Spencer, starring Kristen Stewart

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Spencer, starring Kristen Stewart

9 September 2021

I’m loving Kristen Stewart’s work post The Twilight Saga. Clouds of Sils Maria, and Personal Shopper, are two stand-outs for me, but if the trailer/teaser for Spencer is any indication, it looks like she well and truly out does herself.

Set over three days at Sandringham, the Norfolk estate of the British royal family in 1991, Princess Diana makes the decision to end her marriage to Prince Charles, as she spends Christmas with her in-laws.

But Xan Brooks, writing for The Guardian, suggests Spencer may not be a film for monarchists:

No doubt it took an outsider to make a film that’s as un-reverential as Spencer, which dares to examine the royals as if they were specimens under glass. At heart, of course, Larraín and Knight’s tale is utterly preposterous. It’s a tragedy about a spoiled princess who lashes out at the servants; a thriller about a woman who has only 10 minutes to get into her dress before Christmas dinner is served. But how else do you play it? The monarchy itself is preposterous.

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film, Kristen Stewart, movies

The 2021 Irish Film Festival Australia

7 September 2021

The 2021 Irish Film Festival Australia is on now until Sunday 12 September 2021. If the above trailer is anything to go by, there looks to be some top-notch lockdown movie viewing on offer.

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On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, by Ocean Vuong

6 September 2021

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous (published by Penguin Books Australia, 2019), is the debut novel of Vietnamese American writer and poet Ocean Vuong. The story is set around a long letter written by a twenty-something Vietnamese immigrant living in America, nicknamed Little Dog, to his mother, Rose, who is illiterate.

Little Dog’s letter traces his family’s history, prior to his birth, and their relocation to America. He recounts his experiences of being bullied at school, and goes on reveal things his mother did not previously know about him. It is not always a life lived happily though, and domestic violence, racism, and homophobia, are among recurring themes.

Based in part on Vuong’s own life, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous was named as one of the top ten novels of 2019 by the Washington Post, and was also a finalist in the 2020 PEN/Faulkner Award. The novel is also set to be adapted for the screen, with American filmmaker Bing Liu directing.

Macadam Stories

4 September 2021

Macadam Stories, a 2015 film by French filmmaker Samuel Benchetrit, tells the story of four people living in a dilapidated apartment block on the verge on an industrial wasteland, each of whom are seeking connection, whether they know it or not.

Sternkowitz (Gustave Kervern) finds himself confined to a wheelchair after some exercise misadventure. He strikes up a friendship with a nurse (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi) who works nights at the local hospital, after he goes in search of food late one evening.

Charly (Jules Benchetrit), a lonely teenager, befriends Jeanne (Isabelle Huppert), a despairing actor, living across the hall, who’s struggling to find a new role.

Madame Hamida (Tassadit Mandi), meanwhile finds herself hosting John McKenzie (Michael Pitt), an American astronaut who’s capsule inadvertently landed on the roof of the apartment block.

While viruses, lockdowns, and self-isolation, are not a part of this story, all the characters here are cut-off in some way from the outside world. Macadam Stories is a hopeful, warming, film for our times.

Queen of the Desert, by Werner Herzog, with Nicole Kidman, Robert Pattinson

31 May 2016

Scene from Queen of the Desert, depicting stars Nicole Kidman and Robert Pattinson.

Still from Queen of the Desert , a film by Werner Herzog.

Born in England in 1868, Gertrude Bell spent the early decades of the twentieth century travelling across the Middle East, in what is now Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, Syria, Iran, and Jordan. She was a writer, archaeologist, and explorer, and was much respected by both the British, and the peoples of the region. She also played a part in establishing latter day Iraq and Jordan.

In Queen of the Desert, trailer, the Werner Herzog (Invincible, Cave of Forgotten Dreams) made depiction of her life, she is portrayed by Nicole Kidman. Bell is desperate to flee the clutches of her stifled upper class life, and leaps at the opportunity to leave, when her father (David Calder) offers to send her to stay in Tehran with her uncle, the British ambassador.

Upon arriving, Bell is soon enamoured by the free-spirited way of life in the Middle East, and sets her sights on seeing as much of the area as possible, plus meeting the local inhabitants, and their tribal leaders. She also catches the eye of several British military and diplomatic personnel, including Henry Cadogan (James Franco), and T.E. Lawrence, also known as Lawrence of Arabia (Robert Pattinson).

Nicole Kidman meets Lawrence of Arabia? Who wouldn’t want to see a film where that happens? Maybe quite a few people, and it almost seems the producers were hoping this drawcard meeting would carry the story. Instead, Queen of the Desert presents as little more than a perfunctory re-counting of Bell’s exploits in the Middle East. The performances by the leads are competent, but I think audiences may be left feeling unsure what sort of film Herzog was trying to make.

Originally published Tuesday 31 May 2016. Updated Sunday 21 April 2024.

Brooklyn, a film by John Crowley starring Saoirse Ronan

8 February 2016

Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan), a young Irish woman, seems set to live an ordinary life in Enniscorthy, on the south east coast of Ireland. Aware of Eilis’ potential, and the lack of opportunities in the country in the 1950’s, older sister Rose (Fiona Glascott), arranges for her to emigrate to New York, in Brooklyn, trailer, the latest feature of John Crowley (Boy A, Closed Circuit).

