Melancholia - thank goodness for small planets!

Starring Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland.
Directed by Lars von Trier.
Classification: M (Sexual references, nudity and coarse language), 136 mins.

 If Tree of Life (2011) is at one end of the life-affirming poetic spectrum, Melancholia is at the extreme end of life-negating. Interspersed with the occasional beautiful landscape scene that are zooming stills (thank goodness for small mercies), the ENTIRE rest of the film in shot in annoying, unsettling, HandyCam - not even SteadyCam, yes jumpy close-ups of switching of dialogue. The background sound, equally annoying, is the radio waves of the approaching planet screeching, ebbing and overtaking, and utterly distracting. The characters are so unlikeable, by the end of two-and-a-half hours (of my life that I never get back watching this film), you feel like cheering on the little planet of Melancholia to destruction!

Set in two parts - part one "Justine' (Kirsten Dunst) is undoubtedly hauntingly beautiful - albeit self sabotaging, irresponsible, and downright hurtful to her newly-wed husband and the meticulous planning of the wedding reception by her perfectionist sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg). Needless to say it mostly likely the shortest marriage in history, even by Hollywood actor standards - though painfully for the audience, stretches into at least about a year an hour on film.


If by any chance you happen to be able to sit through part one - part two "Claire" is equally uneventful, another hour of "will the planet Melancholia hit earth or not?" - in between the vague premise of who will have the first breakdown, Claire or Justine is equally irritating. Meanwhile Claire's husband John (Kiefer Sutherland), has a fascination with astrology and owns a mansion complete with butler - which seems to be the only reason his character is in this film.


Did I happen to mention the whole film was shot in HandyCam! Yes, yes it is stylistic Director choice though I can't help but imagine what the heck Lars was thinking.

Don't let me put you off though if you're a Lars fan, and trust me you'd want to be... and if you can find it in a playing cinema - which should probably hint at something - it is showing in limited release through Palace, Chauvel, and Dendy.

Beware of quick political fixes - "Ides of March" review

Drama - USA - 101 mins
Release Nov 2011
Directed by George Clooney
Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov

 A friend once said "Words, words, words... only just words - show me your heart by your actions". Nothing could be truer than in the game of politics. This film had me hmm-ing all the way through it! It seems the political system is forecasted to continue as it always has - new leader, same words, corrupt action - a snapshot of the current world political leaders set in a microcosm of the USA. Will "we" ever learn to discriminate hype from policy?


A brilliant script by Clooney et al, and naturally brilliantly acted by Clooney as soon-to-be destined President of United States Mike Morris and naive presidential believer Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling). Phillip Seymour Hoffman as political adviser Paul Zara and Paul Giamatti as opposition candidate adviser Tom Duffy also play definitive roles in this way too believable story arc.

To say I loved this film would be wrong - it made me sad. It is, however a powerful awakening to really listen to what is being put "out there" from global leaders.

Showing nationally, Dendy and Palace Cinemas.

Midnight in Paris - for intelligent audiences

For the Romantic at Heart
94 min  -  Comedy - Fantasy - "Magic Realism" - Romance
Written and Directed by Woody Allen
2011 USA

As a writer, isn't it everyone's fantasy to meet the literary greats? Throw in the heady mix of Picasso, Monet, Dali, a surrealist and philosopher or two, 1920s Golden Age of music, wine and dance and you've got yourself one heck of a wild imaginal trip!

Gil (Owen Wilson) is a Hollywood screenwriter and considers himself a "hack". He's on a journey to write a truly inspired literary novel though is having immense difficulty. Inez (Rachel McAdams) his fiance isn't exactly supportive, along with her "old moneyed" parents (Kurt Fuller and Mimi Kennedy). 




In classic Woody Allen style, it's clear Gil and Inez aren't meant for each other... though insecure, and perhaps naive Gil persists with the relationship while the whole time dreaming about walking in the Parisian rain and being born into the wrong era. 

Lost in the streets of Paris one evening the clock chimes midnight and suddenly a vintage yellow Rolls Royce comes to his rescue - inside are of course F. Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald.

Owen Wilson plays this character perfectly! And for those who have remarked Australian audiences are lazy (sorry Margaret P)... I challenge you to indulge in this wonderful fantasy and witty dialogue. 

It's one of those film scripts you wish you had of written - if only you'd thought of it first. Loved every minute of it. Showing Nationally now.

Just for the Fun of it!

To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful. ~Agnes De Mille

Bright Young Things - young film-makers Festival

Short Film Festival by first-time festival director Rachel Cormack!

