Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Paul Dano Stars: Carey Mulligan, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ed Oxenbould, Bill Camp. The opening night film for the Melbourne International Film Festival this year was Wildlife, a small coming of age drama which marks the directorial debut for Paul Dano, an actor better known for playing troubled and eccentric characters in films like Little Miss Sunshine and Prisoners, etc. Wildlife marks an auspicious directorial debut. Set in Montana in the 1960s this is a coming of age drama about the Brinson family and the disintegration of their Continue reading
WAJIB
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Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Annemarie Jacir Stars: Mohammad Bakri, Saleh Bakri, Maria Zreik. Wajib translates as “duty”. But duty has different meanings for different people – there is duty to one’s family. To parents, to your country. This gentle and low key but insightful drama is the third feature film for Palestinian born filmmaker Annemarie Jacir (When I Saw You, etc), and this multi-award winning film was Palestine’s official entry into the Best Foreign Language Film for the 2018 Oscars. The film is set in Nazareth, an Israeli town which features a Continue reading
WAYNE
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Reviewed by GREG KING Documentary Director: Jeremy Sims. This well made, well-researched and entertaining documentary traces the life of Australia’s motor cycle racing world champion Wayne Gardner from his humble beginnings in the Sydney suburb of Woollongong through to his rise to the top of his sport. It is a tale of ambition, speed, dangerous risks, adversity, success and love. Gardner was born in the working-class town of Woollongong, and, inspired by the classic movie On Any Sunday, from an early age he felt the need for speed. “I just wanted to go Continue reading
WEST OF SUNSHINE
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Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Jason Raftopoulos Stars: Damian Hill, Ty Perham, Arthur Angel, Tony Nikolakopoulos, Faye Smythe, Kat Stewart, Kaarin Fairfax. This low budget, rough around the edges Melbourne-shot drama is an exploration of a troubled father/son dynamic shot through with a terrific sense of realism. The film follows the plight of Jim (Damian Hill), an inveterate and hapless gambler with a self-destructive streak who is trying to pay of a $15000 loan to a ruthless loan shark (Tony Nikolakopoulos). He has until five o’clock to pay off the debt Continue reading
