Wednesday, 6 March 2024

March 7th 2024

The Great Escaper
Vanya
Cabrini
How to Have Sex
Alliance Francaise French Film Festival

It's another great week for strong cinematic offerings. And the much-loved French Film Festival hits the Palace Cinemas - always looked forward to and enjoyed by audiences. 
 
The Great Escaper
Dir: Oliver Parker
Length: 96 mins
© Transmission - two of Britain's finest actors
in a heart-warming true story 
Ex-World War II soldier Bernie Jordan (Michael Caine), now 90 years old, lives with his wife Irene (Glenda Jackson) in a retirement home. When the 70-year commemoration of the D-Day landings rolls around, and he misses out on a place in the organised tour, he does a runner from the home, crosses the channel and joins in the memorial ceremonies. Difficult memories come flooding back, along with his awareness of the waste of young lives, and the importance of what time is left to him with his beloved wife. Bernie's true story made headlines around the world. I feared this film could be formulaic and overly sentimental, but somehow the fine acting of two of Britain's top actors elevates the tale to another level.  Jackson (who died last year aged 87) delivers a sharp-tongued, witty performance as Irene, who, like her husband, reflects upon their past, their first love and their 70 happy years together. Caine, himself 90, delivers a heartfelt and deeply emotional performance, with Bernie's rheumy aging eyes a window to a life well-lived. Flashbacks to the wartime scenes are well done, as is the lovely short friendship Bernie forms with fellow veteran Arthur (John Standing). But it is the portrayal of old age (along with older love), done with dignity and respect, that is so lovely to watch.
4 - highly recommended

Vanya
Dir: Sam Yates
Length: 107 mins
© Sharmill -  I've never seen a stage 
performance this amazing! 
I'm usually the last person to watch theatrical productions put onto film. Let alone a reimagined version of a Chekov play (which I have never seen). But this is something else - something amazing to be enjoyed in its own right. Irish actor Andrew Scott takes to the stage solo to play eight different characters: the house staff Liam and Maureen, visiting (drunken) doctor Michael, ageing filmmaker Alexander and his much younger wife Helena, Alexander's former mother-in-law Elizabeth, the titular Vanya, (brother to Anna, deceased first wife of Alexander) and his niece Sonya, Alexander's daughter. The stage is set for a heartbreaking story (with amusing moments) of unrequited love, misplaced passions, resentments and life regrets. What could have been a jumble of confusing characters and scenes, is simply brilliant and awe-inspiring in the hands of Scott, who uses slight accent variations, and mannerisms to differentiate which character he is inhabiting with each line. It's like nothing I've ever seen, and the beautiful close-ups of Scott's face, as emotion pours from him, make this tour-de-force of acting even more impactful. This is the best acting master-class you could have. 
5 - unmissable!

Cabrini
Dir: Alejandro Monteverde
Length: 145 mins
© Rialto - inspiring story of the determination of
one woman to change the world
New York, 1889, sees large numbers of Italian immigrants hoping for a better life, but living in squalor. Enter a group of nuns, led by Mother Francesca Cabrini (Cristiana Dell'Anna) who has a burning desire and a mission to improve the lives of those she encounters, especially children. But New Yorkers are deeply prejudiced against Italians, and Cabrini encounters resistance at every step of the way. She decides to set up an orphanage, and with support of Archbishop Corrigan (David Morse) is successful. But the local community, especially patriarchal men like the Mayor (John Lithgow), are fervently against her. She hopes to expand her mission to building a hospital for the underpriveleged and takes her plea all the way to Rome to entreat the Pope himself (Giancarlo Giannini). The downside of this film is the very traditional manner of telling the narrative. At times one can almost predict what the next spoken line will be. But the story itself is absolutely inspirational and Dell'Anna is quite mesmerising as the dogged woman, who, despite her ailing health since childhood, is a true entrepreneur. Production values are also superb with great period re-enactment, and wide angle cinematography that lends almost a majestic feel to the squalor. Overall it's a wonderful story of a brave woman who gave her name to a worldwide chain of hospitals.
3.5 - well recommended