Sydney, 20 October 2011

Upcoming AFTRS graduate of Screen Studies explores the pitfalls and joys of being a short-film festival director/curator, with outstanding results. The six short films that made the final cut were delightfully varied, yet intricately linked, showcasing Australia indeed has some very talented Bright Young Things.


The six films that made "the cut" were (in order of appearance):

Lewis Johns
Directed by Lewis Johns, featuring model Rhys Wakefield

 


A stunningly poetic film on the beauty and vulnerability of youth.

http://rhyswakefield.net/2009/12/new-short-film/



Clouds
Writer/Director/Cinematographer Alexander Lee

An intelligent short film on the premise of What if... de ja vu was really a destined event you had already experienced in the future, and knowing this in advance could you prevent it? Special mention to the producer Joel Bell, another bright young thing! Clouds premiered at Dungog Film Festival 2011, IF Awards 2011. JUDGES HONOURABLE MENTION AWARD. http://www.facebook.com/cloudsfilm


Reception
Directed by Dane McCusker

A horror awaits an ambivalent teen mother as she works the night-shift at a low-budget hostel. Another debut short at Dungog Film Festival and IF Awards. Well done.


http://www.ifawards.com/film/reception


The Fear
Directed and Produced by Matt Burgess

Do you remember losing your virginity? A drug-hazed teenager is trying to forget.
Matt Burgess is a film-maker, artist, singer, song writer - a really bright young thing.


http://wickedmirandaproductions.tumblr.com/tagged/the_fear
  
 Abbie
Directed by Erin Good
A comedy about idealistic, creative young girl entering the workforce and the conflicts of reality versus fantasy. Look out for some wonderful animation of Abbie's mind. WINNER of Bright Young Things Award 2011. Well done.


http://www.eringood.com/films/abbie-2



Camera Obscura
Directed and created by Marta Maia
My personal favourite of the festival is this superb stop-motion short film. Sometimes the only way to change the world is to let in the light and to block out the darkness. Loved it!
http://vimeo.com/martamaia







Congratulations Rachel Cormack! A fantastic success and a wonderful opportunity for young film-makers 18-28 yrs to showcase their work. It was an absolute pleasure to view all these bright young things short films.

Steve Jobs - a mythical hero's journey

The hero is introduced in his ORDINARY WORLD where he receives the CALL TO ADVENTURE.  He is RELUCTANT at first to CROSS THE FIRST THRESHOLD where he eventually encounters TESTS, ALLIES and ENEMIES.  He reaches the INNERMOST CAVE where he endures the SUPREME ORDEAL.  He SEIZES THE SWORD or the treasure and is pursued on the ROAD BACK to his world.  He is RESURRECTED and transformed by his experience.  He RETURNS to his ordinary world with a treasure, boon, or ELIXIR to benefit his world.

Steve Jobs was this hero. The man that turned a computer programmer into an artist, a geek into a cool kid, and didn't stop there... wherever there was a huge clunky devise being used he transformed them into sleek, slim, and hip.

The Macintosh completely changed my career world around and for that alone I'm eternally grateful! 

Let's hope that if ever there is film made about him (and I'm sure there will be) that it is in a form fitting the legend's journey. PIXAR please. 

Watch Steve's unveiling of the first Apple Macintosh in America in 1984 here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B-XwPjn9YY&feature=player_embedded

Death becomes Him - Alan Ball in conversation

Wil Anderson in conversation with Alan Ball 

Alan Ball: Vampires, Death and the Mundane:

Sydney Opera House

8 September 2011

Bringing the miraculous within the mundane is Alan Ball's catch cry... and he certainly doesn't disappoint with iconic films such American Beauty (1999) and Towelhead (2007), and multi-award TV series as Six Feet Under (2001-2005) and True Blood (2008-).

Why the fascination Wil asks? In true multi-layered styles as complex as his movie and television series are, Alan Ball responds:

As a graduate from Florida State University in Theatre Arts, Alan Ball originally sought to be an actor. As it is be known to happen, acting roles are scarce to newcomers and so he began writing "parts" for himself and colleagues...  he realised writing was what he really wanted to do.

Thinking about Alan Ball as a writer, comedy isn't usually first thing that springs to mind, though one of his first TV writing gigs was a sitcom called Oh, Grow Up, a talking dog whose thoughts were communicated via subtitles. Universally hated... the talking dog went on to become something of a grounding experience. While accolades were on American Beauty, his sitcom was deemed unwatchable. Should of given the dog a voice (and some drugs to smoke) maybe.

