Epic in scope and set against the backdrop of the Cold War, Never Look Away spans some thirty years of German history and dramatic social change. It is loosely based on the life of renowned German artist Gerard Richter, widely regarded as one of the most important contemporary artists. The film opens in Dresden in…
The new tween adventure Harmony is another walk down the dark side of fantasy. Harmony (Jessica Falkholt) is different … very different. She has the supernatural power to absorb others’ fear. Each person she touches literally loses their trepidation. She absorbs it as a black liquid that she later washes from her skin. So, healing…
This Oscar-nominated Swedish comedy about a socially awkward grumpy old man rediscovering his humanity and the sense of community is essentially Gran Torino with subtitles. A Man Called Ove is a life-affirming tale. At first I thought it was going to be a Scandinavian variation of the perennial Christmas classic It’s a Wonderful Life, but…
Our worst fears about artificial intelligence are realised in The Machine Stops, which is an adaptation of the 1909 novella by former English author E.M. Forster. It shares a common conceit with Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World (1932) and George Orwell’s 1984 (1949). “The Machine” has sent humans underground and subjugated freedom of thought. Technology…
An incomparable spectacle, Toruk is unlike any Cirque tent show. Several awe-inspiring highlights punctuate the two acts of this production inspired by James Cameron’s cinematic masterpiece Avatar. The staging, projections and lighting are particularly wondrous. Rivers run, waters fall, lava flows and the large stage area frequently appears to come to life. It begins with a mound becoming…
Lies, bravado and one-upmanship are explored in the satire Four Dogs and a Bone. The “bone” is a Hollywood film and the “dogs” baring their teeth are the producer, an ageing starlet, a newbie actor and the writer. Each wants things on their terms. The producer, Bradley (Kostas Ilias), throws his weight around. He needs…
Maria Altmann (Helen Mirren) is an elderly former refugee who, with the help of her tyro lawyer, takes on the intractable might of the Austrian Government in a protracted legal battle to regain possession of a valuable painting and family heirloom that was confiscated by the Nazis during WWII. The painting in question is Gustav…
Megan Wilding is a force of nature in a serious contender for play of the year. Game. Set. Match. is a dark comedy with a confronting sting in its tail and Wilding is both the writer (her first time for the main stage) and one of two outstanding performers. She plays 27-year-old Yarrai, while Rick…
Imagine you’re the partner or child of a soldier who’s sent off to war. How would you feel? Military Wives is inspired by the true story of a group of women in that situation. In this case, their partners were deployed in Afghanistan. Kate (Kristin Scott-Thomas) and Lisa (Sharon Horgan), are in a power struggle….
