2015 - The Year Ahead

As the new year approaches, it's topical to consider the overall economic and socio-political environment which will frame the following twelve months - and potentially affect lives across the globe.

Economically the international situation remains fragile: during 2014 the United States had annualised GDP growth of only 2.7% (a similar rate also applied to Australia), the European Union was 0.8%,  Japan was negative with -1.2% and China dropped to 7.3%. The US Fed ended its Quantitative Easing policy and Central banks across the world continued to warn of the need for greater debt control stringency, improved capital adequacy requirements while retaining liquidity in funding markets. The greatest concern remains that critical lessons from the GFC have not been learned and applied.

In terms of international relations and stability the United Nations and Member Nation States continue to face challenges from well organised terrorist organisations such as Islamic State (formerly ISIS, ISIL or perhaps better referred to as DAESH), Al-Shabaab, Boko Haram and the Taliban operating in both Afghanistan and Northern Pakistan. The festering confrontational relationship between Israel and the Palestinians shows little progress in the immediate future nor does the unproclaimed conflict between the Russian Federation and the Ukraine. The Syrian civil war grinds on with little prospect of an immediate outcome and peace.

From an Australian perspective, the world has never looked more unsettled since the end of the Cold War and the influence/competition between the two Superpowers of that era.

The power of the World Wide Web, various mobile devices and software applications has meant the power of disruptive technologies has never been greater than when the first steam train and automobile heralded the end of horse drawn carriages and carts. Realignment and adjustment of national economies and workforces to this new order continues to present hard and difficult lessons.

Happy New Year, one can only hope.

Christmas 2014

During the second half of the 20th Century, Christmas  generally become synonymous with gift giving, Christmas trees and rampant consumer spending. In contrast, prior to the Second World War, it was a far more limited celebration which was largely confined to the middle and wealthier classes in Great Britain and Europe although there was a limited involvement for the working class. It's worth reflecting on the deeper origins of this festive season to provide a broader perspective than the current pre-season sales would otherwise project.

The word itself is derived from Middle English Cristemasse which dates back to the 11th and 12th Centuries in various uses and basically meant Christian mass. The Cristen part is derived from earlier Greek and Hebrew terms such as Khristos and Messiah (which means 'anointed'). The masse part comes from the Latin 'missa' or celebration of the Eucharist. In short it was simply a celebration of religious observance. All of the additional 'accessories' were added in later centuries with the major gift giving and large meals occurring in the late 19th and 20th Centuries.  As for the birth of Christ, on which this observance originates,  it is generally accepted by scholars and religious historians that the year Jesus was born was between a period of 7 BC and 2 BC. There is no certainty as to the exact month or day. The choice of the 25th December occurred during the 4th Century AD within the Western Christian Church and later adopted by the Eastern Church.  In most respects this makes little difference in any meaningful manner as the true value of the event is the focus on others rather than oneself. In that sense the Spirit of Christmas transcends the fixation with pre-Christmas discounts and Boxing Day Sales. Peace be with you wherever you may reside.

Film Review - The Water Diviner - Russell Crowe

Russell Crowe as Connor searching for his surviving son - The Water Diviner

Russell Crowe's first credit as a film director (while also being one of the lead actors) is an impressive effort with The Water Diviner.  Shot on location in Australia and Turkey with a joint Australian/Turkish cast and crew, a reported $9M budget and a good interplay between backstory flashbacks juxtapositioned with current scenes, this is a technically well crafted film.

A period piece set after the conclusion of World War I and four years after the disastrous Gallipoli campaign, Australian farmer, Joshua Connor (Russell Crowe) has left his farm and travelled to Turkey to the Gallipoli battlefield in search of the remains of his three sons, believed to have been killed in action. Turkey, as the centre of the defeated Ottoman Empire, is under Allied Occupation but Connor receives little support for his quest from the British authorities in Istanbul. While staying at his hotel in the Turkish capital he is treated sympathetically by Ayshe (Olga Kurylenko) the Turkish widow of the Hotel's owner, and provided with advice how to reach Gallipoli without an official travel permit.

Connor reaches the Gallipoli shore to find an Allied Graves Unit commanded by an Australian officer (Jai Courtney) engaged in the recovery and registration of soldiers remains assisted by two liaison staff from the Turkish Army. It is at this point the story takes a twist as Major Hasan (Yilmaz Erdogan) the senior Turkish liaison officer discovers one of Connor's sons survived as a Prisoner of War and may still be alive. Connor's quest to reclaim his lost sons from the battlefield becomes a mission to rescue his surviving son as the Ottoman Empire disintegrates. Added to the mix is the growing romantic interest between Connor and the widow, Ayshe.

The Water Diviner has graphic violence due to the flashbacks of hand-to-hand combat at Gallipoli and later the invasion by Greece of Turkey's border region where Connor must travel to search for his surviving son. The film's plotline and representation is very sympathetic to the Turks and portrays the Greeks in an unflattering light which no doubt will add some controversy to an otherwise clear linear perspective. There is some inconsistency as Connor moves from grieving father to action man almost instantaneously in the later part of the film and stereotyping of some characters, most notably the British. Of note, the film is almost complimentary to Australian Director, Peter Weir's 1981 film classic 'Gallipoli'.  This is a film for cinema viewing rather than DVD or download.

