Sydney Film Festival 2015
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- DirectorBrendan CowellStarsPatrick BrammallAlex DimitriadesAbbey LeeRuben Guthrie is the story of one man not only battling the bottle, but the city that won't let him put it down.SFF#01: RUBEN GUTHRIE. Let's watch a film about alcoholism, then proceed to the afterparty and drink as much as possible. It seemed like such a good idea last night ...
- DirectorJayro BustamanteStarsMaría Mercedes CoroyMaría TelónManuel AntúnOn the slopes of an active volcano in Guatemala, a marriage is arranged for seventeen-year-old María by her Kaqchikel parents.SFF#02: VOLCANO. A young woman causes endless trouble for her family in this slow-paced, understated drama from Guatemala.
- DirectorXavier BeauvoisStarsBenoît PoelvoordeRoschdy ZemSéli GmachTwo friends decide to steal Charlie Chaplin's body, right after his death, for ransom.SFF#03: THE PRICE OF FAME. The bizarre true story of hapless thieves who dig up Charlie Chaplin's grave and hold his remains for ransom should have been told as a quirky black comedy, not a depressing, overlong drama.
- DirectorAbel FerraraStarsWillem DafoeNinetto DavoliRiccardo ScamarcioA kaleidoscopic look at the last day of Italian filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini in 1975.SFF#04: PASOLINI. Willem Dafoe plays Pier Paolo Pasolini in Abel Ferrara's look at the bleak life and violent death of a glorified pornographer.
- DirectorPeter BogdanovichStarsImogen PootsOwen WilsonJennifer AnistonOn the set of a playwright's new project, a love triangle forms between his wife, her ex-lover and the call-girl-turned-actress cast in the production.SFF#05: SHE'S FUNNY THAT WAY. Peter Bogdanovich returns to the director's chair with a comedy about a call girl and a stage director. Imogen Poots, Owen Wilson, Rhys Ifans and Jennifer Aniston are all terrific in this delightful bed-hopping, face-slapping farce.
- DirectorJohn MacleanStarsKodi Smit-McPheeCaren PistoriusAorere PakiA young Scottish man travels across America in pursuit of the woman he loves, attracting the attention of an outlaw who is willing to serve as a guide.SFF#06: SLOW WEST. Brilliantly written and directed, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Michael Fassbender star in this first-rate Western.
- DirectorSimon StoneStarsGeoffrey RushNicholas HopeSam NeillThe story follows a man who returns home to discover a long-buried family secret, and whose attempts to put things right threaten the lives of those he left home years before.SFF#07: THE DAUGHTER. Slow-paced Australian drama with fine performances really builds tension.
- DirectorAndrew BujalskiStarsGuy PearceCobie SmuldersKevin CorriganTwo mismatched personal trainers' lives are upended by the actions of a new, wealthy client.SFF#08: RESULTS. Godfather of Mumblecore, Andrew Bujalski, is given the chance to make something more mainstream and the result is a real disappointment. Guy Pearce plays a personal trainer who is strong of body but weak of mind, Cobie Smulders is easy on the eye but utterly obnoxious and Kevin Corrigan is a rich, annoying fool. Never judge a film by its trailer, folks.
- DirectorRamin BahraniStarsAndrew GarfieldMichael ShannonLaura DernA recently unemployed single father struggles to get back his foreclosed home by working for the real estate broker who is the source of his frustration.SFF#09: 99 HOMES. Michael Shannon plays a greedy real estate broker who evicts families from their homes. After being evicted, Andrew Garfield becomes his reluctant protégé. This smart drama questions right, wrong and everything in-between.
- DirectorKim FarrantStarsNicole KidmanJoseph FiennesHugo WeavingA family's dull life in a rural outback town is rocked after their two teenage children disappear into the desert, sparking disturbing rumors of their past.SFF#10: STRANGERLAND. Nicole Kidman and Joseph Fiennes play a married couple whose children disappear in the Australian Outback, Hugo Weaving is the policeman who must track them down. Excellent performances, fine photography and a script that needed a helluva lot more work.
- DirectorKris ReyStarsCobie SmuldersAnders HolmGail BeanAn inner-city high school teacher discovers she is pregnant at the same time as one of her most promising students and the two develop an unlikely friendship while struggling to navigate their unexpected pregnancies.SFF#11: UNEXPECTED. An unlikely friendship develops between a pregnant teacher and a pregnant student in this gentle, self-conscious and all too politically correct film. Cobie Smulders manages to turn her bitch factor down slightly from last night's RESULTS, while the real character to like is played by Gail Bean, the student who's got it together a lot more than her teacher. Shame it wasn't written with her character at the centre.
