The 6th British Film Festival is the biggest yet. Running across seven cities (most until 24th November, 2019) and 19 cinemas, it showcases 30 films, including 16 Australian premieres. Below are reviews of some of those premieres. To download the program, for more information and bookings, go to www.britishfilmfestival.com.au Official Secrets (MA) – 112 minutes…
A multi-faceted fight for justice, which tugs at the heartstrings, is the essence of the dramatic musical Ragtime. The timeframe is the early 20th century and the piece combines fictitious representative characters with historical figures such as Harry Houdini, J.P. Morgan and Henry Ford. It is a story of immigrants and African Americans facing adversary…
Coping with death and significant illness resulting in death isn’t easy for anyone. When it affects one’s nearest and dearest it is particularly harrowing. What if inside two years both your spouse of nearly four decades and adult child pass away? How would/could you handle that? In an instant, life as you had known it…
Coping with death and significant illness resulting in death isn’t easy for anyone. When it affects one’s nearest and dearest it is particularly harrowing. What if inside two years both your spouse of nearly four decades and adult child pass away? How would/could you handle that? In an instant, life as you had known it…
Balloon tells the true story of two East German families’ escape to the West a decade before the Wall was torn down. It’s a tense and dramatic film, with moments of melodrama. We’re in the summer of 1979. The Strelzyks and Wetzels have been working on an audacious plan for more than two years. They…
I wept tears of joy watching Ron Howard’s stellar documentary charting the life of one of the greatest operatic tenors to have blessed the planet. Including never before publicly seen photos and footage, Pavarotti is insightful and compelling. The music icon sold more than 100 million records in his lifetime. Dubbed “The People’s Tenor”, Pavarotti…
A truly wonderful and memorable musical set in America’s south over a quarter of a century (we are dealing with two time frames – the 1920s and ‘40s), Pursued by Bear has pulled out all stops to make it a winner. Inspired by truth, Bright Star follows twin story arcs in North Carolina. Handsome, shy,…
We’ve all heard the adage “family first”, but this is ridiculous! Every time a person marries into this wealthy and secretive family … at midnight they have to play a game. That is a time-honoured tradition that can’t be broken. You see, this clan made its money off the back of board games. The new…
While the recent Yesterday concentrated on the music of The Beatles; Blinded by the Light, focuses on a young man heavily influenced by The Boss, Bruce Springsteen. This one is inspired by fact, which isn’t the case with the other. Set in 1987, during the austere days of Margaret Thatcher’s Britain, Blinded by the Light…
Three rich, rounded and nuanced performances bring to life a beautiful elegy about love, loss and yearning. The trio of women – in their 20s, 40s and 60s – live in Shetland (an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland). The youngest is Sylvia (Liza Meagher), who married her childhood sweetheart Paul in what was…