Film Review - Interstellar

On board the Endurance - Interstellar

Christopher Nolan's Interstellar mixes theoretical physics, strong character development and an in-depth back story with stunning visual effects to deliver a complex layered film quite distinct from many recent efforts in the science fiction genre.  A simple straight forward space exploration film this is not and with a screening time of 169 minutes it is a film which will appeal to those who would like more than dazzling CGI effects (although there are more than enough scenes with high end imagery).

The plotline of the story is set on a dying planet Earth, not too far into the future with crops failing and endless dust storms. Society has fallen back into an agrarian culture to survive with technology and space exploration abandoned. Former NASA pilot and widower, Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) runs a farm with his father (John Lithgow) and his son, Tom and daughter, Murphy.  Through strange messages he discovers that NASA still exists and through the efforts of Professor John Brand (Michael Caine) is launching a mission to a worm hole which has appeared near Saturn. Probes through the worm hole have established that three potential planets for human habitation exist on the other side.  Cooper is enlisted by Professor Brand to pilot the mission shuttle with a team consisting of Brands' daughter, Amelia (Anne Hathaway) and scientists Romilly (David Gyasi) and Doyle Wes Bentley) with very quirky robots operating with almost human personality programming.

On Earth, as time relativity passes more quickly, Cooper's daughter Murphy has become an adult (Jessica Chastain) and joined Professor Brand working on an equation to launch massive space stations from Earth using gravity. All is not what it seems and Cooper and Amelia are confronted by endless challenges far away in space (including a massive black hole termed 'Gargantua') and some unexpected but devastating deception from their own colleagues.

The film was shot on locations in the United States, Canada and Iceland and theoretical physicist, Kip Thorne (a collaborator with the late renowned scientist, Carl Sagan) was the scientific consultant both with story development and visual effects. If you're familiar with terms such as worm hole, event horizon, singularity and gravitational lensing, the actual science gives the storyline a high level of gravitas.

The supermassive black hole,Gargantua, as shown in Interstellar

Sydney Theatre Company 2014 Season - Cyrano de Bergerac - Review

Cyrano de Bergerac - Richard Roxburgh

As the 2014 Sydney Theatre Company season draws to a close, it seems very appropriate that Edmond Rostand's, Cyrano de Bergerac concludes the year on a high point. This version of the play is an adaptation by Andrew Upton of the original tragicomic work by Rostand and mercifully the adjustment of dialogue does not transpose all of the script into lazy 20th Century colloquialism. There are, however the odd moments in scenes where the modern English usage is cringe worthy but these are few and far between.

Rostand's play is focused on Hercule Savinien Cyrano de Bergerac, a nobleman serving as a soldier and commander in the French Army. He is a man of many talents  being a gifted duelist, swordsman, poet and musician but he has considerable self doubt due to having an extremely large nose. His romantic interest is his distant cousin, the beautiful and intellectual heiress,  Roxane, whom he has known since childhood. Unaware of his affections, Roxane has become interested in the handsome yet stupid young nobleman, Christian de Neuvillete who has enlisted as a cadet in de Bergerac's regiment. It is from this point that a grand deception takes places for the handsome Christian does not possess the written poetic and oratory skills to win Roxane's heart yet Cyrano does not believe that Roxane could love as ugly a man as believes himself to be. He thus concludes an arrangement to provide Christian with the letters and poems to win Roxane's heart reasoning that at least if she does not love him, then she will love his words spoken by Christian.

Richard Roxburgh more than ably handles the role of Cyrano de Bergerac conveying the perfect measure of the character's emotional, if somewhat, contradictory expressions of self loathing, bravado, angst and poetical romanticism. He is supported by a competent cast with Eryn Jean Norvill as Roxane, Yalin Ozucelik as Le Bret, Josh McConville as De Guiche, David Whitney as Ragueneau, Julia Zemiro as Roxane's nurse and veteran Australian actor, Bruce Spence appears as the drunkard Ligniere. Set design by STC's Alice Babidge is functional, imaginative and gives maximum focus in the performance  space to the actors. This is a professional and entertaining production to end the season.

Film Review - Gone Girl - Ben Affleck

L to R Rosamund Pike, Ben Affleck - Gone Girl

Directed by David Fincher, Gone Girl is in the mystery thriller film genre with the screenplay by Gillian Flynn (based on her book with the same title). Set in the State of Missouri in the Midwestern United States, the story follows the investigation of the disappearance of Amy Elliott Dunne (Rosamund Pike), who has vanished while her husband, Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) exhibits awkward behaviour with almost a total lack of knowledge about his wife's day-to-day life. As the plot line progresses, their marriage is revealed as having all but disintegrated with Nick becoming unfaithful and distant while Amy becomes increasingly alarmed and fearful of loss. With the discovery of Nick's affair with a young student, Amy becomes vengeful and plots his downfall through faking her own death with Nick taking the blame. But who is the greater sociopath, Nick or Amy ?  Much of the film examines the couple's dishonesty with each other as well as with the people in their lives with other topical issues such as the role of talk show media in public interest stories added to the plot. 