- DirectorBill CondonStarsIan McKellenLaura LinneyHiroyuki SanadaAn aged, retired Sherlock Holmes deals with dementia, as he tries to remember his final case, and a mysterious woman, whose memory haunts him. He also befriends a fan, the young son of his housekeeper, who wants him to work again.SFF#12: MR. HOLMES. Ian McKellan plays a frail and forgetful Sherlock Holmes who, on his last case, is helped by a young boy. Three separate stories are smartly interwoven in this sad and beautiful film.
- DirectorJeremy SimsStarsMichael CatonNingali LawfordMark Coles SmithWhen Rex, a Broken Hill cab driver, is told he doesn't have long to live, he sets out on an epic journey to Darwin in a bid to die on his own terms.SFF#13: LAST CAB TO DARWIN. Michael Caton plays a terminally ill cab driver on his way to Darwin to end his life. 'If euthanasia were legal in Broken Hill, there'd be none of us bastards left!' Jeremy Sims and Regg Cribb step out of the Transperth train carriage and into the Outback in a film that tackles a difficult subject with the perfect balance of comedy and drama. Perth audiences will have the chance to see this fine film on the Opening Night of the Revelation Film Festival, July 2.
- DirectorThomas SalvadorStarsThomas SalvadorVimala PonsYoussef HajdiVincent is a quiet, unassuming man. Who happens to have superhuman powers when exposed to water. He lives a life that keeps him away from others for the most part. Then he meets a girl. Then his powers are discovered. And his life changes.SFF#14: VINCENT. Vincent is a quiet and unassuming Frenchman on dry land. In the water, he has extraordinary powers. Thomas Salvador writes, directs and stars in a superhero film that's told with absolute minimalism.
- DirectorMaya NewellStarsEbonyGrahamGusGAYBY BABY follows the lives of four kids - Gus, Ebony, Matt and Graham - whose parents all happen to be gay. As they each wrestle with personal change, the outside world wrestles with the issue of marriage equality, and whether or not kids of same-sex families are at risk.SFF#15 (and my 101st feature this year): GAYBY BABY. Eight years ago, I met Australian filmmaker Maya Newell when she screened her haunting documentary, RICHARD, at the Revelation Film Festival. Her latest film is a portrait of four Sydney families with same sex parents, told from the points of view of the children. We meet a wrestling fanatic, an aspiring singer, a boy with trouble reading, a football fan coming to terms with God - and their respective parents who love them. There's many great moments in this documentary, including one where a boy gets into a passionate argument with his mother over why he shouldn't be in the school debating team. Maya has crafted an upbeat, thoroughly entertaining and important film that deserves to be seen far and wide.
- DirectorHanna PolakStarsYulaHanna PolakTen-year-old Yula has but one dream: to lead a normal life. For 14 years, Hanna Polak follows Yula as she grows up in the forbidden territory of Svalka, the garbage dump located 13 miles from the Kremlin in Putin's Russia.SFF#16: SOMETHING BETTER TO COME. Ten-year-old Yula lives in a garbage dump just outside Moscow. With hundreds of others, she faces hunger, cold, disease, abuse and the danger of being crushed by tractors. Polish documentary director Hanna Polak follows Yula for fourteen years, as she struggles to escape.
- DirectorJennifer PeedomStarsRussell BriceTim MedvetzPasang Tenzing SherpaIn 2014, director Jennifer Peedom was working on a documentary about the Sherpas of Mount Everest when the largest avalanche in recent history occurred on the mountain, killing 16 Sherpas.SFF#17: SHERPA. Every year, hundreds of tourists pay tens of thousands of dollars to climb Mount Everest. The local Sherpas work as guides, carrying tents, furniture, television sets and other supplies up the mountain in dangerous conditions to make the trek more comfortable for the tourists. In 2014, Australian director Jennifer Peedom was shooting a documentary there when tragedy struck. This film looks at the politics of what happened next.
