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My first Indonesian, feminist, spaghetti western. Marlina (Marsha Timothy), a young widow living alone, defends herself with cool insouciance against a rapacious gang. Continue reading
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Tehran Taboo uses rotoscope animation to tell the story of four people unable to have choice in their lives due to the religious and social limitations of modern day Iran. Continue reading
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Glory grabbed me from its first realistic scenes to its devastating ending. Described as Capra-esque and a black comedy, this is anything but; intense, understated and bleak, it is a powerful drama about what is lost when corruption and greed win out over humanity. Continue reading
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This rich tapestry of a film had a golden thread running through it of one woman’s life. It was so absorbing and finely-crafted that I forgot I was watching a film. Continue reading
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The sublime Daniela Vega holds the screen from start to end in this delicate exploration of marginalisation and grief. Continue reading
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“He’s got body, he’s got soul, I’m torn apart without him…” I knew every word of every song and I was itching to get up and dance during the Pioneering Women screening of this delightful and very Australian musical. Continue reading
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Daigo Matsui directed Wonderful World End (MIFF 2015) and Our Huff and Puff Journey (MIFF 2016), both films I enjoyed for their mix of kawaii cuteness with social gravitas. Japanese Girls Must Die treads a similar path but feels more laboured and less whimsical in its telling. Continue reading
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Naina Sen’s radiant documentary about the funny and spirited women (and a few men) of the Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir stole my heart. Continue reading
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I’m used to Michael Haneke dramas dealing a devastating blow as the credits roll (The White Ribbon, The Piano Teacher) so I was unprepared for the droll humour and light hand of this study of a wealthy French family struggling to let go of the past. Continue reading
Although, in the telling, this pivotal 1988 movie about rural rape culture seems extreme, it unfortunately has not lost its resonance today. Continue reading
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