special man
Indigenous actor David Gulpilil changed the face of Australian cinema over his 50-year career. Discovered in 1971 in the remote outback as a young lad he was hired for his dancing abilities to star in Walkabout. Since then he has appeared in umpteen iconic Aussie films. Now he tells his own story, in his own words. Despite being terminally ill with lung cancer, he is still cheeky, irrepressible, warm, funny and absolutely charismatic. He tells of the challenges of trying to live between the whitefella world and blackfella culture, and is totally honest about his battles with addiction. It's the director's stroke of genius to have no voice-over, simply David telling his own tale, in his inimitable way. The doco is rich with pathos, humour and warmth, and is a magnificent tribute to the many fine films David has been part of, as well as to the man himself.  
4 - highly recommended

King Otto
Dir: Andre Marks
Length: 82 mins
© Umbrella - German and Greeks 
get on the same page to win
Otto Rehhagel was a former German soccer player and subsequent team manager in his country. In 2001 he was hired by the Greek soccer team to be their coach. The Greeks had never won a single match, or even scored a solitary goal in an international tournament. So the world was gobsmacked in disbelief when, in 2004, Greece won the European Championship. This is an underdog story, par excellence. It's so entertaining to observe the odd alliance of styles: an initially formal and constrained Germanic personality  must contend with the emotional and impulsive Mediterranean nature of his players. Gradually he is so embraced by the team, the Greeks declare him to be a German with a Greek heart. And all this is done with Otto not speaking a word of Greek, but aided by his trusty translator. You don't have to be a soccer fan to enjoy this uplifting story of the Greeks creating a new myth for themselves.
3.5 - well recommended

Final Account
Dir: Luke Holland
Length: 90 mins
Exclusive to Elsternwick Classic and Ritz Sydney
© JIFF - a chilling look 
at the last surviving Nazis
Stirring, upsetting and critically important, this documentary consists of  interviews with the last survivors of the Nazi regime, those who as kids were forced to join Hitler Youth, several who served in the higher echelons of the SS, and other "ordinary" citizens who claimed to know nothing of the treatment of the Jews or the existence of the concentration camps. Director Holland, himself a Jew, explores the indoctrination of young kids into the evil philosophies of Nazism, and in his interviews with his subjects, now very old, elicits an extraordinary range of responses. Among the interviewees is one extremely remorseful man, using his experience to address a group of youngsters and warm them of the dangers ever-present in hatred. But here are also those who, to this day, deny the scale of the Holocaust, and claim they would do the same again.  This is rivetting and disturbing viewing.
4 - highly recommended

Ema
Dir: Pablo Larrain
Length: 107 mins
© Palace - weird, wild and
compelling
Ema (Mariana Di Girolamo) and her husband Gaston (Gael Garcia Bernal) has "returned" their adopted son Polo, after the child seriously injures Ema's sister. Ema is grieving and exhibiting all manner of wild behaviour; Gaston is compulsively choreographing for the company where she dances reggaeton, a form of driving hip-hop. As their lives unravel, things become increasingly fraught for Ema, in a mix of wild unbridled sexuality, dance and setting things on fire with a flamethrower. Here's a film almost beyond my ability to make sense of, yet with a strange, compelling urgency that is hard to resist. There's a strong sense here of women having the upper hand and behaving more exploitatively than men. There is a visual beauty to many of the scenes in Valparaiso Chile, the harbour and the gloomy streets are often shot to look like an abstract painting; and underscoring all is this urgent driving beat, in which dance and sexuality seem to be equated. Bernal gives one of his best performances, and Girolamo has such a sensual energy seldom seen on screen. Rather than try to understand, maybe this is just one to absorb.
3.5 - well recommended

German Film Festival
Until 20th June Australia-wide
At Palace Cinemas
For states, times, film scheduling and ticketing, visit: www.germanfilmfestival.com.au

After missing 2020. it's exciting to have the best of German cinema returning for this festival, which not only highlights the best of modern German cinema, but also has an a number of Austrian films, and a selection of films for kids.  Lucky me, as always, has got to preview a handful.

Berlin Alexanderplatz: At 3 hours 3 minutes this is an epic, but well worth the time. Winner of multiple wards, it tells the story of Franz, an immigrant from Guinea Bissau, who really wants to live a decent life but gets caught up in the world of drug dealing, under the domination of Reinhold, a weird, neurotic, kinky, brutal fellow. Albrecht Schuch is winning awards for his extraordinary perf as the ghastly Reinhold, while Welket Bungue is equally amazing in his role of the refugee who can't seem to get it right. There is much to shock and disturb the viewer, but as a look at the seedy side of Berlin, it is an amazing film. Elfin-like Jella Haase is also noteworthy and Franz's love interest, hooker Mieze. 