How to Have Sex
Dir: Molly Manning Walker
Length: 98 mins
© AHI - teens celebrating - at what
emotional cost?
Three close friends Tara (Mia McKenna Bruce), Em (Enva Lewis) and Skye (Lara Peake) have finished their exams and head to a resort in Greece for a hedonistic celebration, with plenty of sun, boozing, dancing, and, for Tara, the hope of losing her virginity. They hook up with two guys and a girl in the apartment next door, and the revelry begins. But for Tara things do not turn out as she hopes. Full disclosure: this film has won the Un Certain Regard award at Cannes last year, along with many other accolades. But I have to side with the 3% of Rotten Tomato critics who have issues with this film, and it is one of the rare times I find it hard to relate to a film because of its content. I've always despised the culture of Schoolies' Week in Australia, and much of this film centres around this sort of mindless, booze and lust-driven teenage activity.  It is only near the end, when Tara finds herself in situations she doesn't know how to handle, that things have the potential to become thought-provoking, but even there the director fails to examine more deeply the implications of  barely-consensual sex. The performances of the teens are powerfully compelling, particularly McKenna Bruce, whose face expresses in the close-ups all the feelings she is too young to be able to articulate. And the way the director and cinematographer portray the sweaty frenetic partying with its vomitous aftermath, along with the disturbingly sexist demeaning games, is also impressive - it's just that, for me, there is too much of it. (Is this a sign I'm showing my age!?)
2.5 - maybe

Alliance Francaise French Film Festival

Until April 2
Palace Cinemas
For all information on venues, films, synopses, bookings visit https://www.affrenchfilmfestival.org/
No point in my ranting about how good this festival is each year. You know that already. Suffice to recommend you a number of films I've been lucky enough to preview, and over the next week or so I will  add a couple more I catch up with. 

© Sharmill 
Sidonie in Japan
The always wonderful Isabelle Huppert plays author Sidonie Perceval, a widowed author who heads to Japan where her last novel is being re-released. She meets with her publisher Kenzo (Tsuyoshi Ihara) who will be her compantion for her six-day tour. To her amazement, Sidonie finds  that the ghost of her husband (August Diehl) turns up in each hotel where she stays. If she is to ever move on with her life she will need to dispel this apparition. This is such a sweet, poignant and romantic film, not without its humour, mostly derived from the differences between the formality of Japanese culture and the French style of doing things. There's a lovely chemistry between the two leads, and somehow the supernatural element blends seamlessly and almost believably into the overall plot. For me, loving all things French and Japanese, this film is a sweet and uplifting treat.
    

© Studio Canal 
All Your Faces
Imagine victims of crime meeting up with their perpetrators. This is precisely the notion of restorative justice which has been a feature of French society for about 10 years now. Taking this social reality, director Jeanne Herry crafts a fictional story that feels about as real as things can get, all helped by such notable French actors as Jean Pierre Daroussin, Gilles Lelouche and Adele Exarchopoulos. (Every cast member is superb!) This is intelligently scripted, emotionally powerful film-making that interweaves two distinct narrative threads: one is the group meeting of victims and perpetrators, the other is a lawyer facilitating a meeting between a now-adult woman who seeks to ensure she never runs into the recently-released brother who raped her as a child. The facilitators of the group carry no judgment, while all parties learn to talk, to listen and to get an understanding of where the other is coming from, plus the impact the crime has had on lives. The emphasis throughout the film is upon reconciliation, but not at the expense of showing the deep emotions carried by all. It is a worthy model of how negotiations could be conducted in a world where anger and revenge too often hold sway.
 
