Sydney Film Festival 2016 - Film Review - Goldstone

Jay Swan (Aaron Pedersen) in Goldstone

Australian director and screenwriter, Ivan Sen brings his indigenous detective character, Jay Swan back to the screen in this full feature set in a small mining town of Goldstone in the Australian Outback. Swan (Aaron Pedersen) a flawed but ultimately determined police officer is sent to Goldstone in search of missing Chinese girl. As his inquiries proceed he finds himself being warned off by the local Mayor (Jacki Weaver), the mining boss (David Wenham), the local Aboriginal Land Council Chairman (Tom E Lewis) and his motel room is blasted by gunfire. The sole young local police officer, Josh (Alex Russell) also seems to be part of the network however Swan is uncertain how far the influence extends. The full gamut of tactful persuasion is at play in Goldstone - corruption, politics, corporate greed, the environment and Aboriginal mythology. The stage is set for a shoot-out between law enforcers and law breakers in the finale of the film.

The well established cast handles the suspenseful and later action-packed script expertly with Jackie Weaver and David Wenham particularly effective, respectively as the villianous town Mayor and mining boss. Veteran Aboriginal actor, David Gulpilil, adds an authenticity to the connection to land aspect of the film and the mythology underpinning Aboriginal belief. Ivan Sen has made full use of the endless sun, extensive panorama and the stark landscape of outback Queensland to establish the picture frame in which the action proceeds.

Sydney Film Festival 2016 - Film Review - Land of Mine

Land of Mine - German conscripts await their fate

Land of Mine written and directed by Martin Zandvliet approaches a well worn period with a fresh, absolutely compelling approach. Based on extraordinary true events, at the end of World War II a group of conscripted, teenaged German soldiers are sent to work by the Danish Army to disarm hidden landmines placed on beach along the Danish coast during the Nazi occupation.  Under the strict, unrelenting supervision of Danish paratroop Sergeant Rasmussen (Roland Møller), the young soldiers are faced with clearing thousands of mines, some booby trapped. Rasmussen's initial lack of sympathy for his young prisoners changes as his recognition of the true horror of the situation grows and the body count climbs when the mines accidentally detonate.  

Of the original dozen young soldiers who arrive at the beach to clear the mines, only four survive to return home after completing their task and only then through the direct intervention of Rasmussen, who drives them to the Danish-German border to escape. The Danish Officers in charge of the overall operation using the prisoners-of-war had other ideas.

Lead actors, Roland Møller (as Danish Sergeant Carl Rasmussen) and Mikkel Følsgaard (as German Lieutenant Ebbe) bring intensity to their roles as key protagonists under Zandvliet's direction. Shot on location in Denmark on the actual beaches and coastal installations from the period, the heartbreaking elements of this film resonate over time.

Sydney Film Festival 2016 - Film Review - Weiner

Anthony Weiner and his wife Huma Abedin face the media - Weiner

Former seven term Congressman, Anthony Weiner's failed campaign to become Mayor of New York in 2013 is the subject of this documentary by Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg. Weiner had infamously been forced to resign from Congress after posting a sexually explicit picture of himself via Twitter. In 2013 he sought to stage a political career comeback but as the documentary filming proceeded, his campaign fell apart as further sexting evidence came to light and Weiner's previous statements were considered by the media to be false and deceptive.

Weiner's wife, Huma Abedin is a long term senior staffer for Hillary Clinton and her calm measured manner, increasingly frustrated with her husband, contrasts strongly with Weiner's often combative public style. Weiner never committed any crime or indictable offence but his greatest mistake was to misrepresent and deny his behaviour to the media and the public. As the media targetted him, often with absurd and bizarre questions, his defence became ever more desperate. In the Democratic primary for Mayor of New York he achieves less than 5% of the vote.

For those with an interest in media management, political campaign documentaries and politics in general, this documentary is a must-see.  The film won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.

Sydney Film Festival 2016 - Film Review - Elvis & Nixon

Kevin Spacey & Michael Shannon - Elvis & Nixon

On December 21, 1970 Elvis Presley met with President Richard Nixon at the White House. This very cleverly scripted feature film, directed by Liza Johnson, imagines the conversation between these two very famous and famously odd men.

The plotline of the film follows the request from Elvis to meet with President Nixon so that he can propose his appointment as a special 'Federal agent-at-large' to fight drugs and protect America. Nixon is less than interested in having a meeting with the actor/singer ("Whose fxxxxxx idea was this ?) but is brought around to the idea by his advisers who see the public relations value of the meeting. What transpires is at times both bizarre yet believable as the two men discuss their ideas. It's a win-win for both parties - Nixon obtains his PR moment and an autographed picture of Elvis for his daughter and Elvis is sworn-in as an agent-at-large.

