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If you’re in the mood for a feelgood Aussie flick that celebrates footy, country towns and mateship then The Merger will not disappoint. Filmed in around Wagga Wagga in the fictional town of Bodgy Creek, like its second-cousin-once-removed The Castle, it tells of underdogs fighting for a fair go. Continue reading
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Pretty much all I knew about Matangi a.k.a. Maya Arulpragasm a.k.a. M.I.A. is the song Bad Girls. The anthem to girls doing whatever they want has a killer video clip of stunt drivers in the Middle East and M.I.A. resplendent in shades and gold chains. I now know there is so much more to her than this song and her Grammy and Oscar nominations. Continue reading
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This debut feature from Iceland’s Isold Uggadottir takes a small moment in the lives of two very different women and spins a delicate and nuanced story of oppression and connection. Continue reading
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I wasn’t expecting to be charmed by Christian Petzold’s inventive rethinking of a well-worn World War II movie trope. To all intents and purposes, it is a period drama akin to Casablanca, complete with third-person narration, a mysterious dame and uniformed guards with dogs. However, the backdrop is inexplicably and unapologetically modern day France. Continue reading
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Based on the 2014 Israeli film of the same name (originally titled Haganenet) by Nadav Lapid, director Sara Colangelo casts Maggie Gyllenhaal as the eponymous teacher, Lisa, whose life changes when she hears a child in her class recite poetry. Continue reading
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If you are a fan of the films of Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer), you’ll know what to expect from this structured and sobering feature from Babis Makridis. Co-written by Lanthimos collaborator Efthymis Filippou, it has a similar sensibility and intensity. Continue reading
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Director Pooya Badkoobeh’s first feature is an absorbing coming-of-age story about a complacent teenager who, like a fine dressage horse, has been protected from the realities of life. Continue reading