© Potential
Last Summer
Anne (Lea Drucker) is a brilliant lawyer married to older, respectable Pierre (Olivier Rabourdin). They have two adorable adopted twin girls. All seems idyllic until Pierre's estranged and surly seventeen-year-old son Theo (Samuel Kircher) comes to live with them. Theo looks like a young Adonis, and it's not long before Anne is knee-deep in a lustful affair with her stepson. Director Catherine Breillat loves to shock, and thematically this film may shock some viewers, while inviting audiences to ask where they stand morally on this issue, and just who seduced whom! The plot keeps us in plenty of suspense as we eagerly and anxiously await to see whether the couple will be sprung.  Performances are strong, especially Drucker who embodies hypocrisy and self-preservation to the max. The ambivalent ending has me intrigued and I enjoy the way one can never totally demonise one party or the other. 

© Potential
Divertimento
Two sisters, Zahia (Oulaya Amamra) and Fettouma  Ziouani (Lina el Arabi) have big dreams. At only 17, Zahia hopes to becomes one of very few female orchestra conductors and her sister wants to become a professional cellist. Being of Algerian descent and living in the "burbs" of Paris, they will need to overcome many hurdles, both societal and patriarchal. While following a reasonably predictable narrative arc, this true story is both uplifting and inspiring, and features lovely performances by the two lead actors. Augmenting the cast is Neils Arestrup as famed conductor Sergiu Celibidache, who sees the potential in Zahia and takes her under his wing. Take a few tissues for the very emotional conclusion! 

© 
The Book of Solutions
The delightful Pierre Niney plays Marc, a filmmaker struggling to complete his latest work. Taking his producer and editors with him, he leaves the bustling city and heads to a village in the Cevennes to see if he can reawaken the creative spark he seems to have lost. This is an amusing comedy, in which Niney shines in the lead role of a guy who is sweet, aggressive, vaguely disturbed, but who definitely knows the meaning of thinking laterally. Apparently the story is semi-autobographical, and for those who remember Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, you'll know you have a whimsical, creative and occasionally zany director in the form of Michel Gondry.  

The President's Wife
Catherine Deneuve plays Bernadette Chirac, wife to the French President from 1995 to 2007. The film plays for a low-key comedic approach and Deneuve plays her character with aplomb and plenty of haute couture. Not being very au fait with French politics, I'm sure quite a lot of the subtleties were lost on me. But it's good to see Deneuve, now 81 years old and going strong, strutting her stuff. 


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Friday, 1 March 2024

March 2nd 2024

Dune Part Two
Subtraction
Four Daughters
Oscar-nominated short features, animations and documentaries


Two Arabic language films are stand-out cinematic releases this week. Plus your chance to get an insight into the best short films that are nominated for the Oscars. And where would we be without a big blockbustetr release? Yes, it's Dune Part Two, an epic continuation of the saga based upon Frank Herbert's novel. 

Dune Part Two
Dir: Denis Villeneuve
Length: 166 mins
© Universal - Paul Atreides getting older
and getting revenge. 
First up, yes!! It's totally worth seeing. I'm not going into great details of plot, but suggest if it's all too complicated for you, or you haven't read Frank Herbert's iconic novel, do a spot of googling to learn who's who in this futuristic desert planet of war, revenge and love. Picking up exactly where Dune Part 1 left off, we journey with Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) as he sets out to fight alongside planet Arrakis's indigenous people, the Fremen, to get revenge against those responsible for the obliteration of most members of his family. The action scenes are magnificent - epic and sweeping, while the characters are all mesmerising: the vile bloated Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgaard), his creepy sadistic nephew Feyd Rautha (Austin Butler), Fremen warrior and love interest Chani (Zendaya), Fremen leader Stilgar (Javier Bardem), Paul's mother (Jessica Ferguson), member of a mystical society, tough fighter Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin) - have you noticed the stunning cast? The magnificent desert setting, stunningly shot by award-winning Aussie cinematographer Greig Fraser, draws you in, as the dunes roll into infinity and giant sand worms attack, or are harnessed and ridden. The themes of messianic religous fervour, power grabs, betrayal, and environmental exploitation are all eerily close to our everyday real life dramas. The budding love story between Paul and Chani is simply beautiful. To cap it all off is a powerful musical score from Hans Zimmer. The runtime may be long, but it held me from go to whoa.
4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended

Subtraction
Dir: Mani Haghighi
Length: 107 mins
© Vendetta - a clever mind-twisting plot
of lookalikes who couldn't be more different
Farzaneh (Taraneh Alidoosti) is three months pregnant, suffering extreme anxiety and barely concentrating on her job as a driving instructor in Tehran. To add to her woes, she believes she sees her husband Jalal (Navid Mohammadzadeh) visiting another woman in an apartment building. But truth is stranger than Farzaneh's worst fears, and it turns out that the man she has seen is Mohsen, and the woman is his wife Bita. This second couple are doppelgangers for the first pair (and played by the same actors). Where Jalal is a caring and gentle soul, Mohsen is violent and nasty. Where Farzaneh is serious and troubled, Bita is light and friendly. Bita and Mohsen have a little son Bardia (Farham Azizi). With dramatically fraught and increasingly convoluted twists and turns, the lives of the two couples become intertwined, with astonishing and disturbing outcomes. This is a cleverly crafted thriller, that will have you enthralled and constantly guessing. The two leads are extraordinary in the way they each play two such dramatically different characters. The film is also an intriguing insight into Iranian society, its gender roles and the routine of daily life. An original, gripping and thought-provoking film.
4 - highly recommended

Four Daughters
Dir: Kaouther Ben Hania
Length: 107 mins
© - intriguing doco that employs real
people and actors portraying the absent ones 
Nominated for Best Documentary feature at the forthcoming Oscars, this is indeed a doco, which also employs actors to play several of the characters. Why? you may well ask. It's the story of Olfa Hamrouni, Tunisian mother of four daughters. Ghofrane and Rhama are no longer with the family; the two youngest Eya and Tayssir remain. The filmmaker interviews the family about what happened to cause the two eldest to become radicalised, heading for Libya to join ISIS. Part of the film is direct interview, but many scenes use actors in the roles of the missing girls when they were younger, and in scenes deemed too emotional for Olfa to recreate (in which case her stand-in performs). But the film explores so much more: Olaf's marriage and parenting style (neither much good!), the tight bond of sisterhood as the girls grew to adolescence, and the broader Tunisian society which went from a slightly more liberal attitude to women, to becoming extremely patriarchal, and adhering to Islamic codes. Not only is the story itself rivetingly interesting (and bizarre!), but the style of filmmaking, crossing the dramatic/documentary boundaries, adds another layer of complexity. Furthermore, it's enlightening to get the progressive female perspective of living in these patriarchal societies. Unusual, creative and intriguing viewing. 
4 - highly recommended

Oscar-nominated shorts
Showing at Nova and Lido cinemas until March 10th
To check session times:
We all take such interest in the feature films at the Oscars, but certain short movies are actually some of the finest film-making you'll see! The art of putting an earth-shattering concept into a tiny runtime - sometimes as little as ten minutes - is no easy feat. Here's your chance to catch some of those amazing short films: features, animations and documentraries. I've watched the nomines for animation and short live action. How to choose a winner? Near impossible! 

Animations: All the nominees are so creative but two really stand out for me. 
War is Over is inspired by John Lennon's song and is set on a battle field where two soldiers from opposing sides send a carrier pigeon with chess moves they can play. Within this tiny film there is heartbreak, joy, a strong anti-war message, and, of course, magnificent animation that would require an unaffordable budget to produce in real life! 

Letter to a Pig uses a spare, black and white pen sketch style of animation with glimpses of real faces. A Holocaust survivor tells a group of students of his experience as a kid hiding out in a pig sty, and how the pig, detested by Jews, became his saviour. Under the seemingly simply tale is a whole raft of messages about prejudice, hatred and kindness. 

