Alex (Elena Mandalis) is now one of my favourite characters ever. She’s the kind of tough girl I would have been scared of at school. Greek, working class and a misfit, her only choice is to push back. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Australia
On Guard (1984)
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Significant at the time for its cast and crew of women and it’s ‘girls own adventure’ theme, On Guard, screening as part of the Pioneering Women section of MIFF, reminds us of how little has changed for women in film in 30 years. Continue reading
Rabbit (2017)
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Image via miff.com.au
There’s a lot to like about this spooky Australian thriller, not least Adelaide Clemens’ stoic performance as twins Maude and Cleo. A sluggish pace and a muddled plot though fail to build the tension needed for this to be genuinely scary and ultimately satisfying. Continue reading
Australia Day (2017)
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Image via miff.com.au
This heart wrenching look at the dark reality of racism that simmers below the glib, Australian-flag-face-painted surface of our country shows its devastating effects, particularly for women of colour. #MIFF2017 Continue reading
Patti Cake$ (2017)
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Image via miff.com.au
This oddball, feel-good feature unrolls like an 8mm Precious with Australian actor Danielle Macdonald as its shining heart. Continue reading
That’s Not Me (2017)
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That's Not Me, a sweet and funny Melbourne feature about fame and sibling rivalry was buoyed by a cinema full of cast, crew, friends and family. #MIFF2017 Continue reading
Berlin Syndrome (2017)
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Image via http://www.hollywoodreporter.com
A movie about a woman being victimised isn’t the kind I would normally go and see but Berlin Syndrome is directed by Cate Shortland (Somersault, Lore) so I knew it was going to be interesting with the story of the woman at the heart. Clare (Teresa Palmer) is a naive Australian tourist newly arrived in Berlin. By chance she meets German school teacher Andi (Max Riemelt) and strikes up a hesitant friendship that leads to her staying the night at his isolated apartment in an otherwise empty former East Berlin apartment block. When she wakes in the morning with Andi gone to work, she finds the doors and windows locked and she can’t leave. Continue reading
Emo the Musical (2016)
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Image via http://www.hollywoodreporter.com
Harold and Maude meets High School Musical in this messy, funny, teen romp of a film by Australian Neil Triffett. Ethan (Benson Jack Anthony) is a misfit in his school. Identifying as an emo with black eyeliner and a melancholic preoccupation with death, he is expelled after trying unsuccessfully to hang himself from a tree in the schoolyard. As the new kid at scruffy Seymour High, he finds his tribe with wannabe emo band Worst Day Ever who are vying for a prize in a regional band competition. Trouble arises when Ethan falls for Trinity (Jordan Hare), singer in rival Christian band Hope. Continue reading
Dance Academy: The Movie (2017)
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Image via http://www.thereelbits.com
Tara, Kat, Abigail, Ben, Christian, Ollie – if you’ve got children who love dance, you will know the Australian series Dance Academy. Four years after the end of the third and last season, the imaginatively titled Dance Academy: The Movie revisits our favourite student dancers as they try to make their way in the professional world.
The Family (2016)
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Image via MIFF
I wasn’t expecting this documentary about the Melbourne suburban and Victorian rural sect The Family and leader Anne Hamilton-Byrne to pack such an emotional wallop. It begins as a blow-by-blow retelling of the investigation into the cult in the 80s and takes a while to build a coherent story but ends as a devastating insight into the repercussions for the children involved and the inability of investigators to breach the protective wall of privilege around the cult to obtain justice. Continue reading
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