However, death and the mundane obviously featured prominently throughout the evening, and in fact his career. Ball, having been traumatized by the death his sister at a young age, he identified with the 'normalization' of suppressing grief and emotion that he experienced in funeral homes. His own mother was whisked off behind a curtain at the first visible sign of grieving at her daughter's funeral and his own feelings toward viewing the open casket. Later, these experiences and observations would go on to inform and personify the setting for writing a pilot for the HBO series of Six Feet Under.

 Though the subject matter isn't as morbid as the title suggests. Six Feet Under, for those that haven't experienced it, is a series that deals with, comedy (albeit dark), life, grief, denial, guilt and everything that engulfs the people that are "left behind". Ultimately, it suggests themes of: how well do we really know our loved ones - their secret lives revealed only after death. Each character's story within the series is explored fully, with Alan Ball creating a revolutionary approach to a television series where equality prevails on screen. A humanistic approach.

The prelude to this series has related moments in the film American Beauty. It touches on insanity, insecurity, fantasy, desire, conformity, the alluring of the scary but beautiful things that are behind the doors of suburbia.

Moments of Ball's ingrained observation appear throughout his body of work such as: the memory of watching a plastic bag 'dance' through an empty World Trade Centre Plaza as it mesmerised him for fifteen minutes, creating a feeling that there was this entire 'life' behind things, an incredible benevolent force that wanted him to know there was no reason to be afraid, ever. A scene that was beautifully depicted in the film.

The teenage girl's dialogue captured so wonderfully between Angela and Jane in the film (...you total slut, you have a crush on him. You're defending him, you love him, you wanna have, like, ten thousand of his babies...) was also inspired by an attending a U2 concert when a teenage fan got up in front of Ball and screamed "I love you Edge, I wanna have, like, ten thousand of your babies!"

On True Blood and vampires, Ball cites same same, but different, themes of sex, desire, danger, equating vampires = sex.

First encountering Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse novels arriving, thirty minutes early to the dentist and wandering into a neighbouring bookstore, he was drawn to the vampire shelf and consequently read the first novel in a day. Taken by the novel, excuse the pun(s), he could immediately envision his next television series.

Alan Ball is a funny guy (fantastic humour)! A Buddhist, an activist, an ultimate observer of life and what it is to be human, Wil Anderson asked how he'd like to go. Ball replied that he would like to have his cremated ashes stuffed inside a talking dog.

Go now to your nearest DVD outlet and purchase his work... you'll want to watch it more than once!

Interview with Script Developer Sonia Armstrong

Interview with Sonia Louise Armstrong

Freelance Screenwriter, Script Development

  

Queensland based Sonia Louise Armstrong kindly answers some pointy questions about Australian Script Development and Assessment and the state of marketing after all the hard work is done.

Hey Sonia,
Thank you for meeting with me today...

What does it mean to be a Script Developer/Assessor?

Script assessing is certainly a role that a script developer undertakes, however often these two job descriptions can play separate roles in industry.  Personally I am extremely passionate about all facets development – to me it is about bridging the gaps between the key creatives and the executives by effectively communicating to both parties about their needs.

How does developing a screenplay differ from a screenwriter?

Being a screenwriter is extremely advantageous when assisting others in developing their script.  It provides empathy towards the often frustrating elongated torment of crafting story.  It is easy to be much more open minded when the screenplay is someone else’s!

Are you able to make a living as a screenwriter? Is it easier to make a living as a script developer or assessor/editor?

I have been freelancing fulltime for over 13 years now but it is never without its ups and downs.  I think it’s imperative to have many strings to your bow and be flexible with your skills in order to provide the best employment avenues. That being said, script developers should be thriving in this country – but they’re not.  There aren’t many of us around!  The talk or complaints of lack of script development in this country far away the jobs.

What kind of projects have you worked on? What were your roles?

Again, with many strings to my bow I have worked on both Film and Television product aswell as web series in development, writing and script assessing.  Comedy, Drama, Childrens, Animation, Sci Fi, Horror, Thriller, Documentary; Format & Entertainment TV programs, Feature Film, Short Film, Corporate, Adaptations, Commissioned and Spec.  I have also written and advised across other writing mediums.

What genres do write in? Preferred? Television? Film?

My dream run would be to work permanently in TV development, focusing on narrative comedy content or some great gritty character driven drama.  But as mentioned above, I continue to keep my skills broad for opportunities sake and to save being pigeon holed.

Are you aware of any Australian mythologies or legends that often appear in Australian Film?