With a duration of 149 minutes screening time, this film is too long containing elements of unnecessary repetition which concise editing could have removed without losing the continuity and the intent of the narrative. The juxtaposition of different time periods within the chronological sequence while detailing steps in the plot also make the film appear disjointed. The characters of Nick Dunne and Amy Elliott-Dunne are neither likeable nor sympathetic and an audience would find little empathy for either. Rosamund Pike delivers her role expertly as Amy and to a degree eclipses Ben Affleck's performance as Nick. As a who-dunnit thriller it also loses the element of surprise as soon as the tactics and plot are uncovered. This is a film for the DVD rental rather than the cinema ticket.

Cirque du Soleil - Totem - Sydney Review 2014

Cirque du Soleil - Totem - Evolution

Cirque du Soleil have returned to Australia with one of their more recent touring  performance creations, 'Totem' written and directed by long term collaborator, Robert Lepage. On stage are 45 performers from 16 countries demonstrating the breathtaking range of circus arts and skills, unique, themed costumes and imaginative state-of-the-art technological set designs which have become synonymous with their brand. Totem's overall theme is described as being the evolution of humanity from the primordial, amphibian period towards the aspiration of flight taking many founding myths into the narrative.

Totem utilises the Grande Chapiteau which better captures the theme and atmosphere intended for the show rather than being staged indoor in a sporting arena.  The various acts are themed under 12 titles being: Evolution, Mutation, Seduction, Legende, Nature, Culture, Attraction, Passion, Science, Elegance, Innovation, concluding with Celebration. The various performances include a large tortoise carapace which doubles as a gymnastics apparatus; seven foot high unicycles with female performers juggling and balancing metal bowls on their heads; fixed trapeze duo with a couple performing movements high on the trapeze; a juggler (dressed as a scientist) rolling multiple LED lit balls in a giant glass cone; a couple in Amerindian costume twirling at high speed on roller skates on a circular drum. Cirque du Soleil's entertaining clowns are in full swing with a 'Sad Fisherman' and an 'Italian Tourist' providing humour between the high end performances. An amusing, recurrent skit involves performers costumed in the various stages of human evolution from ape to Cro-Magnon to Neanderthal chasing a business man in a suit holding a mobile phone around the stage.

Altogether an impressive range of circus arts are on display in Totem with bars, hoops, rings, foot juggling, hand juggling, handbalancing,  high trapeze, roller skates, object manipulation, Russian bars and the unicycles.

Cirque du Soleil compose their own music for each of their shows and have the musicians cleverly concealed behind large inflatable reeds on-stage for Totem. The quality of the music and sound effects compliments the performances and matches the use of powerful, interactive projection technologies used for this show (which includes moving images of swamps, starry nights, lakes, volcanoes, beaches and the natural environment). The 'scorpion' bridge which doubles as both a stage performance point and an exit/entry point for performers operates in three dimensions, extending, retracting and curling. This technical mastery of design by Cirque du Soleil's production staff together with the on stage performers demonstrate that this is a second-to-none class show.

G20 Brisbane Australia - Environment and Climate Change

The efforts of the Australian Government not to have climate change included as part of the G20 Brisbane meeting agenda or discussed in any prominent manner were ultimately futile.

The G20 Leaders Communique included at item 19, the following statement -

"We support strong and effective action to address climate change. Consistent with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its agreed outcomes, our actions will support  sustainable development, economic growth, and certainty for business and investment. We will work together to adopt successfully a protocol, another legal instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force under the UNFCCC that is applicable to all parties at the 21^st  Conference of the Parties (COP21) in Paris in 2015. We encourage parties that are ready to communicate their intended nationally determined contributions well in advance of COP21 (by the first quarter of 2015 for those parties ready to do so). We reaffirm our support for mobilising finance for adaptation and mitigation,such as the Green Climate Fund".

Sydney Theatre Company 2014 Season - Theatre Review - Switzerland

L to R Eamon Farren and Sarah Peirse - Switzerland

In association with the Geffen Theatre in Los Angeles, STC have included the premiere of a one act, two actor play 'Switzerland" in their 2014 season. Written by Australian playwright Joanna Murray-Smith as a commissioned work for Geffen, the play explores the fictional last days of the master crime writing novelist, Patricia Highsmith, as she spends her final hours at her home in Switzerland confronted by a mysterious protagonist claiming to be an agent for her publisher. Highsmith had enjoyed considerable success with her books, short stories and cinematic adaptations including the series with the character Tom Ripley (the best known title being The Talented Mr Ripley) but she was renowned for her macabre sense of humour, a fascination for psychological disorders and being in some respects just plain mean.