Short Live Action: An entire world of life-defining themes is encapsulated in these beautifully executed short tales dealing with a range of issues from abortion, to loss of a wife, friendship, teenage incarceration and more. 
Knight of Fortune has that Scandinavian quirkiness, as two elderly men meet in a mortuary to say farewell to their deceased wives. A bitter/sweet tragi-comedy of loss and friendship - all in a short package!

Invincible is a French short, thematically close to home, with issues of teens suffering in detention and what is does to them mentally. Beautifully acted and heartbreaking in its narrative. 



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Saturday, 24 February 2024

February 25th 2024

The Rooster
The Zone of Interest

Two excellent films have released this week. One is home grown- starring the marvelous Hugo Weaving, the other brings yet another take on the Holocaust. Both will challenge the viewer, but are absolutely worthwhile cinematic experiences. 
 
The Rooster
Dir: Mark Leonard Winter
Length: 101 mins
© Bonsai Films - masculine friendship and frailty
under the microscope
Smalltown policeman Dan (Phoenix Raei) is seriously shaken up by the discovery of his childhood friend found dead in the woods in a shallow grave. He knew his friend was mentally unstable but failed to get professional help for him. Seeking answers, Dan heads into the woods to discover an alcoholic hermit, Tim aka Mit, (Hugo Weaving) living in a shack. The two strike up an unlikely friendship as Dan tries to get to the bottom of what happened to both his friend and to Tim. It's a refreshing change to see a film about masculine frailties rather than the endless masculine toxicity we see on our screens. Weaving has just been awarded Best Actor at the Aussie film awards (AACTA), and his incredible, rambunctious, loud performance is the perfect foil for the introverted and somewhat  depressed Dan. Even though Tim is blokey and "matey", he somehow gives Dan the space to articulate thoughts and feelings that plague him. When Dan talks of "regret, failure and shame" and even of wanting to end it all, Tim relates to this, but defiantly crows like a rooster, announcing a new day and that he is still alive on the planet. There are many tears and many surprisingly moving scenes, along with a great deal of silence, sublimely augmented with wonderful cinematographic use of the beautiful mysterious forest scenery around Mt Macedon. The soundtrack also deserves mention, with its mix of ethereal music, unusual vocalisations, and wild jazz. I actually watched this film twice and am very impressed by it. 
4 - highly recommended

The Zone of Interest
Dir: Jonathan Glazer
Length: 105 mins
© Madman - monsters, or ordinary people
committing monstrous acts? 
Based upon the novel of the same name, this powerful and deeply disturbing film is the story of a German family, trying to live a happy family life. Except the head of the houshold is Rudolf Hoss (Christian Friedel), Kommandant of Auschwitz concentration camp, and the family home, with its gorgeous garden and playful children, is directly on the other side of the camp's wall. Wife Hedwig (Sandra Huller, who also stars in Anatomy of a Fall) wears fur coats stolen from Jewish prisoners who are about to go to their deaths, while the children play with teeth taken from corpses. Never once in the film does the camera take us into the death camp itself - but there is a constant sinister background noise of shots, screams, and a dull thrumming sound, along with smoke belching into the air. Camera work is often wide and distant, giving an observational feel.  There are some dramatically different touches - like the opening long scene of a black screen, and the intermittent dream scenes of one of the children, all in a negative black and white format. Everything conspires to pack an emotional wallop, but to also make the audience speculate on the seemingly dual nature of those who perpetrated such monstrous deeds. Like The Conference (about the planning of the total Jewish extermination), Glazer also includes scenes where Hoss approaches his murderous task with detached precision, then goes home to read fairy tales to his children. This amazing film is nominated for 5 Oscars and has another 157 nominations to its name! Ghastly, wonderful and unforgettable. 
4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended


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Thursday, 15 February 2024

February 16th 2024

Fallen Leaves
Europa! Europa Film Festival

Let the film festivals begin for 2024! This one is a winner bringing the best and latest of Euopean arthouse cinema to the big screen. Plus Finland's most famous director brings us another quirky offering.  
 