Despite my copious studies and analyzing of product I can’t say off the top of my head any that have stayed with me.  I’m sure if I cast my mind back there would be something significant to ponder on but I prefer focusing on the pure development of story, character and structure no matter what the content.

What factors influence the success of Australian film in 2011 and how does this differ from previous decades?

Like fashion and hairstyles, content changes with time aswell.  Audiences predominately favour what they are exposed to.  One of my favourite adages for content is: If you keep feeding them tuna they won’t know there is salmon!   My biggest soap box tout is that there has always been an issue with marketing in this country which then needs to be followed up with strong product.  Red Dog figures have been very successful because of a) the marketing b) clever crafted content c) word of mouth.

What Australian screenwriters do you consider the most influential to Australian Screen industry?

I don’t think any really are – sad isn’t it (sorry guys!)  I think there are a lot of good writers doing great work and for most of them, they don’t get the right opportunities to display their talents. Ie: forced to write for genre TV when they’d rather be seeing their passions on the big screen.  I do love, and am very proud when Aussie writers make it big in the US though!

How would you describe the current state of the Australian Screen industry?

Forever struggling but determined, strong, passionate and talented beyond belief.

What steps does a new talented writer have to pursue to get their screenplay realised?

Make concessions to get your first credit, keep an open mind, network your arse off.  And don’t forget – your interviewing the producer with your script just as much as they are interviewing you!

Is there a system of government grants for screenwriters in each State or Federally? What kind of government awards is there for screenwriters?

There are some opportunities offered by state governments for writers – Queensland opportunities fluctuate wildly from year to year.  But there are still considerable gaps in the funding systems and I have had to attain funding from other bodies for my work because of  those gaps.  Awards – the Qld Premiers Literary Award which holds screenwriting categories aswell as other state bodies.

Are Australian people interested in viewing their own screen stories?

Australian audiences are afflicted with a terrible disease “Aussiecrapfilmitis” it has grown significantly over the last 10-15 years to affect a majority of the population to endemic proportions – particularly the Y generation.  This health issue can easily be eradicated with a minimum 5 year vaccination program of “marketing” which needs to be assisted by government bodies! 

Any other comment you would like to make about screenwriting and developing in Australia?

An increasing focus is required on not just ‘developing scripts’ but developing script developers!  That’s when content will have a fighting chance.  PS: WHERE THE BLOODY HELL ARE YA’ MARKETING?

Thank you for being so candid, greatly appreciated.

Details on how to contact Sonia see her website :

http://www.sonialouisearmstrong.com/

Red Dog - film review

Starring: canine Koko, Josh Lucas, Rachael Taylor, Noah Taylor, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Luke Ford, John Batchelor, Rohan Nichol, Arthur Angel 
Director: Kriv Stenders
Classification: PG, 92 mins. Australia
Distributor: Roadshow

Family Comedy, Drama.

Who would of thought a dog could portray such a range of emotions! This is so wonderfully filmed, acted and directed it was pure pleasure to watch. Hurrah for an Australian film to capture both the colloquial, cultural, and at the same time a believable story that makes you laugh and cry without the usual cliches.

Adapted from the novel of the same name by award-winning author Louis De Bernières, Red Dog is a legendary story of a charismatic kelpie who unites a male dominated mining community in Pilbara region of north-West Australia in the 1970s. Red Dog is a friend to all, but loyal to only one.

I don't want to spoil it for you by telling you more, though invite everyone to experience it for themselves. A thoroughly feel good film that has the added bonus of celebrating the uniqueness of Australian multi-culture - especially in the setting of 70s white Australia policy. The balance is perfect.

WIN WIN - film review

Starring Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, Bobby Cannavale and Jeffrey Tambor, .
Directed by Thomas McCarthy.
Classification: M (Course Language), 106 mins. USA.
Official Site: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/winwin/

Dramatic Comedy

 Not your usual Hollywood RomCom - Win Win is a film primarily a drama with comedic moments of family based absurdities. Totally believable situations occur when Mike Flaherty (Paul Giamatti), an attorney that's having cash flow problems, is assigned by the court to represent an elderly man - Stephen Vigman's (Jeffrey Tambor) welfare. Unable to locate the Vigman's only daughter, though he doesn't try too hard, Mike takes on the guardianship role as a way of earning extra income. Trouble arises when the Vignman's grandson Kyle (Alex Shaffer) turns up to live with his grandfather, though Mike has already placed him in a retirement home.

