Reviews

Director/screenwriter, Rachel Ward has created a very moving experience in Beautiful Kate. It's a story of a dysfunctional bush family, set in the dry but magnificent country around South Australia's Flinders Ranges. Ward's husband Bryan Brown doubles as producer and actor.

The death of his wife left Bruce Kendall to bring up their young children, two boys and two girls. His macho, tough approach to parenting brought nothing but disaster. A explosive mixture of adolescent sexual awakening and outback isolation was compounded by his choice of home schooling through School of the Air. The young twins Ned (Scott O'Donnell)and Kate (Sophie Lowe) were especially close.

When Bruce is dying, forty-year-old Ned (Ben Mendelsohn) returns to their property with his feisty girlfriend Toni (Maeve Dermody). Writer Ned starts to record his memories as a way of burying his ghosts or closet skeletons. When his sister leaves him as carer for several days, all the old wounds are reopened. The film is a journey towards the ubiquitous closure cliché. Bruce and Ned would find much more colourful synonyms for an ending, happy or otherwise.

This is a remarkably talented cast. Brown gives one of his most convincing performances and Mendelsohn impresses throughout. Rachel Griffiths as youngest sibling Sally is rock solid. Lowe does a fine job steering clear of the potential overkill inherent in her very difficult role. Dermody's scenes with Brown leave us with the certainty that there is much more depth to her character than we meet on the surface. Scott O'Donnell is a capable actor though he lacks the cheekiness and charisma of either the young or mature Mendelsohn.

The father/son confrontations are classics. Wall-flies would no doubt have enjoyed the rehearsals and off-screen banter. Rachel brings out the best and worst in both of them.

Kate is a well paced and structured narrative using unfolding flashbacks very effectively. Despite its themes, it is not a dark or brooding film of the kind that has been criticised lately. At one stage the older Ned cries out, "I'm still here!" in despair. As he drives back to the big smoke, these words herald a new opening.

Her feature film debut as director is a triumph for Rachel Ward.

Cinema Takes http://cinematakes.blogspot.com/

Robert Connolly's Balibo is a compelling political thriller. It "is a true story" based on Jill Jolliffe's book, Cover-Up.

It is in fact four stories:

* The story of five Australian journalists who were murdered at Balibo by the Indonesian forces that invaded East Timor in 1975.

* Of Roger East, an Australian journalist who sought the truth about their deaths.

* Of Juliana who testifies as an adult to her experiences in Dili as an eight year old.

* Of the spirit of the East Timorese people as embodied in their current President José Ramos Horta.

Connolly and playwright David Williamson have constructed a script that has avoided potential pitfalls associated with layers of flashbacks. At times the pace faltered as the context or the suspense was being established.

There is little attempt to present detailed characterisations of the Balibo 5. Damon Gameau as Greg Shackleton is the focus of the group. His re-enactment of Shackleton's famous TV report from the frontline is impressive. You can compare the two on the website. The rivalry between the Channel 9 and Channel 7 crews continues today, though in a less friendly way.

Anthony LaPaglia gives a very convincing performance as Roger East. He has enough weight both figuratively and literally to carry off the role of a seedy, disillusioned journo.

Oscar Isaac manages the difficult job of the young José Ramos Horta. Fortunately he does not try imitating this distinctive and well-known personality.

Gyton Grantley (Gary Cunningham), Nathan Phillips (Malcolm Rennie), Mark Winter (Tony Stewart) and Thomas Wright (Brian Peters) show the depth of Australian acting talent. As does Simon Stone as ABC journalist Tony Maniaty.

The East Timorese cast are exceptional. Anamaria Barreto meets the high expectations of child actors these days as young Juliana. Her parents are Timorese and she lives in Darwin. Bea Viegas gives an intense, moving portrayal of the adult Juliana. Osme Gonsalves also impresses as Ximenes, a Fretlin soldier. It is difficult to find out the names of many of the actors as they are not listed on the website or IMDb.