Fallen Leaves
Dir: Aki Kaurismaki
Length: 81 mins
© Palace - a low-key love
story of two loners finding each other
Ansa (Alma Poysti) works a dreary job in a supermarket. She is fired for stealing out of date food. Holappa (Jussi Vatanen) does various manual labouring jobs, but progressively gets fired from each one because he drinks on the job. The pair meet briefly at a karaoke bar, he later invites her to a meal and film, them promptly loses her phone number. They seem to be made for each other  but will their paths ever cross again? Winner of the Jury Prize at last years Cannes FF, Fallen Leaves is the latest offering from Finland's best known director. Like Wes Anderson, I think he is an acquired taste, and interestingly, while critics swoon over this film, audiences are divided (according to Rotten Tomatoes). There is a deep humanity and an ordinariness to these two, something to which many viewers may relate. A Kaurismaki trademark is the way he employs deadpan humor, that at times for me masks the underlying depth of his themes and characters. There are plenty of fun cinematic references in the settings, a good use of music, along with reminders of the grim world political situation in the form of radio broadcasts. Yet overall, in the midst of this somewhat depressing personal and global angst, there remains a quirky core of optimistic possibility.
3.5  - well recommended  

Europa!Europa Film Festival
Now until 10th March
Classic Elsternwick and Lido Hawthorn 
www.europafestival.com.au

Here's your chance again to see the very best and latest of European cinema. 47 films from 28 countries across Europe - many of them films that you don't get to see elsewhere. Try movies from Bulgaria, Slovakia, Serbia, Bosnia, Cyprus plus, of course, the usual favorites such as France, Sweden and Britain. There is also a Yiorgos Lanthimos retrospective featuring his six films prior to the recent Oscar-nominated  Poor Things. 
 
The Promised Land
(Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany)
Dir: Nikolaj Arcel
Length: 127 mins
Set in mid 1700s Denmark, this is the sweeping tale of Captain Ludvig Kahlen (Mads Mikkelsen), who sets out to conquer the seemingly uninhabitable heathlands and build a colony there. He represents the king, but comes into deep conflict with landowner Frederick de Schinkel who believes he owns all the lands. Kahlen is determined not to succumb to the evil Schinkel, but standing his ground will be at the expense of people who have come to mean something in his life. Without giving away too much plot here, I confess I find this an utterly engaging film, in an epic old-fashioned way that we don't see so much of nowadays. Its narrative is broad ranging (and loosely based on history), it is visually stunning, and performances are compelling - especially Mads (of course), and Melina Hagberg as orphaned gypsy girl Anmai Mus. With such visceral themes as revenge, ambition, repression, self-worth, family and love, there are all the ingredients needed for a deeply rewarding film exeprience. (note is has 17 big wins to its name). 

The Volunteer
(Spain, Greece)
Marisa (Carmen Machi) is a retired doctor who goes to a Greek island to help out with the refugee situation there. She quickly bonds with an orphaned Arab boy Ahmed, but the managers of the refugee camp are constantly pointing out to her that she must not form a close bond with any of the "inmates". The officials all seem more concerned with the rules, than with basic humanitarian values. Driven by increasing love for the child, and a deep inner loneliness, Marisa makes a reckless decision. This film raises many important and unsettling questions, not the least being the fine line between altruism and self-interest. 

Blaga's Lessons
Bulgaria Germany
Blaga (Eli Skorcheva) is a recently widowed retired teacher, who is scrimping and saving to pay for her husband's gravestone. One day she receives a phone call from a man purporting to be a policeman on the trail of a gang of scammers. Panicked and intimidated she manages to give away her life savings only to realise she has been scammed. But opportunity presents itself in the form of a dubious job, one in which Blaga has the possiblity of recouping money, only to lose her values and integrity. This is a confronting and very disturbing film (especially the shock ending). As well as being highly relevant in today's scam-ridden world, it explores the dark depths to which people will go, even those who think they are upstanding citizens. 