The drug addict mother of Kyle, Cindy (Melanie Lynskey) is the catalyst of Mike's moral dilema. Mike, conflicted, must create a win win situation for all concerned.

The casting was brilliant, and though there were a few funny threads throughout, to me this film represented the questioning of morality and ethics in this new economic crisis-filled world. The ending emphasis', a bit too blatant, asking 'what would you do in the same situation'?

Still, it's the only comedy in town... screening nationally.

Pina 3D - film review

Germany (2011) 106 mins - Documentary

To quote Pina Basch: "What are we longing for? Where does all this yearning come from?" this documentary follows the energy of emotions through the expression of dance. The film isn't a linear chronology of Pina's life events, rather the exploration of her drive to create and express what is it to be human.

Wim Wenders, using 3D technology, expertly captures the dancers' vividly in all their emotionally states of performance dance. I felt their emotions from love to distress and everything in between. As a documentary this film is definitely a 'show and not tell', with very little interview and dialogue, leaving it up to you to just experience it! A revolutionary approach to a doco and leaves you pondering the quote (above) from Pina.

The performance spaces are breathtaking, the music is energising and I left the cinema both exhausted and delighted - and immediately headed to the Opera House to book the Spring Dance performance of her work Out of Context!

Whether you're a fan of contemporary dance or not this is one experience you shouldn't deny yourself.

Now showing at Dendy, Palace and other selected cinema's. Enjoy!

Eyes without a Face - film review

Art Gallery NSW - Identity series
French - 84 minutes

In this 1959-60s original black and white French film, a talented and highly respected professor/surgeon, Doctor Génessie (Pierre Brasseur) has dedicated his life work to experimenting on animals to pioneer a medical breakthrough in human transplant. He has a motive however, as a night of reckless behaviour killed his wife and seriously disfigured his only daughter Christine's (Edit Scob) face in a car accident. Desperate to restore his daughter former beauty and alleviate his guilt, his secretary Louise (Alida Valli) conspires with Génessie to kidnap suitable young ladies into the surgeon's lair. Louise is also a grateful recipient of Génessie's handiwork.

Despite successful experiments on a multitude of dogs, Louise is his only human success to date. The many attempts at facial grafts from the victims to Christine all end in failure. With each failure Génessie becomes more sadistic and obsessive, neglecting Christine's pleas to stop.

The surgeries take it toll on Christine as seemingly she is destined to live her life behind a mask. She begs Louise to kill her with the tranquiliser they use on the dog experiments though she refuses. Génessie and Louise are lost in a world on the edge of madness.

In an iconic expressly graphic scene where Génessie slowly and methodically removes the face of one of his "donors", minutes  afterward the film stopped and the lighting went up. Someone in the audience had literally fainted. A phenomenon has reports back to the film's release in the 1960s.

Filmed in a classic Hollywood linear sequence unusual for French films of this era, Eyes without a Face, is spine chillingly drama both visually and emotionally. Though it has overtones of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, it pushes the boundaries of pseudo-realism much further. A man on the edge striving to maintain control, this film is also steeped in metaphors of science versus life that is just as relevant today. 

A must see for anyone with a strong constitution and a moral sense of poetic justice.

Sydney Film Festival - The Great Bear

Nordic Children's Animation - English version - 75 minutes

 

Esben Toft Jacobsen's The Great Bear is a tale about sibling rivarly, trust, responsibility, and ultimately our connection with all things - nature, animals and each other.

 

In acts of pure innocence, six-year Sophie constantly outwits her older brother Jonathan in their games of hide and seek. In frustration he decides to visit his Grandfather that lives on the edge of an ancient 'forbidden' forest. Sophie wangles her way into tagging along much to Johnathan's dismay. He decides to scare the wits out of her by telling her what he thinks are exagerated myths about the forest and it seems to work. Sophie's terrified, tightly clutching her best friend that happens to be a stuffed bear.

 

The Grandfather backs up Johnathan's story, forbidding them to enter a tiny door, reminiscent of Alice's rabbit hole, that leads into the dense, strange forest. Though as Sophie and Johnathan's games get out of hand once again, Sophie finds herself locked out of the safety of her grandfather's garden and into the surreal world of the forest. Johnathan panics, scared by his own words of the danger, he knows he must save Sophie.

 

The forest world has a certain magic, however, that Sophie instantly connects to. She befriends the bigger-than-a-highrise brown bear whose love for butterflies and its need for camouflage from a crazy hunter, by cultivating a small growth forest on its back, consume it's days. 

 

Finally catching up to Sophie, Johnathan, with much help from tiny moose and intelligent birds, realises his true mission is the save the Great Bear from instinction. 

