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.