Queen Victoria formed an attachment late in life that brought the royal household to the point of apoplexy. That true story is given poetic licence in Victoria & Abdul. In 1887, Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal) – a 24-year-old clerk – travelled from India to the UK to present a ceremonial medal as part of the…
Some books you save for a rainy day. Season of Salt and Honey by Hannah Tunnicliffe landed on my review shelf a while ago, but I’ve been saving it. I sensed that this was a book for savouring … and I was right. The cover spoke to the foodie in me and finding out there were recipes…
Inga Vesper’s debut crime novel The Long, Long Afternoon takes readers into the Stepford world of 1950s Los Angeles and then blows it up from the inside. When the book opens, seemingly devoted housewife Joyce Hayney has disappeared. The investigation into that disappearance will reveal cracks in the façade of her marriage and the community…
Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 24 February 2023. ARIA award-winning musician Tim Rogers and his fiddle-and-squeezebox country-blues compadres The Twin Set have shared their new album Tines of Stars Unfurled, out now via Virgin Music Australia. Tines of Stars Unfurled is a bookend to…
From little things, big things grow. Director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi transforms a short story by Haruki Murakami into a 3-hour paean to love, loss and healing with Drive My Car. The film is a transcendent exploration of almost unbearable pathos, but with a shining light at the end. Another Murakami short story provided the source material…
Kriv Stenders’ Red Dog was a feelgood film that captivated Australian audiences way back in 2011. It was a genuine crowd-pleaser and a tear-jerker and also one of the highest grossing films of the year. It proved so popular that are sequel was probably inevitable given how the industry works. But is has taken five…
Yesterday is highly contrived and holds few surprises, but it’s still a heart-warming story. It’s also a showcase for the music of The Beatles. The basis of the tale is pure fantasy and from there it’s basically an adult fairy story. The film follows a decidedly ordinary guy thrust into most extraordinary circumstances. Humour, warmth…
Both these films are in very limited release. 1945 On a summer day in 1945, an Orthodox Jewish man and his grown son return to a village in Hungary. The villagers are preparing for the wedding of the town clerk’s son. The townspeople expect the worst and behave accordingly. The town clerk fears the men…
– Hope Gap – Only in cinemas from 9 April 2020 We have 10 double in-season passes thanks to Transmission Films. *(Tickets valid in Australia only)* Watch the trailer HERE Grace (Annette Bening) and Edward (Bill Nighy), married for 29 years, live in a small seaside town near a cove under the cliffs called Hope Gap. When…
Director Aaron Wilson has crafted a beautifully shot, sensitive story about love, loss and yearning with Little Tornadoes. We’re in small town, rural Australia in 1971. Leo (Mark Leonard Winter) is a steelworker whose wife has just left him without explanation. One day she just packed up all her things and disappeared. All that remains…
