Kerouac’s classic Beat-generation manifesto On The Road transforms to the big screen in all its pulsing, joyful free-wheeling madness, complete with crazy cats, hustlers, junkies, and poets. Brazilian director Walter Salles (Central Station) and screenwriter Jose Rivera (The Motorcycle Diaries) deliver a pitch-perfect manifestation of the cult classic, transporting the viewer to the time and…
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The horror of war is painted with devastating clarity in Flowers of War, a historical fiction drama by director Zhang Yimou (Hero, House of Flying Daggers). Set during the 1937 Japanese massacre in Nanjing, under imminent occupation, the city is reduced to dusty rubble and the last remaining citizens are fleeing for their lives amid…
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An Australian-German collaboration by director Cate Shortland (Somersault) and based on Rachel Seiffert’s 2001 Booker Prize short-listed novel ‘The Dark Room’, Lore follows the journey of Lore (Saskia Rosendahl), the daughter of an SS officer at the fall of the Third Reich, forced to flee her home with her four young brothers and sisters when…
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A noir thriller set in grey, low-lit London and based on the Elsa Lewin’s 1990 novel of the same name, I, Anna is the directorial debut of Barnaby Southcomb. Beginning with a series of narrative threads woven together through a mosaic of flashbacks, the film draws on the classic murder mystery genre, with Anna (Charlotte…
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Set in South Africa, Beauty is a sombre meditation on masculinity and sexuality. François (Deon Lotz) is an Afrikaanner family man, who, at the film’s opening is celebrating his daughter’s wedding. He is affluent, ordinary, respected and liked. But, as suggested by the film’s opening shot – a long-angle zoom, ever so slowly drawing in…
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Winner of the Cannes Grand Prix, Once Upon a Time in Anatolia follows the overnight and early morning journey through the wind-swept Anatolian steppes of a group of forensic and law enforcement officers along with two murder suspects in search of a body they buried, but can’t remember where. It’s a long night, and as…
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Set on the eve of the French Revolution (and based on the novel of the same name by Chantal Thomas, winner of French literary award the Prix Femina in 2002), Farewell My Queen, follows a fictional account of the early stages of the monarchy’s epic downfall through the eyes of the court’s peons – specifically…
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Big Easy Express isn’t so much a concert film. It isn’t so much a road movie. It isn’t so much a rock bio. It’s both none and all of the above. I think the best way to desribe it is as a musical odyssey. Big Easy Express beautifully captures the “Railroad Revival Tour”, a 7…
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A family struggling with the accidental death of their daughter head out to their secluded holiday home, insert some creepy neighbours… what could possibly go wrong? Opening with some sort of reimagining of the music video for “Karma Police”, Replicas is a film that lives up to its name, borrowing concepts and elements from the…
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In the first part of my Sydney Film Festival review series last week, I looked at four of the films I saw during the festival, and gave you my impressions of the festival as a whole. In short, I thought they nailed it. This week I conclude my review series with another four films I…
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Over the weekend, the 59th annual Sydney Film Festival wrapped things up with an excellent closing night film and party at the beautiful State Theatre. One of my favourite things about the festival is its inclusion of the classic venue – it’s a joy to see a film as they were watched many decades ago:…
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Furlong in Below Zero Fans of Science Fiction are a unique breed; they are a loyal, open-minded and adventurous lot who do not discriminate against the independent, low budget or unknown when they search for new and special examples of the genre. Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy films have continuously prevailed as the biggest blockbusters…
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You might be wondering why you’re seeing film reviews suddenly pop up on the AU review… well, ultimately it’s because of this film. When Hanna was announced as the opening night gala of the 2011 Sydney Film Festival, a film which The Chemical Brothers scored, it dawned on me that there was a whole world…
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Over the course of the next 12 days, I’ll be covering just about anything music related I can get my hands on at the 2011 Sydney Film Festival, in the new segment “Sounds on Screen”. From music docos to soundtracks featuring Calexico, Johnny Greenwood (Radiohead), The Chemical Brothers and more – if it heralds a…
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