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
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© 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
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| © 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
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| © 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
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| © 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
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| © 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.
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