Stella. A Life
Germany
Often truth is even more bizarre than fiction, as in this shocking drama based upon the true story of Stella Goldshlag, an aspiring Jewish singer in the early forties when the Nazi regime ruled Berlin. After she is forced into hiding, Stella becomes desperate to save herself and her parents, and so delivers umpteen of her fellow Jews into the hands of the Gestapo. Paula Beer is wonderful in the lead role, representing a character one can loathe and pity at the same time, as she is both a victim and a perpetrator. Therein lies the interesting moral dilemma. It's a gripping tale with a strong lead performance and impressive recreation of the era. 


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Wednesday, 7 February 2024

 February 8th 2024

Force of Nature: The Dry 2
One Life
Society of  the Snow (streaming on Netflix)

One new Australian film, one Boxing Day release that is still deservedly in cinemas, and one candidate for an Oscar  - three films all worthy of our attention. 
 
Force of Nature: The Dry 2
Dir: Robert Connelly
Length: 120 mins
© Roadshow - good to see an all-Aussie film,
and always great to see Bana in action

Detective Aaron Falk (Eric Bana) and his sidekick Carmen (Jacqueline McKenzie)  are on the case of a missing woman, lost in the bush. Alice (Anna Torv) is not much liked by her colleagues, and when a group of five women go off on a corporate hiking retreat in the wilderness and Alice disappears, anyone, it seems, may have had the motivation to do her in. As the weather closes in, can Falk and the local searchers find Alice? There's a lot happening in this plot, based on the best-selling novel by Jane Harper. Flashbacks of Falk's past indicate his own mother came to grief in the very same mountainous forest region. Falk is connected to Alice, using her as an informant to investigate some shady dealings in a company run by Daniel (Richard Roxburgh) and his wife Jill (Deborah Lee Furness), who happens to be in charge of the retreat. Another minor sub-plot concerns a serial killer from ages ago, whose cabin still stands in the forest. Big positives in the film are Bana's measured performance, Torv convincing us compellingly of her unlikeability, and the wonderful cinematography (shot in the Otways and Yarra Valley). The novel probably has too much in it to successfully translate the subtleties of the plot to a two-hour film, but nevertheless for me it provided diverting and engaging viewing.  
3  - recommended

One Life
Dir: James Hawes
Length: 110 mins
© Transmission - a true story that will
have you in tears, and again in awe 
of Hopkins as an actor
Sir Nicolas Winton (Johnny Flynn) was a young London stockbroker when Germany invaded Czechoslovakia in 1938. Horrified at learning of the plight of refugees, especially the children, he vowed to do something, and was instrumental in getting nearly 700 kids to safety and foster homes in Britain. But as an old man (Anthony Hopkins) he is constantly haunted by the fact that he couldn't save more. This incredibly moving film is the true story of Nicky, as he was known, both then and now. The timeline moves between the unassuming old man and the ultimate recognition of what he achieved, and the fraught times in which he and his helpers risked their own lives to rescue children from the Nazis. The period is beautifully recreated, and the tension mounts with each train journey that becomes progressively more dangerous. In the modern era, the relationship between Nicky and his loving, supportive wife (Lena Olin) is gently depicted, along with Nicky's constant angst over past regrets. Hopkins again gives one of his finest performances, and I'm surprised this film has only one award to its name: the audience Award at the Palm Springs Film Festival. True, it doesn't break any new cinematic ground, but it is so deeply moving, and such a relevant story to this day, that it deserves to be seen. Fortunately it is still on in many cinemas, despite having released on Boxing Day.
4 - highly recommended

