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
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
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