Berlin Bouncer: More of the seedy side of Berlin life is highlighted in this doco about three men who have been bouncers for many years outside the city's infamous clubs. Sven is now a middle aged, heavily tattooed punk and photographer; ex-GI Smiley, originally from the Virgin Islands, loves his job, while philosophical Frank fancies himself as an artist. All three have held the hopes of young clubbers in their hands, deciding who gets in and who doesn't, and all three seem to have lived like overgrown kids up until now. I found this seriously fascinating, and it certainly gave me insight into a life I know so little of.  
 
The Audition:
Acclaimed actress Nina Hoss plays violin teacher Anna, who becomes obsessed with the progress of one of her students, preparing him for an audition by driving him mercilessly. She seems unable to give warmth to her  young son Jonas, neglects her husband, and is generally an unpleasant character. This is intense psychological drama, and while not easy to "enjoy", it is a most worthwhile study in ambition, and the dramas that ensue when people will not accept others for who they are. Hoss is, as always, fabulous.

The Space Between the Lines: Based on a romantic novel, this is a slight, but cute, story of Emmi and Leo, who accidentally "meet" via a misdirected email. She is married, he is on and off with his long-term girlfriend. An intense relationship of words develops between them, and soon they are obsessed with each other. But if they ever meet in real life, what could happen?  Although a tad long, the film raises the fascinating question of why it's so easy to reveal so much of oneself to a stranger, and also whether one can really fall for another via the written word. 

For kids and only in Brisbane:
Too Far Away
Ben's village is taken over by miners and he must move to a new home and school. A keen soccer player, Ben is both relegated in the team, and bullied, but when he befriends Tariq, a Syrian refugee, things look up. This film has many important social messages, not only to do with refugees, but also the power of friendship to heal and overcome prejudice.

The German Film Festival is . . naturlich . . . highly recommended

Wednesday, 19 May 2021

 May 20th

The Man in the Hat
Son of the South
Death of a Ladies Man
Two of Us
BOFA - Tasmania's Breath Of Fresh Air Film Festival
St Kilda Film Festival

This week sees four exceptionally strong films hit the big screens, plus two festivals you may not know much about. And to boot, some of the festival material can be viewed FREE online.  

The Man in the Hat
Dir: John Paul Davidson, Stephen Warbeck
Length: 95 mins
© Limelight Distribution - an absolute
delight of a film!
The Man (Ciaran Hinds) is driving through France in his little Fiat 500. After witnessing five men in another Fiat dropping something suspicious into a river, the man takes off, but wherever he goes, the five men seem to be behind him. No attempted summary will do justice to this charming, quirky and delightfully  refreshing film, that is so typically French (overtones of Monsieur Hulot), even though Brits have made it. Award-winning composer Warbeck has created a stunning soundtrack that covers umpteen genres from cafe jazz to opera to sweetly harmonised songs. All this underpins what is virtually a silent film in which The Man meets an array of bizarre characters, who keep repeatedly turning up in one town after another. Notable is The Damp Man (Stephen Dillane), who goes from near suicidal to happily running a pizza truck. Other characters are a priest, a woman on a bicycle, a group of female car mechanics, a pair of love-struck surveyors, and many more. The scenery is magnificent, the pace varies from languid to frenetic, and unexpected surprises abound. Action-movie fans may hate this film; those who want to immerse in glorious French countryside, revel in glorious music, enjoy absurdist humour, and generally reflect upon life will simply adore it, as did I.
4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended 

Son of the South
Dir: Barry Alexander Brown
Length: 105  mins
© Heritage Films - race relations in the 
'60s are still scarily relevant today
Based upon his autobiography, this is the story of a white man who became a civil rights activist in Alabama in the 1960s. Bob Zellner (Lucas Till) was the grandson of a Klu Klux Klansman (Brian Dennehy) but while researching a uni paper on race relations he gradually became drawn into the civil rights cause. Opening with a horrific scene of white rednecks about to lynch Bob, the movie flashes back to Bob's gradual enlightenment, and his involvement with the Freedom Riders, who rode buses into the segregated south to challenge racial discrimination. He also became the first white secretary for the SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee), whose charter was to protest peacefully. The film features such historic icons as Rev. Abernethy and Rosa Parks, along with many fictional characters representative of 
brutal white supremacists and the many sceptical blacks who questioned Bob's motives. Though at times the story feels a bit overloaded with people and events, the overall sensibility is a chilling evocation of the times, which are still scarily relevant today. The film is a worthy addition to the spate of recent movies on race relations.
3.5 - well recommended