 

A really lovely story with some wonderful animation techniques. It seemed for me to capture all the wonderful things of childhood.

 

Sydney Film Festival - Life in Movement

Australian - 80 minutes

This superb documentary, directed, written and produced by Bryan Mason and Sophie Hyde, is a testament to not only friendship but the amazing life of Tanja Liedtke.

Far back as a child in boarding school at the Elmhurst School for Dance in England, Tanja carried around a video camera. With this tool she was able to practice new dance moves. Even then her excess energy, extroverted personality and long lean flexible stature was awe-inspiring.

In 2004 long-time friends Bryan and Sophie began to document her most notable achievements as dancer and choreographer. As the film documentary progressed, so did Tanja's career. After having world-wide success with her life partner Sol Ulbrich on two independent theatre productions, Twelfth Floor and Construct, Tanja was about to embark on her greatest challenge yet. In 2007, at only 29 years old she was to succeed Graeme Murphy as Artistic Director of the Sydney Dance Company.

Tragically she was killed in a road accident only weeks before she was due to start. The performances and on-tour interviews, along with life-long habit of intimate video recordings provide a unique insight into Tanja truly inspiring life in movement.

This is a documentary of celebration, not of a mourning. A beautiful told story in every way.

Sydney Film Festival - Dingo

Australia - 106 minutes

Director Rolf de Heer's Dingo, beautifully remastered by the team at the National Film and Archive, may of been produced 20 years ago, though this story is timeless. It begins in 1969 in an small West-Australian town when unexpectedly a 747-jet plane lands on the tiny airstrip. As the residents rush to the plane the hatch opens to reveal Billy Cross (Miles Davis), a famous Jazz Musician.

Young John "Dingo" Anderson is mesmerised by the unique sound and this becomes the defining moment of his life-long love of the trumpet. Dingo (Colin Friels) grows up, has a family, and forms a small bush band. His job as a dingo trapper sees him traveling with a beaten up caravan for up to weeks at a time with only his faithful dog and trumpet to ward off the isolation.

Years go by and he relentlessly sends demo tapes to music companies and letters to Billy Cross, all of which go unanswered.  What starts a joke, one of the bush band members and neighbour, sends him a telegram from one of the Music Labels saying they love his music and Dingo is over the moon. That is until he realises he's been had. Devastated and embarrassed there's only one thing left to do... go to Paris and find Billy Cross.

This would have to be the best Australian film I've seen in a long while. Colin Friels and Miles Davis music, what more could you ask for? But there's more, throw in breathtaking outback Australian landscape and some wild, impetus daydreaming and I was humming joyfully all the way home.

Sydney Film Festival - Take Shelter

USA - 123 minutes

Written and directed by Jeff Nichols, Take Shelter is the journey of Curtis (Michael Shannon), a miner in a small town of Ohio and his wife Samantha (Jessica Chastain). Their young daughter anxiously awaits a cochlear implant that relies solely on the medical insurance provided for by Curtis' employer.

As Curtis struggles to learn sign-language necessary to converse with his daughter, the pressures of managing a gas drilling site that is behind schedule due to torrential rain, his sleep is interrupted by graphic nightmares. Soon Curtis slips between the lucid nature of his dreams and reality.

His waking hours embody the sensations of his nightmares that leave him literally gasping and disturbed. His wife and community question his sanity and so does Curtis. Unable to shake the overwhelming sense of doom, Curtis resorts to sleeping pills, psychiatry, and a library of mental illness books. Nothing seems to help.

Convinced his dreams are premonitions, Curtis becomes obsessed that a tornado is approaching at any moment. Curtis borrows against his mortgage to build a storm shelter for his family, urging everyone else to do the same. Somewhere in the back of his mind though are reminders of his mothers paranoid illness that has her institutionilised around the same age as him.

Dramatically poetic, brilliantly filmed and edited, this film is filled with metaphor that contradict the literal actions of Curtis. A engaging film that questions jobs versus environment.

Sydney Film Festival - Cave of Forgotten Dreams

USA - 90 mins

Filmed entirely in 3-D, Werner Herzog, escorted us on a journey to this extraordinary documentation of some of the earliest-known representations by humankind: the Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc cave art. Discovered in 1994 by archeologist Chauvet to which the caves are now known, he found hidden high on the side of a rock cliff face a stream of air that alluded to a cave within.