- DirectorCrystal MoselleStarsMukunda AnguloNarayana AnguloSusanne AnguloConfined in an apartment from a New York housing project, the six Angulo brothers learned everything they know about the world through watching films and spend their time reenacting their favorite movies with intricate homemade costumes.SFF#18: THE WOLFPACK. The Documentary Grand Jury Prize Winner at this year's Sundance is a real-life version of the Greek film, DOGTOOTH. Seven children were locked up in their New York apartment by their parents and taught to fear the world. The long-haired siblings found escape by watching thousands of films and re-enacting scenes from them with elaborate, home-made props. Documentary director Crystal Moselle was the first ever guest in their house. While her film is not quite as interesting as it sounds, seeing the children finally assert themselves, cut their hair, change their clothes, stand up against their disgusting, oppressive father and venture out into the world is quite satisfying indeed.
- DirectorBill PohladStarsJohn CusackPaul DanoElizabeth BanksIn the 60s, Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson struggles with emerging psychosis as he attempts to craft his avant-garde pop masterpiece. In the 80s, he's a broken, confused man under the 24-hour watch of shady therapist, Dr. Eugene Landy.SFF#19: LOVE & MERCY. John Cusack is Beach Boys star Brian Wilson, Elizabeth Banks plays the woman trying to rescue him from his controlling therapist. Fans of the music will find this serviceable drama less plodding.
- DirectorGabriel RipsteinStarsTim RothKristyan FerrerMónica Del CarmenArnulfo Rubio smuggles weapons for a deadly Mexican cartel. ATF agent Hank Harris attempts to apprehend him, but gets kidnapped by Rubio, instead. Rubio takes him to his bosses, but during the 600-mile-long drive, they slowly befriend.SFF#20: 600 MILES. Tim Roth becomes a hostage to a young gangster wannabe in this subdued but violent drama that has no shortage of loose ends.
- DirectorMichael Beach NicholsChristopher K. WalkerStarsRyan SchockHeather CookLee CookWhen a noted white supremacist moves into their town, the residents of Leith, North Dakota do what they can to prevent him from taking control of the municipality.SFF#21: WELCOME TO LEITH. White Supremacists move into a small town in North Dakota and arm themselves to the teeth. What could possibly go wrong?
- DirectorMatthew HeinemanStarsTim FoleyJosé Manuel 'El Doctor' MirelesPaco ValenciaFilmmaker Matthew Heineman examines the state of the ongoing drug problem along the U.S.-Mexican border.SFF#22: CARTEL LAND. Director Matthew Heineman risked life and limb to make this graphic documentary about vigilante groups on both sides of the U.S.-Mexican border.
- DirectorMichael WinterbottomStarsRussell BrandGeraint AndersonBrigitte BardotA look at the growing disparity between different economic classes.SFF#23: THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES. Russell Brand teams up with Michael Winterbottom to take on corporate greed. Brand, who admits to being in the top 1%, uses his charm and wit to question why his government shows little regard for the disadvantaged while allowing billion-dollar corporations to hide earnings offshore. What I feared could have been a 100-minute, mad rant is mostly quite good, with Errol Morris-inspired music and Michael Moore-inspired stunts.
- DirectorFrancesco MunziStarsMarco LeonardiPeppino MazzottaFabrizio FerracaneThe story of three brothers, the sons of a shepherd, close to the ndrangheta and of their divided soul.SFF#24: BLACK SOULS. A young man becomes part of his family's unlawful dealings in this Italian crime drama that moves at the speed of a glacier. Seems these mobsters kill you with boredom, not bullets.
- DirectorHong Sang-sooStarsRyô KaseMoon So-riSeo Young-hwaKwon returns to Seoul from the mountains and is given a packet of letters from Mori back from Japan to propose to her. Kwon drops and scatters the undated letters. She reads them and has to make sense of the chronology - and so must we?SFF#25: HILL OF FREEDOM. Korean directors have made many fine films. Unfortunately, this is not one of them. Poor performances, film student-level photography, unintended humour and dialogue that seemed like it was written by a five-year-old resulted in a large number of walkouts from the State Theatre. The film becomes slightly more bearable when you look at it as an Asian version of THE ROOM.
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsHaruka AyaseMasami NagasawaKahoThree sisters who live in their grandmother's home invite their thirteen-year-old half sister, whom they have just met, to join them.SFF#26: OUR LITTLE SISTER. Nope. Not even Hirokazu Koreeda can save today's lousy line-up of films. His latest family drama lacks the tension of NOBODY KNOWS, the charm of STILL WALKING, the direction of I WISH and the emotion of LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON. This one is just too gentle.