Murray-Smith has provided a superb script, building an original thriller with a disarming simplicity in the first few scenes but escalating the action with calculated contests of words and wits between the two protagonists to a final conclusion - worthy of the intellect and reputation of Highsmith herself. Sarah Peirse expertly portrays Patricia Highsmith in form and character while Eamon Farren deftly moves from being the mysterious visitor to later revealing he is actually her principal fictional character. Although American, Highsmith spent most of her life in Europe and considered Switzerland as her home, dying from cancer in 1995. Her literary archives are held in Bern.
 

Measuring the Impact of Climate Change - Australia's coastal communities

Academics and researchers from the University of Tasmania have provided a valuable online tool and resource for measuring the potential impact of climate change on coastal communities in Australia. The Coastal Climate Blueprint website brings together a range of information and factors (ocean temperature, marine hotspots, infrastructure) to provide a score for coastal towns vulnerable to climate change. The website also has a function to create  a tailor-made blueprint for local coastal towns comparing data from the local region with state and national averages.

The website can be reached through the hyperlink below:
Coastal Climate Blueprint

Pop to Popism - Art Gallery of NSW - Exhibition Review

The major Summer exhibition for the Art Gallery of NSW, Pop to Popism opened on the evening of Friday 31 October with the usual fanfare of copious amounts of alcohol, sporadic tray food and extensive crowd watching opportunities. The juxtaposition of Halloween parties occuring across the city and nearby added to the overall atmosphere of being at the Mad Hatters Tea Party  (with just as interesting an odd assortment of guests). Some of the fashion on display would have as readily been in place on the walls as on the floor.

The 73 artists represented in the exhibition are from a variety of different periods of time of the Pop period some very recent and many, not so. Predominantly the exhibition consists of colourful mounted wall works rather than sculptures, objects or other film/video installations which are often part of the 'Pop' genre or the wider Post-Modern period. The focus on consumerism as the central observation and social materialism is nonetheless well encompassed in the works. Past giants of this art form such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Gerhard Richter have measureable inclusions in the works selected with Gilbert & George, Cindy Sherman, Martha Rosler and Jeff Koons adding a more contemporary influence. The sizeable Australian contingent include the works of Brett Whiteley, Jenny Watson, Imants Tillers, Garry Shead, Martin Sharp, Gareth Sansom, Colin Lanceley and Vivienne Binns. The exhibition is an in-house one staged by the AGNSW rather than a touring collection and to that extent the historical survey of pop art is limited. It is a pleasant experience but not one which will startle the viewer.

Sculpture By the Sea 2014 - Sydney

We're Frying Out Here by Andrew Hankin

Sculpture By the Sea has returned for its' 18th year to the 2 km coastal walk from Tamarama Beach to Bondi with 109 exhibiting artists represented, 33 of whom are international. Since this free exhibition was created in 1997 by David Handley, it has gone from strength to strength drawing significant crowds during the two weeks of viewing. The international contingent this year are drawn from Japan, New Zealand, China, Sweden, South Korea, Argentina, Czech Republic,Denmark, United Kingdom, Finland, Germany, Spain, Hong Kong, Thailand and the United States. The exhibition has become so successful over the years that it has been expanded to other venues including Cottesloe Beach In Western Australia and Aarhus in Denmark. The selection this year was drawn from 480 submissions from artists both in Australia and around the world. The exhibition remains a unique event set on the picturesque coastline walk with vivid ocean backdrops to complement the many installations made of steel, wood, plastic, cement and other materials. The exhibition runs from 23 October-9 November 2014 and remains one of Sydney's most enjoyable outdoor arts festivals.

Save Our Souls: Cave Urban

Our Memory in Your Place: Byeong Doo Moon 

The website address can be found at this link: Sculpture by the Sea

For the future - what skills do you need ?

Source: Top10OnlineColleges.org

Sugar - sweet but deadly

Sugar cubes

As the year swings through the last quarter and onto the end of year Christmas and New Year festive celebrations (and considerable sweet indulgences), it's worth recalling the health impact of that most addictive crop, sugar. Spreading across the world since AD 500 originating first from New Guinea then moving into Asia and thence to the Middle East in the 15th Century, sugar has become a staple part of people's diets worldwide. As it has taken hold however, increasingly negative effects for overall health and well being have been uncovered. Sucrose or table sugar as it's known has two constituents in roughly equal parts, glucose and fructose with quite differing effects in the human body - where as glucose is metabolized throughout the body, in contrast fructose is processed mainly in the liver which, when there is a heavy intake of sugary products, produces fats termed triglycerides. These fats either remain in the liver and/or are pushed out through the blood stream with the resulting risks of obesity, hypertension, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. The introduction of High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) as a food additive has only added to the risks of intake as HFCS is 55% glucose. As the focus on fat levels in food gained momentum, manufacturers replaced fats with sugar simply switching one problem with another.