Digging through a small opening revealed an amazing sight that hadn't been viewed by human eyes in an astounding 32,000-40,000 years. In pristine condition and amazing detail the cave drawings, that were grouped around the large openings and narrow corridors, displayed a variety of ancient animals in sophisticated authenticity.

The scattering of animal bones, now crystalised rock formations, alludes to the bond between man and nature, and the ritualisation of ceremony - a contract between human and beast. In Hertzog's words illuminated on the rock where 'forgotten dreams whisper the spirituality of our ancestors'.

Access to the paintings has been strictly limited to a handful of researchers though now, through Herzog, has been recorded for posterity.

Sydney Film Festival - The Future

USA - 91 mins.

Miranda July's kooky narrative (also directed and stars) plays around with time and space as a film concept.

LA couple Jason (Hamish Linklater), an IT help-line assistant and Sophie (July), a children's dance teacher, spend most of their time together watching YouTube and Googling useless information. They know they should be doing more with their time but aren't sure what that is. Finally they decide upon adopting a cat from the animal shelter. However, when they excitedly arrive at the shelter, the cat they've chosen, Paw Paw, has a wounded paw. It will take around 30 days for Paw Paw's paw to heal. Jason declares to Paw Paw that they will care for it and love it until the day it dies.

While waiting for Sophie, Jason talks to a young girl about a drawing her father did of her with her pet dog that's pinned to the noticeboard in the Vet's waiting room. The girl's father returns and starts unpinning the drawing. Jason, aware the girl is upset no-one wanted this drawing, purchases it from them. From that moment on Jason decides that he isn't going to let any possible opportunity pass him by again.

Sophie and Jason now have a 30 day reprieve before the responsiblity of Paw Paw will change their life. 30 days in which to be free. Jason quits his IT job and at a whim joins a 'group' for petitioning of a greener LA. Sophie is then inspired to quit her dance teacher job, though she hasn't thought about what she'll do instead.

While Jason is out everyday trying to flog trees to the uninterested suburbia, Julia attempts her own YouTube video but to no avail. She feels like Jason is 'out there' experiencing the world while she's still at a loss.

Spontaneously she decides to call the number on the back of the drawing Jason brought home previously, sparking a new romance with the Illustrator  father and leaves Jason.

Meanwhile both Sophie and Jason completely loose track of time as Paw Paw anxiously waits for them. Neither is satisfied with their new choices of lifestyle. Fear undermines both their abilities to reason. When Sophie finally remembers Paw Paw and her chance back to her 'old' life she is too late...


A sometimes funny, always quirky, and insightful look at how we view our lives, the fleetingness of time, and how shallow our declarations for love can often be.

Sydney Film Festival - Sleeping Beauty

Australian film - 101 mins.

The bizarre and secret world of Lucy (Emily Browning) where the blandness of routine life is punctuated by an extreme alter ego of drugs, fetish, and fantasy.

Young Lucy's days consist of university, office assistant and waiting tables. She lives in what was the family home that alludes to now being owned by her sister, to which Lucy pays rent.

Her best friend is the seriously ill brother of her ex-boyfriend, and the relationship with her mother is almost non-existent.

The numbness of Lucy's existence, in itself a metaphor of Sleeping Beauty, is filled with mindless activity that extends far into the night, often with random strangers and the odd line of coke.

Adding a further twist to her story, Lucy answers and advert for a fetish-style escort agency where she consents to be drugged into a deep sleep. There she lies naked in an elaborate bedroom designed for rich aging men to escape into their own varied fantasies. While asleep, however, we sense Lucy's subconscious becomes more aware of her life...

Director Julia Leigh's vision for this voyeuristic journey was influenced by her admitted fear of being watched while you're in your most vulnerable state - while you are sleeping!

Leigh is the author of the award-winning novel The Hunter and Disquiet, and this is her debut film. For me it has a tone of Sophia Copola's Somewhere about it.

Mad Bastards film review

Directed by Brendan Fletcher, Mad Bastards draws inspiration from true life testimonies of Indigenous people of the Kimberly region in northern Western Australia. TJ (Dean Daley-Jones) is an Aboriginal man who admits he carries 'a man with an axe' inside him. He's unexpectedly graphically violent, needing only a minor trigger to set off an explosive reaction that is unleashed on those around him. With obvious disregard to authority,  a brother in prison, and a mother who wants nothing to do with him, his anger builds. Perth city life holds nothing for him, almost spontaneously deciding to hitch-hike his way the tiny town of Five Rivers in the Kimberly. In search for his now 13-year-old estranged son Bullet (Lucas Yeeda), he encounters many fellow mad bastards along the way.