Society of the Snow
Dir: J.A Bayona
Length: 144 mins
© Netflix - such an extraordinary true tale,
it's hard to believe! Amazingly made film. 
Nominated for Best International Feature Film at this year's Oscars, this is not a movie for the faint-hearted. It recreates the true story, in near documentary fashion, of what happened in 1972, when a plane carrying the Uruguayan rugby team and its supporters to Chile, crashed in the Andes mountains. The story is fairly well known, including the ghastly lengths to which the survivors had to go to endure 10 long weeks in the mountains. What makes this film a stand-out, is the visceral way the director captures the details, from the sickening crash, through to the bone-numbing freezing conditions, the progressive deaths of early survivors, the emotions of those struggling to endure, the innovativeness, resilience and perseverance they exhibited, and lastly, most spoken about, the cannibalism they had to resort to if they were to have a chance at staying alive. Shot in the Sierra Nevada, with backdrop shots of the real Andes, the film looks amazing, capturing the vastness and forbidding beauty of the terrain. Apparently the director put his cast through a gruelling shoot, to make the experience feel as real as possible. While functioning on one level as a survival thriller, there is also a deeper philosophical subtext, as we get into the characters' emotions, and the amazing way they manage to make what is left of their lives mean something, for themselves and each other. Although challenging, it is totally worth the watch.
4 - highly recommended
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Thursday, 1 February 2024

February 2nd 2024

Riceboy Sleeps
May December

Two films that may not yet have come to your attention are most worthy for consideration for your weekend movie going. Both are highly awarded, and both uniquely different. I thoroughly enjoyed them both, in totoally different ways! 
 
Riceboy Sleeps
Dir: Anthony Shim
Length: 117 mins
© Icon - immigrants, a mother's love
and a family coming to terms with the 
sadness of life
Single mother So-Young (Choi Seungyoon) has fled the disapproval of rural Korean society and gone to Canada to raise her young son after the suicide of the child's father. The little boy Dong-Hyun (Dohyun Noel Hwang) is relentlessly teased at school for his difference. Time shifts suddenly forward and Dong-Hyun, now a typically surly teen (played by Ethan Hwang), resents that his mother will not talk to him about his father. She works in a factory, has few friends, except a potential suitor Simon (played sympathetically by director Shim). When health issues affect her life, So-Young decides to take her son on a trip to meet his paternal grandparents back in Korea. Another much-awarded film, it tells an immigrant story not entirely unfamiliar, but told with such compassion and grace, that is becomes deeply emotionally moving, even though the characters are reserved by nature. Hwang junior is especially impressive as the feisty child Dong-Hyun. The film is beautifully shot, ranging from the close-up intimacy of the characters' lives in Vancouver, through to the sweeping mountainous scenes in the countryside of Korea. Based upon Shim's own experiences, eveything about the film feels truthful and is another worthy addition to the immigrant genre of storytelling.
4 - highly recommended

May December
Dir: Todd Haynes
Length: 117 mins
© Transmission - Natalie Portman's character 
takes on the mask of Moore's 
Gracie Atherton Woo (Julianne Moore) lives with her husband Joe (Charles Melton), 23 years her junior, They have three kids, the last two of whom are about to go to college so Joe willl be an empty-nester at age 36! A film is now being made of the notorious scandal that erupted when the two first met. Elizabeth Berry (Natalie Portman), the actress playing Gracie, comes to meet the family to better understand her character and the dynamic between the couple. This confronting and challenging tale is loosely based around the real-life story of  a teacher who had a relationship with a 6th-grade student back in the 1990s. Touted as both a comedy and a drama, the film is way more dramatic for me than comedic, although both women do have some laugh-inducing scenes. The three leads are captivating; Moore's character alternating between control and naive vulnerability; Portman's Berry seductively and manipulatively altering lives around her, while poor old Joe remains a man-child, never having processed exactly what happened all those years ago. This is not a film for the faint-hearted or those inclined to judgmentalism; Haynes cleverly captures near-normality for a decidely not-normal situation, and one cannot help but question the values one brings, as an audience, to such a fraught story.
4 - highly recommended

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