Truth or fiction? I greatly appreciated the intensity and mystery in Lili Horvát’s film Preparations to be Together for an Unknown Period of Time. The director brings intrigue and I was genuinely left speculating as to what was real and what might not be. Brilliant neurosurgeon Marta Vizy (Natasa Stork), meets the man of her…
Writer and director Mike Mills (20th Century Women) makes superb, insightful films that tap into the human condition … and now here is another. C’mon C’mon is a remarkable, sensitive work about tapping into your feelings. Joaquin Phoenix plays Johnny, who – along with a few colleagues – is making a radio documentary. They are…
Based on a true story, Hive tells of the tragedy of the aftermath of the war in Kosovo in the late 1990s. Specifically it focuses on its impact on the village of Krusha e Madhe. The film follows one woman, Fahrije Hoti (Yllka Gashi). Her husband disappeared seven years earlier, leaving behind not only her,…
Although Cyrano de Bergerac was a real person, most of the works that bear his name stem from Edmond Rostan’s 1897 play. Film versions of the story date back to 1900, but recent efforts include Roxanne (1987) with Steve Martin, and Cyrano de Bergerac (1990) with Gerard Depardieu. But the latest has a more circuitous…
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a masterpiece from absurdist playwright Edward Albee. It’s a treat for lovers of his provocative works that look at the human condition with all its flaws and extremes. Queensland Theatre presents the State Theatre Company South Australia production of the play with its original cast and it sure does…
A brass band is the connection between two fascinating and compelling unrelated personal stories that are part of a double bill known as Stardust + The Mission. First up is the tale of Victorian trumpeter and bandleader Col Brain, as told by his grandson Joel Carnegie. Joel, who was only two when Col died, chanced upon a…
A few films have looked at the Bosnian conflict of the 90s (Michael Winterbottom’s Welcome To Sarajevo, for one), but few have been as powerful, compelling or intelligent as this searing drama from Serbian filmmaker Jasmila Zbanic. Quo Vadis, Aida? was apparently one of former President Barack Obama’s favourite films of the year. The film…
The challenges and complexities associated with mental health are front and centre in a compelling play based around a young man who hasn’t been (and isn’t) well. Institutionalised for quite some time, Adam (Ben Smalley) now lives alone. He listens to music, watches TV, shops when necessary, cooks some basics and ostensibly keeps to himself. His…
Ever since Taken (2008) reinvented Irish actor Liam Neeson as the premier action hero of cinema, he’s been churning out a succession of formulaic action films of varied quality for over a decade. And while they may have been lucrative and kept him in steady work, he has become pigeonholed and not given roles that…
They don’t make many movies about lesbian nuns these days. Thankfully provocative Dutch auteur Paul Verhoeven is here to fill in this cinematic void. Verhoeven’s films have often courted controversy – from the sexy police thriller Basic Instinct through to the lurid and trashy Showgirls. Verhoeven has always been something of a subversive and provocative…