How much sugar is consumed by the average person ? In the United States, an individual consumes around 77 pounds (or 34.9 Kg) of added sugar annually with a similar measure for the United Kingdom. The solution, like most health related issues, is simple - reduce sugar intake from candies, sweets, cakes, pastries and soft drinks (a typical small soft drink has usually 10 teaspoons of sugar in it). The application of this solution is another story altogether.

Film Review: The Grand Budapest Hotel - Wes Anderson

(l to r) Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes and Tony Revolori

Written and directed by Wes Anderson (who also directed The Royal Tenenbaums and Moonrise Kingdom), The Grand Budapest Hotel is a bizarre, absurdest comedy set in the fictional European alpine state of the Republic of Zubrowska. The film was shot on location in Germany as a joint British-German co-production but the production was funded by German companies. While there are some CGI effects used, extensive scale models are often the preferred material for sets.

The storyline of the film is essentially a narrative told by the hotel's last owner and centred around the Grand Budapest's devoted concierge, Gustave (Ralph Fiennes). Set in 1932, these are the last glory days of the hotel but the concierge cares little as he attends to the needs of the wealthy clientele, manages his staff and courts various ageing blonde women who flock to the hotel. He imparts his knowledge and experience to a young understudy bellhop (Tony Revolori) who appears continuously goggle-eyed at the exploits of his master.

The stellar cast includes Ralph Fiennes, Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, F. Murray Abraham, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jude Law, Harvey Keitel, Owen Wilson, Bob Balaban, Jason Schwartzman, Jeff Goldblum, Edward Norton, Saoirse Ronan to name a few. This is a film for Wes Anderson fans with some wider appeal.

The changing composition of the world's oceans - acidification

The 12th meeting of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity is currently underway at Pyeongchang in South Korea (6-17 October, 2014). One of the research papers presented at the meeting has addressed the issue of ocean acidification. Acidification of the ocean, caused by increased level of absorption of carbon emissions, has often been cited and identified as major threat to the environment and marine life in particular. Increasingly the evidence of this serious threat to marine life has needed quantification which at last appears to have occured. The sea's acidity level has increased by over 26% during the past 200 years with impacts on corals, shellfish and other calcium-making organisms. The effect of acidification is most strongly felt by tropical coral reefs such as the Great Barrier Reef which is already exposed to warmer water. The impact extends beyond marine organisms and ecosystems but also to over 400 million people who depend on the ocean habitats for survival.

The link is below:

12th Meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity

Sydney Film Festival 2014 - Film Review - Of Horses and Men

Still from Of Horses and Men

Icelandic law prevents the importation of foreign horses into Iceland hence the special relationship between humans and this particular breed of Icelandic horse is the subject of a very quirky, dark humoured film by screenwriter and director, Benedikt Erlingsson.  This film is a series of vignettes against the background of a romance between two key characters, Solveig and Kolbeinn from a small village in the countryside of Iceland. Like many of the films from that part of the world, there are truly macabre scenes mixed into various parallel storyline throughout the duration of the film. In one sequence a man swims out into a coastal shipping lane on the back of his Icelandic pony to purchase illicit vodka from a large Russian fishing trawler. On his return to shore with his horse, he passes away from alcohol poisoning. In another scene, a farmer gives chase on his tractor to a trespassing neighbour (who is on horseback) but meets his demise after rolling his tractor down a steep hill. Periodically the film returns to the small, dour village chapel for the various funerals of bit part characters. Central to the film is the portrayal of humans and horses as having streaks of behaviour surprisingly similar to each other.

For those who enjoy quirky ironic humour, odd characters and the evocative landscape of Iceland, this film is a must see art-house pleasure. It is a well-paced feature with multiple unusual storylines and quality principal photography. An appreciation of small Icelandic ponies is also a pre-requisite.

Art & About Sydney - 2014

Art & About Sydney 2014 (19 Sept - 12 Oct) is in its' final week and once again has made impressive creative use of many of the city's outdoor spaces and a few indoor ones as well. The theme this year of 'endangered' is well captured and contextually positioned in the urban settings chosen for performances, art exhibitions, eye-catching installations and the ever-present use of banners. A favourite each year has been the photographic Sydney Life on the St James walkway of  Hyde Park North. This year the range of work has been expanded to encompass all of Australia represented by 22 large scale type C reproductions. Neon Nomads in Hyde Park South has a series of ti pees with visual images projected on their exteriors. For those who prefer some more vibrant action, Shaun Parker & Co present a dance routine with shopping trolleys in the Pitt Steet Mall, Martin Place or Customs House Square. It wouldn't be Spring in Sydney without Art & About.

Sydney Film Festival 2014 - Film Review - Wish I was here

Kate Hudson and Zach Branff in a still from "Wish I was here"

Wish I was here is an odd, quirky film produced, written and directed by Zach Branff who also acts in one of the lead roles. The film's production was funded through a Kickstarter campaign which is probably not surprising as it's difficult to see a commercial studio or indie film company taking up this story. A one man show it does appear in many respects with some very Jewish middle class angst underpinning the main story.  Branff's role is an actor named Aidan, aged in his thirties, largely unsuccessful and financially supported together with the rest of the family by his wife (Kate Hudson) in a tedious office job. When Aidan's father announces he is seriously ill and can no longer support the expensive education of Aidan's two children in an exclusive Jewish school, Aidan decides to homeschool them. Mixed in the family relationships is Aidan's reclusive brother (Josh Gadd) who prefers to attend Comic-Con conventions dressed as a spaceman than engaging with their ailing father.