- DirectorSebastian SchipperStarsLaia CostaFrederick LauFranz RogowskiA young Spanish woman who has recently moved to Berlin finds her flirtation with a local guy turn potentially deadly as their night out with his friends reveals a dangerous secret.SFF#27: VICTORIA. This film is a remarkable achievement. Victoria is a young woman who meets a group of men at a Berlin nightclub and very quickly becomes caught up in an armed robbery. Forget BIRDMAN. This 140-minute film really was done entirely in one shot and never falters. Has to be seen to be believed.
- DirectorJoshua OppenheimerStarsAdi RukunM.Y. BasrunVolker HanischA family that survived the genocide in Indonesia confronts the men who killed one of their brothers.SFF#28: THE LOOK OF SILENCE. Joshua Oppenheimer's follow-up to his 2012 documentary, THE ACT OF KILLING, is just as confronting. This time, he centres his film on the brother of one of the victims and has him unflinchingly confront the murderers.
- DirectorGillian ArmstrongStarsAnn RothJane FondaMarc EliotA documentary about the life of the Australian costume designer and three time Oscar winner Orry-Kelly.SFF#29: WOMEN HE'S UNDRESSED. Gillian Armstrong's latest documentary looks at three-time Academy Award-winning costume designer, Orry-Kelly. Born in Australia, he worked on hundreds of Hollywood films, including CASABLANCA, GYPSY and SOME LIKE IT HOT. Armstrong pieces together his life using interviews with those who knew him and interviews with actors playing those who have passed.
- DirectorGuy MyhillStarsLiam WalpolePaul PopplewellSienna GuilloryA long hot summer in rural Norfolk and a rough coming of age for Goob Taylor, fighting with brutal, womanizing stock car racer Gene Womack for his mother's attention, and falling for the exotic charms of a pretty foreign field worker.SFF#30: THE GOOB. Goob has just finished school and lacks direction. Unfortunately, so too does this bleak, gritty, drama from the U.K. Cool trailer though.
- DirectorKirby DickStarsAndrea PinoAnnie ClarkClaire PotterAn exposé of rape crimes on U.S. college campuses, their institutional cover-ups, and the devastating toll they take on students and their families.SFF#31: THE HUNTING GROUND. The statistics are alarming, the attitudes of the university administrations even more so. Filmmakers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering take a detailed look at the widespread problem of sexual assault on campuses across the United States, why it continues and what activists are doing in response.
- DirectorThomas VinterbergStarsCarey MulliganMatthias SchoenaertsMichael SheenIn Victorian England, the independent and headstrong Bathsheba Everdene attracts three very different suitors: Gabriel Oak, a sheep farmer; Frank Troy, a reckless Sergeant; and William Boldwood, a prosperous and mature bachelor.SFF#32: FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD. Carey Mulligan plays a headstrong farmer involved with three very different men in Thomas Vinterberg's adaptation of the Thomas Hardy novel. The lush photography and fine performances go a long way to hiding what is really Nineteenth Century soap. Special mention goes to the hapless patrons who triggered the emergency lighting, which shone directly into the audience's eyes for the first hour of the film, and the Event Cinema staff who were either unable or unwilling to shut it off.
- DirectorOgnjen SvilicicStarsEmir HadzihafizbegovicJasna ZalicaHrvoje VladisavljevicAfter their son has been beaten up in the street, parents find their world of false security collapsing and have to re-examine their lives and question everything into what they believed.SFF#33: THESE ARE THE RULES. In this drama from Croatia, a middle-aged husband and wife face a horrific ordeal with their teenage son. Their response, however, is so restrained, it's almost comic.
- DirectorAlfonso Gomez-RejonStarsThomas MannRJ CylerOlivia CookeHigh schooler Greg, who spends most of his time making parodies of classic movies with his co-worker Earl, finds his outlook forever altered after befriending a classmate who has just been diagnosed with cancer.SFF#34: ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL. I really wanted to like this year's Sundance Grand Jury Prize Winner but the emotion of the film was hampered by childish jokes, gimmicky camerawork and endless references to other films that quickly tire. There is one scene told in an extended, locked off shot that is quite memorable. The rest may have more appeal to younger audiences, if they can pull themselves away from YouTube clips and watch a feature.