A clever study in absurdity, The Horses by William Lane is an unusual piece of Australian literature that unpacks notions of class, ideology, religion and education. Set in a boarding school on Sydney’s outskirts, the novel features young men who wear armour for uniforms (including helmets, breastplates and chain metal gloves), teachers who care more the…
There is disconnect between three members of the one family, a husband, wife and daughter who live in regional Australia and are struggling. It is not as if they want it that way, but that is what they are living with. They speak about their thoughts and feelings. They dare to dream and live out…
A family is traumatised by the tragic death of a child in Vaughn Stein’s Every Breath You Take. Philip (Casey Affleck) is a psychiatrist and lecturer, his wife Grace (Michelle Monaghan) a real estate agent. They have a young son, Evan (Brenden Sunderland) and he has a senior school age daughter, Lucy (India Eisley) –…
Powerful vocals, a strong musical score and a deteriorating relationship are the hallmarks of The Last Five Years, written and composed by American Jason Robert Brown, starring Verity Hunt-Ballard (Sweet Charity) and Josh Piterman (West Side Story). It is the story of two twenty-somethings – he Jewish and she not – who fall in and…
Fremantle singer-songwriter Stella Donnelly is definitely the current darling of the indie singer-songwriter scene in Australia. After a successful tilt at this year’s BIGSOUND conference, winning the inaugural Levis Music Prize, Donnelly has just announced plans to head out on a bunch of tour dates around the country. Stella Donnelly has already been announced on…
The best way to get anything other than disappointment out of Fifty Shades Darker is to enter the cinema with extremely low expectations. Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson return as the young couple Christian Grey and Anastasia (Ana) Steele in this, the second chapter of the bestselling Fifty Shades erotic romance trilogy by EL James….
Tracy Chevalier, best known for her novel The Girl with the Pearl Earring, takes readers to Venice in her new novel The Glassmaker. Or more precisely to the island of Murano, home to an ancient and world-renowned tradition of glass making. This novel is a kaleidoscopic journey through the history of Murano, its glassmaking and…
I was totally overwhelmed by the grandeur, elegance and excitement in Colette – undoubtedly one of the films of the year. Keira Knightley stars as the title character, a French novelist whose provocative debut in the written word was falsely credited to her larger than life husband (a role filled by Dominic West). After marrying…
I don’t think I’ve ever read a book as visceral and challenging before. I’d been warned by friends to expect tears, to want to throw the book against the wall (because it’s confronting), to need time out. They were right. This book has outstripped any other I remember reading in years, in terms of feeling…
– St. ALi Italian Film Festival – In Palace Cinemas nationally from 13 September 2022 We have 5 double passes to a session at the Festival (excluding special events) Note: tickets are digital *(Tickets valid in Australia only)* Watch the trailer HERE Australia’s pre-eminent event celebrating the culture and cinema of Italy, returns this Spring,…
