August 11th
The Princess
The Conference
Finding Graceland (streaming on SBS On Demand - 3 weeks left)
More MIFF: Il Buco; The Real Charlie Chaplin; Mass
Oh yeah!! More fantastic films this week, in cinemas, at MIFF and in your lounge room. When I ponder this week's offerings, there really is such a lot to be gleaned about life, from the best of it to the depths of it.
The Princess
Dir: Ed Perkins
Length: 109 mins
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© Madman - interesting footage gives
a new perspective on Diana |
While I hear some people sigh, "Oh no, not another film on Princess Diana", this one is surprisingly engaging. It draws on footage taken at the time, and so makes for a narrative mood almost like an immersive and immediate thriller. With interviews, news footage, and constant shots from the viewpoint of the paparazzi, it brings home to the viewer what it's like to be constantly in the spotlight, and hounded so much that one never has a private life. Whether you are a royalist, a royal hater or a republican, there is always something new to be gleaned from a smartly assembled doco of this nature. If only as a chronicle of how a legend is made, and a further insight into that monolith that is the royal family, there's plenty to be entertained by. 3.5 - well recommended
The Conference
Dir: Matti Geschonnek
Length: 108 mins
 |
© Pivot Pictures - chilling view of a seminal
and evil moment in history |
Some people say the second world war is ancient history and it's time to move on. Some say the world has learned its lesson and such horrific events could never happen again. Yet recent history shows anti-Semitism is on the rise again, while deeds of horrific brutality are regularly in our news headlines, with wars and detention camps chillingly reminiscent of the Nazi era. This film is all the more horrific because of its matter-of-fact, almost calm demeanour, as we, the audience, are privy to the machinations around a conference table in Wannsee, Germany, 1942. There, officers and functionaries of the Nazi machine, nutted out what came to be known as The Final Solution, the plans for the systematic destruction of all of Europe's Jewish population. While it's hard to recommend folks revisit such horrors, the film is brilliantly executed, superbly acted, and is a vital reminder of just how easily human beings can descend into the role of cold-hearted bureaucratic beasts, when it serves their ambitions and hatreds.4 - highly recommended
Finding Graceland (1998)
Dir: David Winkler
Length: 106 mins
Streaming on SBS On Demand
 |
| © - a heartbreakingly beautiful film |
A drifter claiming to be Elvis (Harvey Keitel) bums a ride towards Memphis with Byron Gruman (Johnathon Schaech). Byron's badly damaged Cadillac is a result of an accident that killed his wife. Byron doubts Elvis's claims, but as the journey progresses he is in awe of the effect the man has on everyone he meets. In Vegas they meet a Marilyn Monroe impersonator, Ashley (Bridget Fonda), who helps lift Byron's mood. I'm totally at odds with the Tomato-meter on this one - most dislike it, but I love it. Keitel gives an inspired performance, and while the film's title is on one level about Elvis's Graceland (in fact it's the only movie ever to be allowed to shoot at the property), it is, in a broader sense about the concept of grace, friendship, compassion and turning lives around. Entertaining and deeply moving.4 - highly recommended
more . . . MIFF
Melbourne International Film Festival
Until 21 August in cinemas
11-28 August, a selection of films streaming online
Venues: ACMI, Astor, Capitol, Nova, Forum, Hoyts Melbourne Central, IMAX, Kino, Lido, Pentridge, Sun
Third week of my reviews from MIFF. These three are real winners and come wholeheartedly recomended. Remember, as of today, there are many films from the festival online. So if you're still antsy about sitting up close and personal in the cinema, here's your chance to get into MIFF from the safety of your living room!
 |
| © - mysterious and beautiful in every way |
Il Buco (The Hole): Spelunkers love going into caves. In 1961 a group of them headed into a near-vertical cave called the Bifurto Abyss, 687 ft deep, in Calabria in southern Italy. Film-maker Michelangelo Frammartino restages this remarkable descent. But while the daring explorers are descending, we also experience life above ground, where an old, grizzled shepherd tends his flock, and life goes on as it has for centuries. The film is virtually wordless (but not soundless), and something about it is ineffably mysterious, poetic, and almost spiritual, as we get a sense of timelessness within the cave and in the lifestyles of those above. The cinematography is jaw-dropping, both for the beauty of the landscape, and for the capturing of light, dark, and shadow within the cave. This is not a film to explain, rather, for the patient observer, it is a meditation upon life, death and the passing of time - something exquisite, stunning and to relish. (No streaming - catch it on 20th August)
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© - recognise him without the moustache,
cane and tramp's clothes? |
The Real Charlie Chaplin: Fans of "the little tramp' had better not miss this wonderful doco looking at the life of Charles Chaplin, one of the world's most loved and enduring comedians. No stone in the man's life is left unturned, from his early days with a performing vaudeville troupe, through his many films loved the world over, along with his directorial career. The man the world saw on screen was quite different in his personal life, and the many marriages and scandals are not left out, along with plenty of reminiscences from children, wives and those who even remember him as a child. All is peppered with terrific clips from his films, and makes for revelatory and entertaining viewing.(Catch it 14th August only - no streaming)
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© - never was a talk-fest so compassionate and
thought-provoking |
Mass: In Australia it's hard to imagine living in the USA, where the statistics of mass shootings just seem to be going gang-busters. Can you imagine further how it would be to have your child killed, and then meet up with the parents of the shooter, in an effort to understand and maybe find some resolution and closure? That's the premise of this superbly acted film, set in one room, with four grieving characters baring their souls. The stand out for me is probably Ann Dowd (Aunt Lydia in The Handmaid's Tale), but all four leads are gripping. The scripting is intelligent, thought-provoking and gut-wrenching. The fact that the setting for the meeting is a room in an Episcopalian church, reminds us of the underlying religious theme of forgiveness and redemption.(Streaming from the 11th August on MIFF Play)
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