The storyline and plotting for this film are annoyingly introverted and the hapless Aidan seems to stumble his way through the film in an almost slapstick manner which is conveniently wound-up nicely at the end. A small almost cameo appearance is made by Jim Parsons (from CBS television's The Big Bang Theory) who also plays a struggling actor trying to secure a break in the acting industry. Wait for the DVD or Blu-Ray edition for this film.

Sydney Film Festival 2014 - Film Review - Fell

Matt Nable in a still - Fell

Over the past twenty years Australian films have achieved a hard earned reputation for excellent production values but often with dark, depressing storylines and exceptional, emotionally damaged main characters - mostly seeking redemption or closure. Fell, the debut feature film for Australian director Kasimir Burgess falls within this genre. The storyline follows Thomas, (Matt Nable) whose young daughter, Lara is killed by a logging truck in a hit-and-run accident while the two of them are camping in a forest. The driver of the truck, Chris (Dan Henshall) is sent to prison but the grief stricken Thomas quietly sheds his urban life and moves to the remote town near where Lara was killed. Re-establishing himself with a new identity he moves to an isolated ruined cabin in the forest and finds work for the same logging company that employed Chris. When Chris is released from prison and returns to logging, Thomas connives to be his partner in high tree-logging work seemingly bent on revenge.

This is a film with strong atmospherics centred around the forest with minimal dialogue between the characters. The actors are well cast, centred on the two main male characters however there is excessive images of Thomas' brooding face and forest scenery. While the slow moving tension is built through the plot, it eventuates into nothing leaving the audience with an unresolved inconclusive result.

Sydney Film Festival 2014 - Film Review - Boyhood

(L to R) Ellar Coltrane, Ethan Hawke, Lorelei Linklater

Boyhood has been described by reviewers as a "groundbreaking cinematic experience" and ".. a singular film that will be watched and admired for years to come..". Precisely why someone, having seen it screened once would revisit it again is something of a mystery. Director Richard Linklater shot this film in small parts over a ten period to depict the 12 years in the life of an American family. He used the same cast members for the roles of the children (Ellar Coltrane and Lorelei Linklater) and their parents (Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette) to ensure authenticity given the passage of time. The intention is to faithfully depict the joys, sadnesses, mistakes and changing relationships for a family and to share those experiences with the audience.

The character of Mason is so annoying and opaque in the film that the old Victorian adage of 'children should be seen and not heard' would not be out of place. As the central character of the film, he is no more lovable at the beginning than at the end in the final scenes. Patricia Arquette's character drifts between relationships while the character portrayed by Ethan Hawke moves from an unstable day-to-day existence to one of more certainty. The only consistency in the film is the absolute dedication of the parents to their children. Boyhood is more of an experiment in film-making technique and method, beyond which it does not merit further attention.

Sydney Film Festival 2014 - Film Review - The Tale of Princess Kaguya

Princess Kaguya with her attendants

The Tale of Princess Kaguya is an exquisite animation mixing simple watercolour and coal drawings with soft hues, delicate lines, and minimalist storybook imagery. The masterpiece of 78-year-old Isao Takahata, co-founder of the renowned Studio Ghibli, this film once again demonstrates the supremacy of Japanese animation in this art form and fable-telling, often overlooked due to the populist anime genre. The story is based on the 10th Century folklore story 'The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter' and follows the life of a mysterious golden princess discovered as a baby by a woodcutter within a random bamboo shoot. Kaguya, as she is named, revels in the natural beauty of the world around her in the isolated wood where she is raised by the woodcutter and his wife. The woodcutter is again gifted by the bamboo with an abundance of gold and fine silks which he interprets as being a sign of Kaguya's 'divine royalty'. With this wealth her adoptive parents proceed to transform her into a princess and provide the life for which they feel she is destined. Many suitors including the Emperor himself try to win Kaguya's hand but she is interested in none of them, thinking only of her childhood sweetheart back in the woods.

Princess Kaguya's time on Earth is limited and in her despondency she sings to the Moon and thus summons the celestial host of which she is a part realising only too late that her attachment to Earth and her adoptive parents is strong. Alas on the fifteenth night of the lunar month, the celestial delegation descends from the Moon to collect her. The Tale of Princess Kaguya has a moral lesson which transcends time, culture and society and is effectively portrayed in a emotionally evocative animation.

