July 15th
Scandinavian Film Festival
Firestarter: The Story of Bangarra (streaming on ABC iView and Foxtel)
Spiderhead (streaming on Netflix)
So, saw Elvis a second time - this time 6/5 from me. Miss it at your peril! This week a wonderful wintry film festival comes to us from Scandinavia. Plus streaming platforms deliver yet again with a stunning doco on the Bangarra Dance Company, and a generally entertaining semi sci-fi thriller starring hunky Hemsworth.
Scandinavian Film Festival
12 July - 10 August
Palace cinemas and Cinema Nova
Again this year the festival brightens your winter by bringing you the best of Nordic cinema from Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. A special feature of this year's festival will be a tribute to Scandi screen sirens, with such iconic films as Casablanca featuring Ingrid Bergman, Wicker Man with Britt Ekland and Queen Christina with Greta Garbo. As always, I have a few to recommend to you.
Nordic By Nature: Can you imagine a Michelin-starred restaurant in such a remote and idyllic setting? Well, here it is: KOKS, tucked away in the Faroe Islands. This delightful Danish doco brings us into the inner sanctum of head chef Poul Andrias Ziska and those working at this fine dining establishment. The difference is that all the produce is sourced from the immediate surrounds - the bounty of the sea and of rugged mountains in this remote location. Squeamish folk and vegetarians be warned: there is plenty of gutting of sheep, goats, fish and even whales. Somehow the workers are all "at one" with their surrounds and nature, and there is something very refreshing and unusual about this foodie film (not to mention mouth-watering, for adventurous diners). Quake: In this bleak Icelandic psychological mystery, Saga is a separated mum bringing up her little boy. She suffers a severe epileptic fit and partially loses her memory. As she gradually reacquaints herself with those around her trying to help, she is frantic with fear that her child will be taken away from her. Gradually, with the help of a photo album from her childhood, she unearths some deep-seated memories that explain her fears. This is classic psychological drama, with fine acting, and compassionate, totally believable characters. Anita Briem gives an intense and fine performance as the distraught mother. A Matter of Trust: This intriguing Danish drama deals with five different tales, and though interwoven chronologically, they are not connected, but they all have something to do with trust, or lack of it. A doctor accompanies a repatriation flight of distressed refugees back to Afghanistan; a married man meets a virtual stranger for a weekend of sex; a teen in school is upset after a photo he sends gets into the wrong hands, and then he turns to his teacher for solace; a pregnant young wife and her husband attend a funeral where he is obviously not welcome, but we don't know why; a mother and her little daughter, sporting a black eye, are on some crazy beach expedition, where things are not what they seem. Of particular note is much awarded Danish actor Trine Dyrhokm (pictured), in a powerful performance as the doctor. Despite the vignettes being short, each is absolutely engrossing.
Firestarter - the Story of Bangarra
Dir: Wayne Baliar and Nel Michin
Length: 95 mins
Streaming on ABC iView and Foxtel
 |
© Icon - Bangarra Dance Company told in
the words of those who created it |
If you missed this at the cinema last year, here's your chance to catch up with this inspiring, informative and beautiful documentary. Winning the inaugural Change Award at the Adelaide Film Festival, it traces the history of one of Australia's foremost dance companies. Thirty years ago the Paige brothers, Stephen, Russell and David made a big step towards Reconciliation by setting up a dance company that brings indigenous stories to life. The film is not only about the history of that company, but also about the ever-fraught situation for Aboriginal people in a white Australia. Told through archival footage, and the words of the only surviving brother, artistic director Stephen, this is a doco to delight, disturb, and make everyone think more deeply about our relationship with our country's First Nations people. The dance itself is thrilling, athletic and exquisite to watch, the issues as always challenging.4 - highly recommended
Dir: Joseph Kosinski
Length: 106 mins
Streaming on Netflix
 |
© Netflix - fun and pharmaceuticals
in a prison setting |
Dr Steve Abnesti (Chris Hemsworth) is in charge of some heavy-duty drug experiments, in a prison where the inmates are granted certain privileges in exchange for being part of a pharmaceutical research project. Inmate Jeff (Miles Teller) starts to become suspicious about the true nature of the project and Abnesti's involvement in it. Yes, most critics have panned it, and it's certainly no Shutter Island, but there is something rather intriguing about the premise of this film, not to mention seeing hunky Hemsworth playing quite a different role from his muscle-bound superheroes. It's actually a great plotline, with the prisoners all having an Existenz-style portal wired into their backs, and through this the devious doctor injects all manner of drugs to gauge the reaction: fear, sexual arousal, obedience etc. The film certainly lets itself down with a very formulaic ending, but I've got to say, when I was in the mood for some light entertainment, with just a jot of thought-provocation, this one fit the bill nicely.3 - recommended
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