Kevin Spacey captures Nixon's style and persona perfectly while Michael Shannon revels in the well documented, yet excruciatingly, polite eccentricities of 'The King'. The supporting cast includes Alex Petty as the long suffering Elvis friend and aide, Jerry Schilling with Colin Hanks and Even Peters as Nixon's advisers, Egil Krogh and Dwight Chapin who form the negotiating team.

Elvis & Nixon is a deftly made, quirky and idiosyncratic film, which captures the essential characteristics of the two men. The film is strongly reliant on the superb performances of Spacey and Shannon without whom, the overall tenor of the film would be flat. The end credits conclude with the most publicly requested image from the US National Archives - the picture of Elvis with Nixon.

Sydney Film Festival 2016 - Film Review - Certain Women

Michelle Williams as Gina in Certain Women

Director Kelly Reinhardt's use of American landscapes and narratives of the road are once again on display with the three short interconnected stories of Certain Women deftly set within the stark,  wintry landscape of  Montana. Reinhardt is an skilled exponent of the use of concise, atmospheric storytelling which, when matched with the acting skills of Laura Dern, Kristen Stewart and Michelle Williams, brings deep emotion and meaning often with minimal dialogue required. 

Based on the short stories of Maile Meloy, the film commences with Attorney, Laura (Laura Dern)  managing a despondent, injured client (Jared Harris) who is trying to have his workers' compensation settlement reopened. The situation rapidly deteriorates into a hostage crisis which is peacefully resolved with Laura's assistance.  The second story revolves around Gina (Michelle Williams) who has her heart set on acquiring a pile of old sandstone blocks on an elderly neighbour's property for their new house which is under construction. Gina's husband is a nondescript, passive character who consistently fails to support his wife in managing their rebellious teenage daughter or acquiring the sandstone blocks. The third story focuses on a young ranch hand (Lily Gladstone) who forms an attachment to a young lawyer (Kristen Stewart) who comes to town each  week to teach an adult education legal course. The three stories are subtly interlinked but the viewer could easily miss where the connection occurs.

The three leads are well cast in the different generational points of the film - Laura Dern is a veteran in the film industry and effectively brings a world weary persona to the role of long suffering small town lawyer. Michelle Williams has gone from strength to strength as an actress and her representation as the quietly determined Gina is impressive while Kristen Stewart's plain, unadorned young lawyer is a good contrast to her period on the Twilight series. This is very much a female film focussed on the female characters but cannot be categorised as 'chick lit'.

McKinsey Survey shows geostrategic risks are higher than ever

The latest results from the McKinsey Global Survey on globalisation provides further reinforcement on the negative impact of disruption on the global economy over the next five years. The cross continent survey shows that senior executives now expect potential disruptions to be be very severe with the largest number of respondents  ever recorded holding negative views - greater than in the wake of the global financial crisis in 2010 ( as shown above). 

While responses varied by industry with uncertain or restrictive regulatory environment being most often cited, political and social instability was the second most cited concern.  Perhaps the most startling information revealed was the almost complete lack of preparedness for dealing with geopolitical and political risks. Despite more than two-thirds of executives reporting their organisations saw these risks as important, less than 13 percent were able to cite their organisation as having taken any steps to address the risks. What steps were taken were generally ad hoc internal analyses as events occured (43%) while a very small number (18%) integrated comprehensive scenario methodologies into their strategic planning process.

If Government thinks the private sector is ready to deal with a crisis, this report which covers global business should dispel any such illusion. McKinsey provides common -sense advice to assist executives to manage such events: identify the trends and disruptions that are specific to their organisations; assess the potential impact of risks across a range of scenarios; develop initiatives to mitigate the risks or capture opportunities; establish a decision-making process that prioritises initiatives. Seems like sound advice.

Fugitive Methane emissions from mines - US experience

Methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases has increasingly been detected in larger volumes in many countries than would be considered to be the normal background level, based on progressive leaching from the ground and from under the sea floor. From where is it originating and in what quantities and levels ?  Part of the answer lies in research undertaken in Los Angeles and with the recent incident in the Aliso Canyon in California.

Methane is the main component of natural gas and is abundant across the planet hence mining and storage could be the most likely culprits for the increase of this gas. In a study published this year, more than a third of  Los Angeles methane emissions were from an unidentified sources and were classified as fugitive fossil emissions. Identification and tracking of 213 methane hotspots in the Los Angeles Basin revealed that 75% were of fossil origin, 20% were biogenic and 5% of indeterminate source.

The Aliso Canyon incident arose when residents in nearby towns reported smelling gas and Southern California Gas Company launched an investigation discovering a leak coming from a natural gas storage facility that had started its life almost 70 years ago as an oil well. By the time the leak was plugged, 107,000 tons of methane and 8,000 tons of ethane had been released into the atmosphere - the equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions from half a million cars over 16 weeks.  There are literally hundreds of similar sites including disused or abandoned mines and oil wells across not only the United States but Russia as well.