The film raises many questions about the political responsibility for what happened and the need for justice to be done. This is a dark part of both Indonesian and Australian history. It does not attempt any definitive answers. That would be another movie. The historical background is analysed in depth and can be accessed through the official website.

Balibo works very effectively as both a political statement and a personal drama.

See it!

Cinema Takes: http://cinematakes.blogspot.com/

Samson and Delilah is a film that all Australians should see. It is confronting and disturbing: poverty, unemployment, petrol sniffing, violence, clashes within aboriginal communities and with so-called mainstream society. Nevertheless in keeping with the optimism of its writer/director Warwick Thornton, it offers some hope.

Warwick Thornton told Real Time magazine that:

"I'm one of the biggest romantics in the world and, from day one, these two kids had to live. That was the most important thing. It would have been quite easy for them to die and that's just wrong, that is so wrong. I couldn't live with myself as a writer. I need them to live for me as a human being, to feel stronger."

This is a very personal story about teenage love, more Romeo and Juliet if anything. The one bit of good fortune they have is that they are the right skins for marriage. The hair-cutting connection to the biblical story of Samson and Delilah is based in an ancient aboriginal custom.

Their courtship and bonding are unique, as Samson doesn't speak. Traditional communication such as sign and body language are a necessity.

This drama cannot be divorced from its social and political context. The seeming hopelessness and helplessness of remote aboriginal communities like this one screams out for not just understanding but some way forward. Some will not be happy with the solution presented here as it involves traditional homelands, demonised by some Australian commentators as "cultural museums" that offer little positive for the future.

Samson lives out the despair of many young men caught in this cultural chaos. Their lives revolve around western music and fading attempts to maintain traditional connections to land and family. Chronic boredom and lack of purpose exacerbate the aimlessness.

Delilah spends her time supporting the only functioning member of her family who is around, her Nana (Mitjili Napanangka Gibson). When the inevitable happens the pay back aunts follow ritual in punishing her but offer little other help to this 14 year old.

Their escape to Alice Springs reflects the everyday life of many aborigines who have looked to towns for some solution. We see the exploitation of indigenous artists, local hostility to the homeless, the massive gulf between tourists and the people they have come to see. Gonzo, played by Warwick's brother Scott Thornton, is a riverbed refugee who finds solace in cask wine and his own songs. He is their sole support in Alice. When he looks to religion for his salvation, they do not follow this well-trodden path.

Thornton brings out the best in his inexperienced cast. The performances of relative newcomers such Marissa Gibson Rowan MacNamara are remarkable. They handle the tragic and comic moments with equal ease.

The Real Time interview, the official website and its downloadable Press Kit have detailed insight into Warwick's motivation and methods. Both well worth a visit.

"Everybody owns a reason for being. In everybody's journey through life there is the good fight. Samson & Delilah is my reason for being. It is my good fight. (Warwick Thornton)

Australian writer/director James Bogle has given us the very introspective Closed for Winter, an adaptation of Georgia Blain's 1998 novel of the same name. This dark film brought to mind the recent French language I've loved you for so long, "This is a sombre, desolate tale. It is as much about her complex relationships as it is the past." Both stories explore coming to terms with loss, about achieving the dreaded ubiquitous cliché and about creating a new beginning.

Twenty years after the disappearance of her older sister Frances (Danielle Catanzariti) Elise Silverton (Natalie Imbruglia) is obsessed by her memories. Frances' fate is still unresolved. Her mother Dorothy (Deborah Kennedy) spends her waking hours compulsively reading and responding to similar tragic news items. Her dilapidated house is piled with newspapers. The shadowy absence of her husband, who died in a work accident before the disappearance, hangs over everything.

Two other men help to break this cycle of mourning. A relationship with her boss Martin (Daniel Frederiksen) offers a way out for Elise. Daniel's performance as the geekish nerd who manages the local cinema was the hardest to warm to. It seems too much of a caricature.

John Mills has been the family's long-term doctor. His developing friendship with Elise brings the film's climax that helps her to confront the past. Tony Martin gives a restrained, perhaps underwhelming, portrayal.

