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“The hardest thing in life is letting go of those you hold dear. After that, everything is easy.” Continue reading
Take Me Somewhere Nice (2019)
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Little Monsters (2019)
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The Centrepiece Gala had me at ‘ukulele’ and ‘zombies’. Abe Forsyth’s zom-com doesn’t take itself too seriously and is full of laugh-out-loud dialogue and devastatingly winsome performances from Lupita Nyong’o, Alexander England and a class full of kindergarten kids. Continue reading
Seven Beauties (Pasqualino Settebellezze) (1975)
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This is a tough film to watch. Lina Wertmüller’s caustic satire can’t help but discomfit an audience fooled by its initial comedy. Continue reading
The Juniper Tree (1990)
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A black and white oddity, this restored copy of the 1990 film by American Nietzchka Keene is known primarily as singer Björk’s first feature film. Continue reading
Song Without a Name (Canción Sin Nombre) (2019)
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It’s hard not to leave this sparse and atmospheric Peruvian drama feeling desolate. Likened to Roma (2018) for its lush black-and-white cinematography and focus on an indigenous woman in central America, it is profoundly moving but a more fragmented and opaque experience. Continue reading
Papicha (2019)
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“Don’t drink standing up. Satan will see you. And with your left hand too!” Continue reading
Judy and Punch (2019)
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Except for a slight misstep in the third act, this darkly funny evisceration of violent men and mob mentality hits all the right notes (pun intended). It is a strong debut by director Mirrah Foulkes. Continue reading
For Sama (2019)
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“He is my son. This is my love.” says a mother as she carries her young son, killed by an air strike. He was taken by his brothers to the makeshift hospital that Hamza, the husband of journalist and a writer/director Waad Al-Khateab has established in Aleppo during the siege of 2016. Continue reading
Sword of Trust (2019)
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Lynn Shelton knows how to tell a good story. I loved Hump Day (2009) and Your Sister’s Sister (2011) and, like them, Sword of Trust is full of wry humour, great characters and cracking dialogue. Continue reading
Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen (2018)
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“Compromise is part of being colonial. You have to compromise to survive.” This underlying message, spoken by filmmaker and director Hepi Mita’s mum, Merata Mita, plays out in this lovingly constructed homage to whanau (family), Maori culture and Merata. Continue reading
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