Bullet isn't without his own problems though. Having no positive role models in his life, including a mother that drinks constantly, he wanders the streets in gangs at night causing havoc. Ultimately landing himself in jail, Texas (Greg Tait) the local police officer, has sympathy for him and sends him on a trek through the outback with an Aboriginal elder to help straighten him out.

 

When TJ arrives in Five Rivers he is warned by equally mad Texas that he won't stand for trouble. After a rocky start TJ meets up with Bullet, though both are at a loss of how to begin a father/son relationship. This not helped any by his ex-partner Nella (Ngaire Pigram). It seems to Bullet he can't escape the violence that surrounds him and his town. Inevitably Texas steps in to run TJ out of town in yet another bloody battle.

The highlights of this film are the distinctively beautiful landscapes dueted by the music of the Pigram Brothers and multi-ARIA Award winner Alex Lloyd. Lucas Yeeda has alluring screen presence, of which I'm certain we will see more of in the future.

 

Mad Bastards in currently showing nationally.

 

Oranges & Sushine film review

Oranges and Sunshine is based on the true story of Margaret Humphreys, a social worker from Nottingham UK, and is a film that is long overdue. Margaret (Emily Watson) initially dismissing a young Australian woman's search for her estranged British family after being deported at 4 years old, chances upon a similar account from one of her weekly group counseling sessions. Intrigued and disturbed by these stories she begins an exhaustive quest to uncover the dual British and Australian governments of the day organised deportation of children from the UK to Australia from the 1940s til 1970s. 

 

An estimated 130,000 children of varying ages were told they be going to a land of endless sunshine, where you could pick oranges for breakfast on the way to school... their parents, however, were told the children would be placed in "nice" homes. What resulted was three generations of displaced people with only sketchy identities that were subjected to inhumane conditions at the hands of new authorities.

Directed by Jim Loach (King's Speech), the story mainly follows the case studies of two male Australians played by Hugo Weaving and David Wenham as Margaret tirelessly searches to reunite families, and ultimately brings worldwide attention to this extraordinary miscarriage of justice.

Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, after intense lobbying, finally acknowledged the British Stolen Generation along with the Stolen Indigenous Generation in his first term of office in 2007. Both policies occurred simultaneously in the same decades.  It's ironic to note the government's aim was to populate Australia, while presently the government is trying to keep immigrants out.

While such an important film in historical context, it only skims the surface of these people's trauma and the ludicrous secret polices of those in power.

Here I Am film review

Here I Am, the first feature film by Beck Cole... proudly sponsored by Horizon Blue 30s (though also comes in 10s and 20s so the nasty shopkeeper in film says), is a snapshot about the plight of the 2%ers. No, I'm not talking about smokers but the Indigenous population of Australia.

Set in Adelaide South Australia, we first meet Karen (Shai Pittman) as she is paroled from prison. Armed with only a shoebox full of belongings and little life skills she begins a journey with a goal to put her past behind her, reconnect with her estranged mother Lois (Prof Marcia Langton), and create a home with her 4 year old daughter she hasn't seen for nearly 3 years.

Not an easy ask. Homeless, jobless, skill-less, she arrives at a half-way house in Port Adelaide. Red, the house supervisor does her best to offer a nurturing environment to Karen and the other women who themselves all harbor tragic life stories. Initially complacent about Red's help Karen finally admits she can't change her situation alone. Drawing on the support of the other women, the resources of Red, and ultimately her own inner determination Karen stumbles forward in her quest.

The next Samson & Delilah ?... um not quite. The cinematography is well done, but the seemingly (over or under, not sure which) rehearsed stilted scenes detract from the overall flow of the film.

Here I Am opens in cinemas 2 June 2011.

My Afternoons with Margueritte film rating

If you feel that the world's in chaos and love is unobtainable Germaine and Margueritte will move your spirit to think again the most beautiful of ways. Hilariously funny, extraordinarily crafted, joyfully and emotionally uniting, this French film starring Gerard Depardieu visibly touched the hearts each and every person in the cinema. Gisele Casadesus as Margueritte plays a 95 year old, 40 years older than Germaine and seemingly hundreds of years apart in life experience, though through their afternoon meetings their connections become timeless.

This film speaks to all of us, gently reminding us that we are a part of all creation. Beauty and love surround us, all we need do is reach out and feel it. My Afternoons with Margueritte is so refreshingly uplifting to rate seems like rating a relationship with your grandmother...

I urge you all to experience it for yourself... Surely we couldn't all be subjects of a wet Sunday evening at the Dendy.