Eilis is all too happy to farewell her routine job, and spiteful boss, Miss Kelly (Brid Brennan), at a local bakery, and leap into the unknown. What she doesn’t initially count on though is debilitating home sickness, and a way of life not much different to the one she left behind. Even the support of kindly Irish priest, Father Flood (Jim Broadbent), seems to be of little consolation.

Things change when Eilis falls in love with young Italian-American plumber, Tony (Emory Cohen), and finally she begins to feel that she belongs in New York. A family tragedy however sees her return to Ireland, where her mother, and friends, pressure her to remain, forcing Eilis to make a difficult choice between her old life, or a future with Tony, in her adopted homeland.

Based on the 2009 book of the same name, by Colm Tóibín, Brooklyn is an engaging, albeit mildly predictable, tale of the struggles of an immigrant making a new life for themselves, far from home. This might have been a lesser story, if it were not for Ronan’s convincing portrayal of a person who has to decide which side of the fence the grass is greener on.

Originally published Monday 8 February 2016.

Wuher: A Star Wars Story, and other films you may not live to see

18 November 2015

If a single movie, Rogue One, a Star Wars “spin off” story, slated for release in late 2016, can be spawned by way of a few words taken from the opening crawl of A New Hope, then imagine what else seen in the six films released to date, has the potential to inspire? A point that’s not lost on current series producers, the Walt Disney Company:

And if the people at the Walt Disney Company, which bought Lucasfilm for $4 billion in 2012, have anything to say about it, the past four decades of Star Wars were merely prologue. They are making more. A lot more. The company intends to put out a new Star Wars movie every year for as long as people will buy tickets. Let me put it another way: If everything works out for Disney, and if you are (like me) old enough to have been conscious for the first Star Wars film, you will probably not live to see the last one. It’s the forever franchise.

I think Wuher, the gruff bartender in the canteen at Mos Eisley, is worthy of a film. In fact, I’m of the opinion that the significance of his role in the saga has been greatly understated so far. Read his profile. I think you’ll agree there’s far more to him than meets the eye.

Originally published Wednesday 18 November 2015.

Only the Dead, a documentary by Michael Ware, Bill Guttentag

16 October 2015

“Only the dead have seen the end of war” is a phrase Greek philosopher Plato is said to have uttered the better part of two and a half thousand years ago. They are words bluntly contending, that for some, combat is an experience they will always live with, no matter how much time, or distance, they place between themselves and the battlefield.

War does not only scar the belligerents, and the hapless civilians caught up in the middle of it, but also those whose part is considered ancillary, including medics and journalists. Only the Dead tells one such story, of Australian reporter Michael Ware, and is based on video footage he recorded while working for Time Magazine in Iraq, between 2003 and 2007.

Although American lead coalition forces quickly took control of Iraq, and ousted long-time leader Saddam Hussein, when they invaded in 2003, the real struggle commenced afterwards. Groups of insurgents, some backed by al Qaeda, began engaging in guerrilla warfare, using terrifying tactics that included suicide bombings, kidnappings, and beheadings, against the occupying army.

Gradually Ware was able to make contact with members of some insurgent groups. This eventually resulted in Abu Musab al Zarqawi, who was considered one of al Qaeda’s most vicious leaders, handing him video footage of their attacks against the occupying forces. It soon became apparent to Ware that the insurgents were far more organised than was first realised.

Co-directed by American documentary maker Bill Guttentag (Death on the Job, Nanking), Only the Dead is a harrowing, first-hand, account of the war in Iraq. It is also very much a personal story, and audiences are not only witness to some of the conflict’s most disturbing, horrific moments, but also Ware’s own dark, inner, turmoil.

Originally published Friday 16 October 2015.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier, a film by Anthony and Joe Russo, with Chris Evans

9 April 2014

Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), the diminutive man who was transformed into the far sturdier Captain America as part of a World War II experiment, probably wouldn’t have had the chance read George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984. Even if he had, it couldn’t possibly have prepared him for the state of surveillance some latter day leaders had in mind.

Corrupt government official Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford) is determined to implement a security program that will endanger more people than it claims to protect. Working with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Captain America sets about trying to thwart Pierce’s plan.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier, trailer, co-directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, ticks over at breathless pace, yet still takes the time to flesh out a little of Steve Rogers’ character, while the story’s parallels with the world we live in today are blunt. Despite the sometimes heavy overtones, as escapist fare there isn’t too much to fault here.

Originally published Wednesday 9 April 2014.

Alone Time, a short film by Rod Blackhurst, with Rose Hemingway

27 September 2013

It looked like the perfect weekend away, camping in the wilderness, far from the stresses of the city and career. Until the twist at the end. That’s Alone Time, a short film by American filmmaker Rod Blackhurst, starring Rose Hemingway as Ann.

Based on actual such events by the way, but don’t read about it until you’ve watched the video.

(Thanks Sarah)

Originally published Friday 27 September 2013, with subsequent revisions, updates to lapsed URLs, etc.

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