Those who haven't followed Neighbours or aren't great fans of popular music, Natalie Imbruglia may not be as familiar as Kylie Minogue. Most of her acting has been for television. She does brooding silence very well but doesn't handle vigorous dialogue as skillfully. The young Elise (Tiahn Green) does silences even better. Like many recent roles by child actors, her performance steals a lot of Natalie's impact. Natalie also seems a few years too old for her part.

Deborah Kennedy maintains a crazed sparkle in the eyes, warning that Dorothy's neuroses should not be taken lightly.

Bogle's controlled direction manages the frequent flashbacks fluently and effectively. The beach scenes with the aging pier mold the mood of the tragic summer perfectly. However, at times these shots linger too long, in what is an otherwise concise production. There are some twee aspects such as the garden and the mosaic but they are minor irritations.

The film is not really a mystery or suspense, though much of the critical action happens off camera. Towards the end Elise says that she now knows as much as she need to. The same is true for the audience. The resolution is predictable but that doesn't spoil this troubled journey. An emotional life that has been flat-lining for so long has only two possible directions.

Kevin Rennie Cinema Takes: http://cinematakes.blogspot.com/

Germany's Third Reich didn't last its planned thousand years but there seems little doubt that they will be making movies like Good for that long. It's certainly a winning genre at the Oscars and the box office.

The key word for this Nazi/Holocaust film is derivative. You know immediately that you've been there before:

* the swastika-draped scenes of Hitler's Chancellery,

* the book burning,

* the betrayal by academia of their principles,

* the wrecked apartments of the wealthy urban Jews,

* the extravagant lifestyle of the senior Nazis,

* tension between Aryan and Jewish friends,

* the roundup,

* the concentration camp climax.

This is another film where it's very difficult to empathise with the protagonist. Kate Winslet's character in The Reader, Hanna Schmitz, copped some criticism for showing the human side of the holocaust perpetrators. Viggo Mortensen's John Halder may also be too human for some. He is a weak, compliant individual who clearly thinks of himself as a good man. He may be essentially good, but his increasing acceptance of the dark side of the Third Reich comes too easily. The world needed better.

Academic and novelist, Halder is a cold, wet fish. He barely enjoys his adulterous sex life. His criticisms of the Nazis are shallow: Hitler is a joke who won't last. He sees his role as honorary, an SS "consultant". "I prefer to be called Professor."

Like many of its genre, Good has a very attractive look. Its costumes are well designed. The production notes reveal their pseudo-authenticity. They've been modernised by use of 30s styles that most resemble our own. There are few hats except for the military. The sets reflect the grandeur of Speer's Berlin:

"GOOD uses Hitler's affection for neo-classical temples to underline the split personality of the entire society—a society in which all those clean, white marble and limestone surfaces are meant to hide a nation's debased, besmirched soul."

The official website also claims that Director Vicente Amorim "heightens the visual elements – sets, costumes, and lighting – to emphasize that what we are watching is symbolic, a sweeping parable about conscience and consequences." If it's about the struggle between individual and society, or within himself, then we see a very one-sided contest. Halder was just following...

Nevertheless this is a well-made film. Many other directors could take a leaf for its concise 96 minutes. It is hard to fault the performances of its very professional cast.

If you missed The Reader or The Counterfeiter or classics such as Sophie's Choice or Schindler's List, then Good will be a fresh and rewarding experience.

'Cinema Takes' http://cinematakes.blogspot.com/

The 21st Century has seen an amazing rebirth of feature length documentaries as a rich cinema experience. Obvious examples from 2008 are Man On Wire and Waltz with Bashir.

Of Time and the City is the latest and certainly the most eccentric. It has no obvious claim to a mass market, not even from its home turf Liverpool. It is quite esoteric at times, laced with poetry and introspection which may make it less accessible for some who would otherwise enjoy it immensely. Yet at the same time it is a vivid history of post-war Liverpool, and its working people. A collage of the changing character of British cities in the second half of the 20th Century.

This is filmmaker Terence Davies' homage to his roots. The official website describes it as "both a love song and a eulogy. It is also a response to memory, reflection and the experience of losing a sense of place as the skyline changes and time takes it toll." Davies was born in November 1945, after the end of the Second World War and at the beginning of the end of the British Empire.

