Not everything is spelt out in writer-director Itay Tal’s drama God of the Piano. In Israel, Anat (Naama Preis), makes a shocking decision in hospital after receiving unexpected news following the birth of her son. The daughter of an elite piano teacher, Arieh (Ze’ev Shimshoni) Anat never reached his heights, despite her talent. She never…
From 1996 to 2001, the Taliban ruled over Afghanistan with an iron fist. During this time, many basic human freedoms were curtailed and public executions became common place. All are highlighted in The Swallows of Kabul, a remarkable portrait of life under Sharia law. Specifically, we are in the Afghan capital, Kabul, in the summer…
Paul Murphy’s NZ feature Lowdown Dirty Criminals is an enjoyable but somewhat derivative crime-comedy. The darkly comic caper cribs from the Guy Ritchie playbook, with a lot of his flashy visual flourishes. The non-linear narrative structure uses plenty of flashbacks and replays scenes from different perspectives. The film opens with a Mexican standoff in a…
“Dead bodies usually mean something bad…” It’s 1945, towards the send of WWII. The German navy are even sinking hospital ships. When the film opens, a group of survivors from a sunken hospital ship are adrift somewhere in the North Atlantic. Tensions are high as they are desperately short of food and water. This motley…
If you’ve ever seen Karel Reisz’s superb The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1981); or Michel Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), you may find something familiar in Nicolas Bedos’ La Belle Époque. This brilliantly conceived drama of love and loss is inventive, poignant and compelling. Bedos is an actor who’s turned to directing. That…
The lure of Italy is strong – especially for filmmakers. It seems every story of transformative discovery needs to play out against a sun-dappled backdrop in Sicily or the Veneto. But of course, Tuscany is particularly beloved (see Under the Tuscan Sun, and its ilk). So it’s not exactly surprising that British writer-director James D’Arcy…
An ostensibly by-the-book police procedural, Force of Nature nevertheless has a few surprises that give it a kick along. In New York, Detective Cardillo (Emile Hirsch) is making out with his cop partner (and fiancé). Against the woman’s protestations, Cardillo answers a call of duty and everything changes. Then we cut to Puerto Rico, where…
Marcel Marceau was regarded as the world’s foremost mime artist. But I dare say many would be unaware of intriguing his back story, as covered in Resistance. From his earliest, Marceau (Jesse Eisenberg) was driven to “perform”; something his religious Jewish father, Charles Mangel (Karl Markovics), railed against. There was a reason for that, which…
– Bill & Ted Face the Music – Only in cinemas from 10 September 2020 We have 5 double in-season passes thanks to Madman. *(Tickets valid in Australia only)* Watch the trailer HERE The stakes are higher than ever for the time-travelling exploits of William “Bill” S. Preston Esq. (Alex Winter) and Theodore “Ted” Logan…
Not all superheroes wear capes. Some are immortal ass-kickers. The Old Guard is a high-concept action-thriller that provides an origin story for what the producers no doubt hope will be a tentpole franchise in the future. The Old Guard was originally scheduled to be a high-profile summer release in the northern hemisphere; but the pandemic…