Death of a Ladies Man
Dir: Matt Bissonnette
Length: 100 mins
© Transmission - a brilliant Byrne perf, great
soundtrack, and original plot
Montreal college professor Samuel O'Shea (Gabriel Byrne) has led a hard-drinking life, and now his second marriage is on the skids. That's nothing to what happens when he starts having  the strangest, most bizarre hallucinations, including the appearance of his dead dad, (Brian Gleeson), with whom he has long conversations. When he finds out that a tumour is causing his mental disturbances, he knows he is not long for this world. He needs to connect more with his drug-addicted daughter and his son who has just come out as gay, and also revisit his native home of Ireland. This creative narrative features a stand-out performance from Byrne, who is at the top of his game here. And, as you may guess from the film's title, all is set against the melancholy music of genius singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen. The entire construction works a treat, with empathetic characters, a modicum of humour, and of course that very apt music, perfect as a backdrop for (and at times a central part of) many of the scenes. This is entertaining, moving and original film-making.
4 - highly recommended

Two of Us
Dir: Filippo Meneghetti
Length: 99 mins
© Vendetta - a touching and sad homage
to the days when coming out was fraught
Nina (Barbara Sukowa) and Madeleine (Martine Chevallier) have lived in opposite apartments for years. In reality they are lovers, but have hidden it from the world. When Nina decides the two should sell up and head to Rome, Madeleine finds herself unable to tell her conservative adult children. When a serious health incident intervenes, their relationship is turned upside down. This much-awarded French film is a gentle and sad love story. It's tragic to think that, in this day and age, some people are still terrified to come out, and also that adult children would be so unaware as to not see the love that is under their noses. Both leads are sublime in their portrayal of the older lesbians, and Lea Drucker is compelling as Mado's daughter Anne. The subplot of Nina's clash with the incompetent and  avaricious carer creates excellent moments of extreme psychological tension, and even though much of the film takes place within the confines of the womens' apartments, it looks consistently stylish and maintains strong interest. Such a tale reminds us of how the elderly are too often dismissed, and the importance of respecting relationships regardless of age and sexual orientation.
4 - highly recommended

BOFA: Breath of Fresh Air 
Tasmania's free online film festival
https://breath-of-fresh-air.com.au/films/online-program/

Running until 30th May (unfortunately I missed the start of this one!) is a festival giving you the opportunity to enjoy 18 excellent films from the comfort of your loungeroom. All you have to do is subscribe to the BOFA online newsletter and then you'll receive your code enabling you to log on and start watching. With a mix of excellent docos and features from around the world, this is an opportunity not to be missed. 
 
St Kilda Film Festival
May 20th - 29th
https://www.stkildafilmfestival.com.au/

Lovers of short film rejoice. So many top film makers got their start making shorts, and here's a chance to check out the work of tomorrow's top film-makers. This festival is the most comprehensive overview of the short film industry and includes films from Australia and overseas. Some events will be in person this year, and others will be available free online. There's so much to absorb, I shan't attempt to outline any of it - simply head to the website and everything that is screening at the Astor, the Alex Theatre and online will be revealed: 


Wednesday, 12 May 2021

 May13th

Those Who Wish Me Dead
Finding You
Carmilla
South African Film Festival

It's full steam ahead with new film releases and festivals. A real grab bag of offerings this week, from teen romance, to high-tension thriller, Gothic coming of age, and an excellent new online film festival.  

Those Who Wish Me Dead
Dir: Taylor Sheridan
Length: 100 mins
© Universal - a tense and thrilling
ride, with a surprisingly human element
Hannah (Angelina Jolie) is a Montana firefighter, suffering PTSD after misreading the wind in a ghastly fire event in which three young kids are killed. She is now stationed in a high lookout tower, rather than be part of on-the-ground action. Connor (Finn Little) is a young teen whose dad, a forensic accountant, is murdered by some particularly nasty guys, trying to cover up a financial scandal that will bring down some very high-up people. Ethan (
Jon Bernthal) is the local sheriff whose feisty wife Allison (Medina Senghore) is six months pregnant. Now the hit-men Jack (Aidan Gillen) and Patrick (Nicholas Hoult) are on the trail of Connor, trying to tie up all loose ends. As the lives of these people intersect, and a fierce wildfire breaks out, everyone's survival skills will be pushed to the limit. I sat in the front row for this nail-biting story, and believe me, it is an experience. The scenes of fire are totally spine-chilling, and the way the various plot threads gradually merge and start to make sense is gripping. What impresses is the unexpectedly compassionate element of a woman trying to seek redemption. Jolie is excellent, and young Little (you may recognise him from Storm Boy) is a revelation. Certain moments totally stretch the limits of credibility, but who cares in such an engrossing film that will really have you on the edge of your seat.
PS: How could I not have recognised Gillen as Littlefinger from Game of Thrones!?
4 - highly recommended

