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.