Sydney Film Festival 2014 - Film Review - In Order of Disappearance

Shoot-out at the snowplow shed - In Order of Disappearance

Scandinavian films, particularly from Norway, Sweden and Denmark often use satire, irony and unpredictable extreme violence to great effect in dark humoured storylines leaving audiences unsure as to whether to laugh or be shocked. Thus it is with In Order of Disappearance from Director Hans Petter Moland, a film which moves a fast pace with drastic results. The storyline follows Nils, (Stellan Skarsgard) who runs a snowplough through the mountain roads of Norway in Winter and his quest to avenge the murder of his son by drug dealers. Nils uncovers the trail of his son's murderers leading to the vegan drug-gangster 'The Count' and along the way various members of the Count's gang are dispatched by Nils by different creative methods with the advantage of heavy machinery and beginners luck. Unaware of Nil's quest, The Count assumes the other local crime group run by the Serbian mafia are responsible and a turf war breaks out between the two groups until it becomes obvious that another party is involved. Bruno Ganz is 'Papa', head of the Serbian mafia, Pål Sverre Hagen is hilarious as 'The Count' and together with Nils form the three protagonists in the plot. A film for those who appreciate Norwegian humour.

Sydney Film Festival 2014 - Film Review - Begin Again - Keira Knightly

Keira Knightly (guitar) Mark Ruffalo (headphones) Begin Again

As far as a feel good, light, fluffy film, Begin Again falls within that category of story and genre. Is it a music drama film or a music comedy film ? At various times it could be either or neither. Or perhaps it's just meant to showcase Keira Knightly's ability as a singer with an acoustic guitar. Screenwriter and director John Carney has provided the perfect 'lost souls find direction with each other' theme with this story: Gretta (Knightly) has flown to New York with her songwriting partner and boyfriend Dave (Adam Levine) when a major label offers him a contract. Soon after he abandons her for the trappings of fame and a friend convinces Gretta to do a live performance in a small down market music bar. Enter disgraced record executive Dan (Ruffalo) who, down on his luck, happens to chance upon her in the bar and is captivated by her musical ability.  With his music industry contacts, Dan manages to record a demo album with Gretta in the open air which embraces New York's sounds and environment. The two of them rediscover their direction through the experience. If nothing else this film demonstrates that Keira Knightly has quite a lovely melodic singing voice.

Sydney Film Festival 2014 - Film Review - Snowpiercer

The front of train and engine compartment in Snowpiercer

Snowpiercer is a Sci Fi film with a strong social critique built into its theme whilst maintaining a high level of violence which often characterises South Korean films. Director Bong Joon-Ho (who also directed the monster movie The Host) has delivered a visually impacting film with an experienced cast including Tilda Swinton, John Hurt, Chris Evans, Jamie Bell, Ed Harris, Octavia Spencer and Song Kang-Ho. The storyline concerns the last refuge of humanity following an experiment to halt global warming which plunges the world  into a new ice age. The sole survivors on Earth are crammed into a giant multi-level train known as Snowpiercer which perpetually circumnavigates the globe with the poor located in the back of the train while the wealthy live in splendour in the front compartments and carriages. After many years the poor stage a rebellion to take control of the train and share the resources.  As they battle their way forward through various compartments, there are a number of quirky images and social observations which come to light (a carriage with a night club with stoned patrons, while another has a sushi bar are some of the sights).

The film is in multi language format, mainly English but with Korean, Japanese and French using English subtitles. The use of high end CGI is impressive and with extensive sets and a large cast, the film has high production values. It is a quirky film with a mix of images that seem reminiscent of Mad Max, The Road, Soylent Green, and various other end-of-world films and books. This is a film which is more of an acquired taste rather than an immediate winner.

Sydney Film Festival 2014 - Film Review - Calvary

Brendan Gleeson as Father James - Calvary

Calvary can best be described as a dark film and represents a departure from many of Brendan Gleeson's most recent roles. Director John Michael McDonagh who also directed the brilliant black humoured film, The Guard, which also had Brendan Gleeson in the lead role, has taken a decidedly different approach with this story. Gleeson's role is as Father James, a Catholic priest, who is threatened with death during confession by one of his parishioners, a victim of sexual abuse as a child. The would-be assassin has decided the only method to address this matter is to kill an innocent priest and he gives Father James one week to get his personal matters in order. The timeline of the week is followed in linear fashion as Father James confronts the motley collection of villagers, each of whom may have a reason to assassinate him. During this time, Father James must also reconcile with his own adult daughter who has suffered from drug addiction but is now seeking to rebalance her life.

Described as a 'twisted humorous journey' or 'blackly comic drama', this film is quite stark and is closer to brazen satire than humour with a devastating conclusion.

Sydney Film Festival 2014 - Film Review - The Lunchbox

Irrfan Khan - The Lunchbox

Director Ritesh Bantra has had a major success with his indie film, The Lunchbox which mixes romance and food together in the context of Mumbai's remarkable lunchbox delivery system. Only one in four million home-cooked meals which are transported via a multi-person courier system are believed to be incorrectly delivered. For this film, the one wayward meal links a housewife, seeking to impress her husband, with a widowed office worker in the insurance industry on the verge of retirement. Ila, the young housewife (Nimrat Kaur), is trying to use her cooking to reach out to her emotionally distant husband and inadvertently her delicious meals are delivered to the solitary, disillusioned office worker Saajan (Irrfan Khan) which triggers correspondence between the two via the lunchbox. This creates a rich fantasy for them both and an appraisal of their respective lives. The film also delivers an array of social observation on class, caste and social standing in Indian society.