Finding You
Dir: Brian Baugh
Length: 115 mins
© Rialto - could be every young girl's
dream romance
Aspiring violinist Finley (Rose Reid) flunks entry to a prestigious music school in New York. Instead she heads off to Ireland for a few months' overseas study. En route she meets 
Beckett Rush (Jedidiah Goodacre), a handsome, cheeky young actor starring in a dragon fantasy romance, and the swoon-worthy idol of teenage girls. The pair find themselves staying at the same guesthouse, and of course the question looms: will a romance develop? I really thought I'd hate this film; so many predictable plot points and outcomes, obstacles for characters to overcome and lashings of sweetness and sentimentality. But . . . I found myself gradually charmed by the yougsters' journeys of self-awareness, captivated by the bucolic Irish landscape, and delighted by the character of drunken Seamus (Patrick Bergin), a fiddler who helps Finley discover her inner spirit. Add the star-power of Vanessa Redgrave as town grump Mrs Sweeney, a mysterious Celtic cross in a cemetery, and a controlling manager/father and you have more than enough plot to keep you engaged. Ultimately, it is the deeper theme of being true to oneself, and finding your inner passion at the film's heart that helps it shine (along with delightful perfs from the two leads). Teenage girls should especially love it.
3 - recommended

Carmilla
Dir: Emily Harris
Length: 94 mins
© Icon - a handsome Gothic spin on
forbidden love
Lonely Lara (Hannah Rae) longs for a friend - her mother is dead, her father often absent and her strict governess Miss Fontaine (Jessica Raine) runs a tight ship. When a carriage crashes and the driver is killed, the miraculously unhurt survivor (Devrim Lingnau) is brought to Lara's house. Lara finds herself bewitched by the stranger, but the adults fear there is something sinister about the girl Lara names Carmilla. Originally a novel written in 1872, the story inspired other films and series with an overtly vampirish bent, but this film is more of a gothic/psychological thriller about burgeoning teenage sexuality and the repression that abounded in those days, especially fear of lesbian love seen as a sign of the devil. This is an immensely handsome film, replete with broody lighting and soundtrack, and many gore-soaked images that appear in Lara's dreams, as well as some inspired close-ups of insects and decay to add to the creepiness. 
Tobias Menzies adds his usual gravitas to the role of Dr Renquist in what is a strong, well-executed tale of forbidden love.
3.5- well recommended

South African Film Festival 2021
ONLINE: 12- 24 May 2021 
For films and session times,  visit: www.saff.com.au/
Featuring nine documentaries, five feature films, and two short films, this festival provides keen insight into a country many of us know so little about. Several of the docos look at apartheid and its enduring effect upon the country, while on a cheerier note, the excellent 2011 film Mama Africa brings the wonderful singer Miriam Makeba onto our screens. The cost of online tickets ($8 single film, and $60 for the full program) goes to a most worthy cause - supporting young South Africans from disadvantaged communities.

Toorbos
© SAFF
Karoliena is part of a community of white forest dwellers in South Africa, many of them manual workers, whose lives are impoverished but imbued with support for one another. When Johannes (once a forest dweller, now a town businessman) takes her as his wife, she finds it just too hard to live away from her beloved trees. Inspired by the real lives of the last of these forest dwellers, this is at once a poignant romance, and a meditation upon the meaning of one's roots and identity. 
Gloriously shot, sensitively acted, understated, and suffused with an almost mystical sense of Karoliena's relationship with the forest, this is the sort of arthouse film I relish. Toorbos was Sth Africa's Oscar submission. Wholeheartedly recommended.

Mama Africa
© SAFF
This 2011 film features the first singer from Sth Africa to gain international acclaim: Miriam Makeba. If you remember the song Pata Pata, which was a worldwide hit back in 1967, you'll know the vitality of this woman, and recognise her magnificent voice. Her career and life were marked by fame and tragedy: ostracism from her homeland when she campaigned against apartheid, and rejection from her white American fans when she married black panther Stokely Carmichael, not to mention death of her beloved daughter. There is so much information cram-packed into this film at times it becomes jumbled and hard to follow, as the director chooses to be non-linear in the way she handles the narrative. Regardless, it is a film music lovers will not want to miss, rich with rhythms, brilliant songs, and the story of an amazing woman who made a difference musically and politically. Highly recommended.

