August 26th

More from Indian Film Festival - FREE online until this Monday 30th August

Just Mercy - streaming on Netflix

Echo in the Canyon - streaming on Netflix

The Chosen - streaming free on its own channel

It's all so confusing knowing what is showing where, but I persevere bringing you reviews of what I've seen, and if these films are not currently showing in your state just put them on the list to catch up with when (if?!) lockdown ever ends. Meanwhile for those in lockdown states, I recommend you yet again to make the most of the last days of the free online Indian Film Festival. Plus, I've rerun some reviews of films I've seen on the big screen which have now fortuitously turned up on Netflix. But wait . . . there's more . . a final FREE surprise recommendation. (Apologies for some gremlins in the formatting!)

Indian Film Festival

Continuing online until August 30th 

Visit: https://www.iffm.com.au/

I've been bingeing on this wonderful free festival and probably won't get through all I'd like to see before it ends. Plus some I watched, hoping to review, have ended the season - sniff! I urge you to check out the program and make the most of the last four days. Others I hope to catch between now and Sunday are: Bridge; Dhumma; Faree; The Great Indian Kitchen; Resurgence and Once upon a Village. Can I do it? Probably not! As I always say - so many films, so little time! And for bored kids note there are also plenty of animations to snap up. 

Bread and Belonging: Thanks to my dear lifelong friend Elly who (pre-Covid), spent several months of each year in Goa, for her recommendation to watch this gentle and nostalgic documentary. The Portugese, who settled Goa, left a legacy of bread baking which is carried on to this day, with family bakeries working in the wee hours to then send delivery boys out on bikes to deliver the delicious breads. But like so many traditional crafts, it is under threat. This doco gives us a rare glimpse into daily life and work in one of India's iconic cities. 

 

Home Address (Ghar Ka Pata): More melancholy and nostalgia in this doco made by the daughter of a Hindu family who were forced to flee their home in Kashmir when conflict broke out between Muslims and Hindus in 1990. The director examines how her family's lives have been typical of so many diaspora groups, making excellent use of old photographs, and verbal reminiscences from extended family. She was a tiny tot when it all happened and is hell-bent on revisiting Kashmir to find her old family home. When finally she and her sister head back and meet Muslims who remember her family, things border on tear-inducing. This film presents a view of identity and belonging that can be more broadly related to by many people who have been forced to leave their homelands. 

Echo in the Canyon

Dir: Andrew Slater

Length: 82 mins

Streaming on Netflix

© Echo in the Canyon - LLC - Universal -
Jakob Dylan chats with Dave Crosby

This is a real nostalgia trip for boomers who reveled in the music of the mid 60s, specifically that music associated with Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles. Jakob Dylan, (Bob's son) takes us on a journey through present and past, featuring legendary artists such as The Byrds, The Buffalo Springfields, Crosby, Stills Nash & Young, The Beach Boys, The Mamas and Papas and more. There is a blend of wonderful clips of the original artists and their songs, plus the rehearsals for, and the final concert, which pays tribute to that seminal music era and features the likes of Jakob Dylan, Norah Jones, Beck and other current artists discovering the past. Such musicians as Dave Crosby, Jackson Browne, Michelle Phillips and Ringo Starr put in their two bob's worth with vibrant anecdotes and reminiscences, and there is much about how The Beach Boys and The Beatles influenced each other. Some critics are peeved about what has been left out, but the songs that are in here all stand the test of time, and are still inspiring to current songwriters. This music defined an era of freedom and hope where people felt they could do anything. I danced my way through much of the film - riveted, and with a fervent desire to return to the era.
4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended

Just Mercy

Dir: Destin Daniel Creton

Length: 136 mins

Streaming on Netflix

©  Roadshow - tense and riveting fight for
justice - and it's all true.

Here's another movie based upon a true story, and a really important one it is. Newly graduated Harvard lawyer Bryan Stevenson (Michael B Jordan) travels south to Alabama in the late '80s to set up a legal advocacy to fight for prisoners wrongly convicted, or tried without access to proper legal representation. His first case is that of "Johnny D" McMillan (Jamie Foxx), accused of murdering an 18-year-old white girl, despite there being no concrete evidence, other than a bogus testimony from convicted criminal Ralph Myers (Tim Blake Nelson). Although no ground-breaking film-making happens, the story is told with such sincerity, solid acting, and an emotional wallop, that it has won me over totally. Jordan can at times be a little one-note, but his character comes across as tenacious and dedicated to justice, while supporting performances from Brie Larsen as Eva Ansley his assistant, and Blake Nelson as the repulsive Meyers are first-class. Foxx is totally convincing as Macmillan, and has already several awards. Scenes featuring Johnny D's cellmates, all on death row, are heart-breaking, and the case for no death penalty is eloquently presented. Images of irrational white bigotry against blacks, especially as dealt out by law enforcers, will induce seething anger. This is a powerful story that should be seen, to remind one of the evil of prejudice, and how fearless are those who put their lives on the line to fight it.

4 - highly recommended! 

The Chosen
Director: Dallas Jenkins
2 series - 8 episodes each - varying between 40 mins - 1 hour - FREE

https://watch.angelstudios.com/thechosen

©  Angel Studios - inspiring, rivetting -
simply a wonderful story!

Those familiar with my non-religious nature may think I've finally gone stark raving mad recommending a series on the life of Jesus Christ. But this incredible show has so captured me, I've zoomed through it in a short time, and cannot recommend it highly enough. The vision of Jewish life back in the days of Jesus' work as a travelling rabbi is masterfully recreated. The series boasts stunning sets, great detail on the political rivalry of the day, between various Jewish sects and with the Roman occupiers, and paints an extraordinary picture of daily Jewish life - pretty ordinary for the commoners, but luxurious for the upper echelon of the synagogue, like the Pharisees (a bunch of power-mongerers extraordinaire!) Every character is meticulously drawn and Jonathan Roumie is perfectly cast as the main man, creating a type of Jesus I haven't often seen on the screen. The style of story-telling captures so much humanity, compassion and "normality" to which we can all relate, and is seriously moving in many parts. The bad news is that Series 2 is all they've got so far, hoping to complete the epic tale with another 5 series, still awaiting funding.

5 - unmissable!