Terence comments that "family, church and the movies" were his "whole world". He grew up in Liverpool's slums. The changing and unchanging architecture of this port city is central to his memories. The enduring buildings are mostly Classical, with more columns than a U.S. State Capital.

We see the promise and the betrayal of the slum clearances with the communities of small terraced houses replaced by the ghettos of public housing towers. The "loss of dreams" is underscored by Peggy Lee's The Folks Who Live On the Hill. "We had hoped for paradise. We got the Annus Mundi," puns Davies.

His republican sentiments are clear. We are treated to some of the highlights of the royal circus known as the Betty Windsor Show, in particular her wedding and coronation.

He also parades the other masters of pageant and ritual, the Roman Catholic Church and its red-robed clergy. However, the papal pomp is not enough to keep Terence within the faith. The hideous new Cathedral cannot cement his attachment to his ancestral religion. Instead he visits a different arena, the wrestling ring, to indulge his adolescent homosexual fantasies.

Of Time and the City is a visual gem, using mostly archival footage. It's his first documentary and Davies says that he cut it like fiction - "the images should speak". The narration mixes poetry with his own commentary as he explores "time, memory and mortality". T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets is a major source of inspiration:

Out at sea the dawn wind Wrinkles and slides. I am here Or there, or elsewhere. In my beginning. (East Coker)

We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time. Through the unknown, unremembered gate When the last of earth left to discover Is that which was the beginning; ... A condition of complete simplicity (Costing not less than everything) And all shall be well and All manner of thing shall be well (Little Gidding)

Musically Davies has little time for the pride of Merseyside, The Beatles. His soul has been stirred more by the likes of Mahler. The film's sound track is an aural delight.

If you're looking for a travelogue, then forget this film. Terence Davies challenges his audience, through his personal reflections, to ponder their own journeys.

'Cinema Takes' http://cinematakes.blogspot.com/

Easy Virtue did not live up to expectations. Jessica Biel is the best thing about this film. She plays Larita, the unwelcome addition to the English upper crust Whittaker family. Jessica hits just the right note in a version of Noel Coward's 1925 play that seems off key in many ways. She has the look required of a rally-driving femme fatale, with strong features and typically American teeth. As well she shows the talent to make a bigger splash in the Hollywood star pool in the near future.

Director and Co-writer Stephan Elliott has suggested that the screenplay was softened to make a comedy of manners out of Coward's very biting social satire. The play has been described as a "savage attack on the hypocrisy of the early 1920s — and the way in which it used Victorian standards, already outdated by war, to destroy the lives of those it could not control..." (Rediscovered 'Easy Virtue' Is a Revelation : Coward's Early Prime) To a large extent Elliott failed in his endeavour to tone it down.

In post Great War England the landed gentry are fading and failing. Easy Virtue presents them as a nasty, selfish, spiteful, indeed hateful breed. The only really sympathetic character in the dysfunctional Whittaker family is Colin Firth as the defeated and ineffectual lord of the manor.

They exemplify the decline of the British Empire after a generation of young men "took the King's shilling" in 1914. Neither Whittaker nor his rural lifestyle has recovered. The neighbours all limp their way through the story, both literally and figuratively. Nevertheless, it's business as usual with a foxhunt, and shooting and black-tie parties.

Ironically the easy virtue is a quality that applies to the English hosts not their notorious new family member. Their complete lack of any personal principles is only matched by their atrociously bad manners. Kristin Scott Thomas' totally unsympathetic character, Mrs. Whittaker, doesn't quite fit and I suspect Kristin has been more faithful to Coward's original. This is a disappointment after her brilliance in the French I've loved you for so long. Mrs. Whittaker takes no prisoners and is prepared to destroy her children's chance at happiness to achieve her own ends.