A New Country
© SAFF
This disturbing doco traces the post-apartheid decline from euphoria to disillusionment. According to the many impassioned speakers in this film, the elation that accompanied the end of apartheid and the election of Nelson Mandela, gave way to a sense of despair, and the feeling that little has really changed. According to the many commentators, the white patriarchy is alive and well, only now they are not sanctioned for their behaviour. Even if you know little about the country's history, this film will resonate strongly, as yet another reflection of a world in which the riches belong to so few, and the poor (invariably colored) are always disenfranchised.
  
Jozi Gold
© SAFF
Yet another doco to make you angry: this one looks at the aftermath of the gold-mining industry in Johannesburg, which has produced one-third of the world's gold. Now there are almost 400 radioactive dumps, and outfalls of toxic water with heavy metal contaminants which threaten the poor locals (It's always the poor who cop it.) Children are getting ill, cancer rates are up, and toxic dust covers everything.  Featured in the film is activist Mariette Lieferink who takes "toxic tours" to educate people to the severity of the threat, and hounds corporations 
to start taking responsibility.


Thursday, 6 May 2021

May 7th

De Gaulle
June Again
Greenland

Another week - more new releases - and streaming simply goes on and on! This week a fascinating WW2 drama about an iconic man, a family dramedy about Alzheimers, and a streamed apocalyptic blockbuster. something for everyone. 


De Gaulle
Dir: Gabriel Le Bomin
Length: 108 mins

© Palace - great appeal to 
history buffs
Nominated for 3 Cesars (the French Academy Awards) including Best Actor for Lambert Wilson, this film hones in on a brief but critical time in the life of the iconic French general (later to become President) Charles de Gaulle. The film focuses on the events of June 1940. During this seminal point in France's history, the government capitulated to the Nazis, while the General escaped to Britain and finally got British PM Churchill (Tim Hudson) on side. From there he broadcast regular radio messages of encouragement to the French resistance. This slice of  war history is a compelling portrayal of
 a courageous man, firm in his convictions and in his love for his family, which makes for an important sub-plot as wife Yvonne (Isabel Carre) and de Gaulle's three children must flee their Paris home for their safety. 
4 - highly recommended

June Again
Dir: JJ Winlove
Length: 99 mins

© Studio Canal - the cruelty of dementia and 
lost identity feature in this heart-warming tale
Strong-willed matriarch and ex-business woman June (Noni Hazelhurst) has been living in a nursing home for five years, suffering dementia and barely able to recognise her daughter Ginny (Claudia Karvan), or son Dev (Stephen Curry). One day, miraculously, the fog lifts and she enters a short window of clarity, which doctors say will not be permanent. Doing a runner from the home, she finds her kids only to discover a series of family crises have eventuated in her absence. She resolves to put things right. Like a hybrid between The Father and Awakenings, this film has some wonderful aspects and a few clunky ones. Hazelhurst is wonderful, walking the fine line between comedy and poignancy. Karvan and Curry are also highly credible as the grown kids who are estranged from each other, and all at sea in their life's goals. The moments inside June's head, as she reflects upon a past love in her life, are beautifully done. 
Many scenes lead us to reflect upon the nature of identity and how it is intertwined with memory. The accelerated timeline of everything that happens as June tries to "mend the world" is what stretches my credibility, but if one just goes along with this sweet-hearted film, it will provide a moving, warm, if at times, schmaltzy viewing experience. 
3.5 - well recommended

Greenland
Dir: Ric Roman Waugh
Length: 119 mins
Streaming on Amazon Prime
© Amazon Prime - get ready for some
nail-biting apocalyptic adventure
Feeling like streaming a bit of apocalyptic drama with action-man Gerard Butler? Follow the perilous and traumatic adventure of John Garrity (Butler) and his family (estranged wife and small son) as they attempt to flee to safety when a comet heads straight for earth, creating a predicted "extinction event". I really approached this with a "ho-hum, here's more of the same" attitude, but was pleasantly surprised to experience a very exciting and tense story that actually felt quite believable. The characters are well drawn out, the action scenes are gripping, and the destroyed cities world-wide disturbingly well created through the fine SFX. When you just need to veg out with some heart-stopping entertainment, this could be the one. As far as disaster movies go, this one is is a winner!
4 - well recommended