April 4th

The Duke

Carbon: the Unauthorised Biography

Encanto (streaming on Disney+)

Now we are settling into a regular flow of new releases and endless offerings available for streaming. These three are as far apart as chalk, cheese and flowers! 

The Duke

Dir: Roger Michell

Length: 96 mins

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B2bxcnt4S4

© Transmission - two of
Britain's top actors 

Kempton Bunton (Jim Broadbent) is a 65-year-old cab driver with a strong social conscience, which he channels into protests against pensioners having to pay for TV licenses. When the National Gallery buys a Goya portrait of the Duke of Wellington, Kempton steals it, and proceeds to send ransom notes to the government, saying he will return it on the condition that the government do away with TV licenses for the elderly. His wife of umpteen years, Dorothy (Helen Mirren), spends her time cleaning, and  tut-tutting over Kempton's activities. British comedies aren't really my bag, but seeing the always amiable Broadbent in a role tailor-made for him, and the usually glamorous Mirren as a totally frumpy housewife makes for some much-needed lightweight fun. The story is actually based on a true case, and there are a couple of unexpected reveals and twists to make it mildly intriguing. The true magic is how the leads have us totally believe in their decades long marriage.  

3.5 - well recommended

Carbon: the Unauthorised Biography

Dir: Daniella Ortega; Niobe Thompson

Length: 96 mins

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bdcFv9IcHs

© Maslow/Umbrella -  Neil deGrasse Tyson -
 just one of the rock-star
scientists in this fabulous doco

For anyone sick of your standard drum-beating climate-change eco-film, this new Australian doco could be just the ticket to expand your scientific knowledge and give you a whole new perspective on the most misunderstoood element, carbon. The doco-makers decide to personify carbon, calling the element "she", which can be a bit annoying, but that aside, the film is at pains to explain that carbon is not the demon, but in fact the building block of all life. Sarah Snook narrates, and a raft of experts is assembled, taking us on a crash course through the development of life on earth, the wondrous versatility of carbon in creating so much of our world, including us. Carbon remains the good element, right up to the time when the industrial revolution unleashed it from the places it really needed to stay - in the trees and in the earth - giving rise to the crisis the earth now faces: climate change. The film includes marvellous visuals, inspiring music, and a creativity seldom seen in scientific docos. For me this is a really clever film that somehow manages to explain something so important, complex and wonderful in a way that both engages, educates and entertains.

4 - highly recommended

Encanto

Dir: Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Charise Castro Smith

Length: 102 mins

Streaming on Disney +

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

© Disney - a wonderful animation

Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz) is a  teenager in a large extended family, the Madrigals, who live in a remote part of the Columbian mountains in a region blessed by magic and known as the Encanto. Their extraordinary house is virtually a being, responding to commands and protecting the inhabitants, while each member of the family has a special gift - each except Mirabel. Grandma Alma fervently guards the magical candle that keeps everything ticking along, but when Mirabel goes on a quest to find what happened to Uncle Bruno, somehow the magic is threatened. There is a lot of complexity in this plot, with themes around self-acceptance, the importance of communication, pride, over-expectation, familial loyalty  . . . but at heart it is another gorgeous Disney animation, more colorful and vibrant than most, depicting a joyous culture I know little about, and chock-full of simply wonderful songs. Like the best animations, it can work for all age-groups, though I suspect tiny tots will have little idea of what is really going on. It has just won the Academy Award for Best animation.

4 - highly  recommended