It's a decadent society, not in its easy virtue but in its social and financial decay. The children are pampered and dependent. By and large the cast does them justice. Katherine Parkinson, of Doc Martin fame, continues her penchant for eccentric roles as daughter Marion. Kimberley Nixon does not have as much success as her dim witted sister Hilda. Ben Barnes does a more than serviceable job as John Whittaker, Larita's dashing new husband. He also looks the part.

The film relies as much on visual humour as wit for its comic moments: a risqué can-can, the butt end of a chihuahua, a roll in the hay, a tango, a hovering man servant. As you should expect from a Coward adaptation, there is some very clever dialogue. However, the wit is often lost in the rushed delivery. Elliott seemed reluctant to let the audience savour the lines. Anyway, it's hardly 'The Importance of Being Earnest'. The audience were not exactly bubbling. Kris Marshall, as the clever young butler Furber, saves many of the scenes with a controlled comic performance.

Its look and the sound track help to make this an enjoyable sensual experience. There are even occasional ventures into musical comedy as Jessica, Ben and Colin sing a few old standards. These include Noel Coward's 'Mad About The Boy' and 'Room With A View'. The finale is Billy Ocean's 'When the Going Gets Tough'.

An anomaly is the spectacular BMW sports car. A German car was hardly the choice so soon after the war. It also seems an anachronism, probably about a decade too early. Maybe BMW were sponsors or paid for product placement. That badge just keeps appearing in close up. The motorcycle also looks a bit like a 1920s BMW.

The movie's tagline is 'Let's Misbehave'. Don't expect a romp or a farce. It is more nasty than naughty.

Update:

Thanks to my neighbour who is a MG TC devotee, I have found the answer to the BMW tiem travel riddle. He has a copy of The Automobile magazine that featured the sports car on its front cover in November 2004.

It's a BMW 328, manufactured between 1936 and 1940.

Larita Whittaker was clearly a woman ahead of her time.

Film review for "Cinema Takes" http://cinematakes.blogspot.com/

After all the conflict at the opening sessions in Sydney, only one other person was in the St Kilda cinema at lunchtime on Saturday to see The Combination. A pity, because this is an Aussie film with attitude. It's a good story, competently told. Actor and now director, David Field's first effort is tight and straightforward.

George Basha wrote and stars in this Lebanese/Australian tale of star-crossed lovers. It's more like West Side Story than Romeo and Juliet, a clash of cultures in the modern city. George, as the street toughened John Morkos, does tough guy very well but his delivery of love scene dialogue is a bit flat. Firass Dirani as brother Charlie is a rising star. He handles a difficult part without slipping into melodrama. Doris Younane's performance as their widowed mother Mary is a very professional one.

Testosterone rules: school "gangs"; youth, drugs and crime; the boxing gym; knives and even guns. The background noise includes the 2005 riots in the Sydney beach suburb of Cronulla between Lebanese and so-called "old" Australian youths.

Don't expect a clash of religions as well. Ironically the only openly Christian group are the Lebanese. The stereotypes just won't fit. The messages of this film are not subtle. John's girlfriend Sydney (Clare Bowen) gets the standard assimilation lecture from her father.

We don't learn much about the inner lives of the characters. We are left to wonder why school student Zeus (Ali Haidar) has the heart of a murderer. Their seemingly irrational behaviour is easy to understand using the usual social stereotypes. Until John confronts his mother when she blames him for Charlie's criminality. John asserts personal responsibility, his own and Charlie's. He challenges the web of multi-cultural and economic determinism that has been set up so far in the film. We all live with choices we make.

Tony Ryan plays Wesley, the owner of the gym where John works and trains. His aboriginality gives an added racial dimension. There is further irony when he offers John a way up through boxing.

First-timer Clare Bowen, fresh from the south coast of New South Wales, gets the rookie award. She has that relaxing Toni Collette quality that makes you think you know her from somewhere. You can't help feeling at home with her character. However, apart from her family, we are left without any history for Sydney or real explanation for why she can withstand all the pressure to walk away. Perhaps this is essentially just a love story after all. And a story about families.

This is another Australian film that deserves a bigger audience. Catch it while you can.

Film review for "Cinema Takes" http://cinematakes.blogspot.com/