For those who often find Indian films either too long or Bollywood soap-operish in style, The Lunchbox is a welcome departure and a delight to watch. Well paced with masterful acting by its lead actors, the story transcends different nationalities and cultures.

Sydney Film Festival 2014 - Film Review - Words and Pictures

Juliette Binoche and Clive Owen - Words And Pictures

Veteran Australian film director, Fred Schepisi has returned to the screen with his latest work being a romantic drama with well established actors Juliette Binoche and Clive Owen in the two lead roles. The story is set in an elite private school and teacher Jack Marcus (Clive Owen) is faced with compound challenges - writer's block, developing alcoholism and poor work relations with his fellow teachers have led to a review of his position at the school. Into this situation comes new art teacher Dina Delsanto (Juliette Binoche) who suffering from chronic arthritis is unable to paint. The two teachers commence a rivalry and war over which is more powerful, pictures or words and the school and its students are drawn into the contest. As the competition between the two evolves, so does their romantic entanglement with the resulting complexity leaving the two damaged artists with little option but to confront their fears. This is a standard romance/protagonist plot with predictable developments and rather stereotypical characterisations and, surprisingly very average fare for director Schepisi.

In terms of characterisation, Owen's character, Jack Marcus is irritating and to a large degree creates a distraction in the plotline of the story. Binoche's Dina is brittle but more measured and is closer to the mark. Words and Pictures will ultimately fall into the recesses of Fred Schepisi's back catalogue of work.

Sydney Film Festival 2014 - Film Review - 20,000 Days on Earth - Nick Cave

Nick Cave - 20,000 Days on Earth

Fans of Nick Cave's music and performances will enjoy this partial staged, highly stylised and scripted documentary from film-makers and artists, Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard. The film is set to the narration of Cave himself and includes visits to his archive, a revealing session with his therapist and a variety of conversations with his friends and collaborators including Ray Winstone, Blixa Bargeld, Warren Ellis and Kylie Minogue.  The film also includes footage taken when Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds performed live at the Sydney Opera House demonstrating the high level of audience devotion which Cave and his creativity have inspired. This is a film for Nick Cave devotees and serious documentary viewers will find Forsyth and Pollard's use of reenactment, Cave's over introspective manner and the odd use of Cave being a driver when talking to any of his friends and collaborators (while they are sitting in the back seat of his car as passengers) as artificially staged. It is nonetheless an entertaining art film rather than documentary and provides an insight into Cave and his work both as a musician and wider ranging sound artist.

Sydney Film Festival 2014 - Film Review - The Rover

Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson in a still from The Rover

Screenwriter and director David Michod in collaboration with Guy Pearce has brought to the screen a new dark and violent film, The Rover which depicts Australia 10 years after economic collapse and in a state of lawlessness and disorder. Michod, best known for winning the 2010 World Cinema Jury Prize at Sundance for Animal Kingdom, has created a particularly bleak image of a country being exploited for its' natural resources (the mines are still operating and large ore trains with Chinese characters stencilled on the rolling stock can been seen moving across the desolate landscape) and life is cheap. 

The film plot is centred on a man named Eric (Guy Pearce) whose car has been stolen by a gang and the film is essentially a road movie as Eric blasts his way across towns in search of the gang and his car. Along the way he forms an unlikely alliance with Rey (Robert Pattinson) the younger brother of the gang leader who was left behind after being wounded. They finally ambush the gang with deadly consequences.

Shot in South Australia with unusual lighting effects, this film is simple and quite thin in structure relying on high level violence and shootings with close-ups of Guy Pearce looking rugged. Robert Pattinson is exceptionally good as the unbalanced Rey (and far removed from his Twilight days) however a Dirty Harry meets Mad Max nexus, this film is not despite the Director's vision. During Q & A at the SFF, David Michod admitted that he wrote the screenplay for this film during the period following the GFC and the abandonment of a carbon tax by then Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd. His perspective was formed by these negative events. Clearly the film reflects this fact and is a one dimensional effort at best.

Sydney Film Festival 4-15 June 2014

The Sydney Film Festival (SFF) for 2014 is well underway across multiple screens in five venues (State, Dendy Opera Quays, Event Cinemas and the Cremorne Orpheum) with the talks and industry forums held at the Hub at Sydney Town Hall (which also features a well-patronised bar). Dovetailing on the Vivid Festival, the SFF presents a wide diversity of genre of film from across the world. Often film-makers pick up a certain theme in their work from the previous few years of work before bringing the finished product to the screen however at this year's SFF, a common perspective or sentiment is hard to detect perhaps reflecting the uncertainty across the globe at present.