Andrzej Wajda’s masterpiece Ashes and Diamonds is set in a small provincial Polish town during early May 1945. Specifically on the day that Nazi Germany surrendered to the Allied forces. Here, we find a snapshot of Polish exiles and Soviet army occupants confronting the dawn of a new Poland. The events of the film are … Continue reading The European Masterpieces Part 3: Ashes and Diamonds (1958 Andrzei Wajda)
A Fantastic Woman (2017) Directed by Sebastián Lelio; Featuring Daniela Vega and Francisco Reyes Una Mujer Fantástica or A Fantastic Woman is a Chilean film set in Santiago. It had a staggered release in 2017 and opened in Australia in 2018. It might be described as an LGBT movie, but I think it is better … Continue reading The Two Reviews: A Fantastic Woman and Aquarius
Lady Bird (2017, Universal Pictures) Directed by Greta Gerwig, featuring Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf and Lucas Hedges Lady Bird is a classic coming of age movie that explores what it means to be a teenager in small town America. Subtly exploring teenage angst, the film manages to visit religion, virginity, sexuality, class, depression and friendship. … Continue reading The Two Reviews: Lady Bird and Mute
This film has only had a limited release but has been showing at special screenings across Australia. Language: Bengali (narrated in local Chittagonian dialect) – with English subtitles This film is a powerful tragi-romance about the struggle between power and love, a metaphor for life and death on the river Halda in southeast Bangladesh. The … Continue reading Review Special: Haldaa হালদা (2017 Tauquir Ahmed)
Sweet Country Directed by Warwick Thornton. Featuring Hamilton Morris, Bryan Brown and Sam Neill "...the scenery of the central Australian outback is not only overwhelmingly beautiful, it is scintillating..." Prior to the ironic use of Johnny Cash’s song 'Peace in the Valley' on the closing credits, the Christian preacher Fred Smith (played by Sam Neill) … Continue reading The Two Reviews: Sweet Country (2018 Warwick Thornton)
Australiana, noun - items relating to or characteristic of Australia. As the Australian film critic Luke Buckmaster pointed out recently, the madly popular 1980s blockbuster Crocodile Dundee not only gave the world a less than flattering impression of Australians, it was also racist, sexist and homophobic. As fun as it may have seemed when I … Continue reading A Slice of Australiana in Five Films
Darkest Hour 2017. Directed by Joe Wright, featuring Gary Oldman, Ben Mendelsohn and Kristin Scott Thomas. Darkest Hour is a war-drama that follows the first few weeks of Winston Churchill’s Prime Ministership – a period of intense military and political turmoil for Britain. The German army is marching through Europe, a seemingly unstoppable military force, … Continue reading The Two Reviews: Darkest Hour and The Post
"...an adult fairytale, with love, passion and blood and violence..." The Shape of Water is a ‘Beauty and the Beast’-style fairytale between a mute woman and an amphibious creature. Unapologetically emotional and melodramatic, director del Toro, who seems to specialize in deep-colour and moody fantasy narratives, delivers a moving and engaging film. Given the somewhat … Continue reading The Two Reviews: The Shape of Water (2017 Guillermo del Toro)
"...several scenes are improvised and have a beautiful natural quality..." The Florida Project is a warm but sometimes poignant drama of poorer citizens who live a day to day existence on a drab estate on the outskirts of Disney World, Orlando. It depicts a slice of life of Orlando’s under-class through the eyes and adventures … Continue reading The Two Reviews: The Florida Project (2017 Sean Baker)
'...a vehicle for comedy and for showing character flaws...' This dark comedy was filmed in 33 days on a relatively small budget, released in late 2017 in the US and had a world release in January 2018. It has already picked up numerous awards. This doesn’t automatically qualify it as a great film, but to … Continue reading The Two Reviews: Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017 Martin McDonagh)
Momentary Cinema 