Top 10 films
The Age
Saturday September 26, 2009
VAN DIEMEN'S LAND (102 mins) MAA terrific, haunting tale of desperation. In his feature debut director Jonathan auf der Heide explores the story of Alexander Pearce (Oscar Redding, above), deported to Van Diemen's Land in 1820, who escaped into the wilderness with a group of fellow convicts. Faced with starvation, members of the group resorted to unthinkable measures to survive. Despite the horrific nature of what takes place, this is a contemplative, lyrical film, directed with great assurance. Selected. PHSERAPHINE (120 mins) GIt is 30 minutes before it is made clear what animates Seraphine (Yolande Moreau), a self-contained rural Frenchwoman who ekes out a living as a cleaner. Her passion is painting works inspired by the natural world and her own religious fervour. When a German critic and dealer comes across one of her paintings, he is immediately convinced of her gifts. A thoughtful, beautifully observed biographical portrait exploring art and its complex gifts and burdens. Selected. PHENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD (100 mins) GDirector Werner Herzog promises his Antarctica journey will not be another documentary about penguins. Instead he gives us people at loose ends, who have fallen to the edge of the world", experts and dreamers. There are creatures straight out of a 1950s sci-fi comic; ice chimneys on the edge of a volcano; and comical exercises at survival school. Nova. PHMID-AUGUST LUNCH(75 mins) PGA tale of offhand charm. Gianni, a man in his 50s (played by the film's director, Gianni di Gregorio) is responsible for looking after not only his elderly mother but also during a holiday weekend, when most Romans are out of town three more women of similar age. Italian Film Festival, Saturday 8.15pm, Kino. PHLOOKING FOR ERIC(117 mins) MAThe life of postman Eric (Steve Evets) turns around when he begins an imaginary friendship with Manchester United soccer legend Eric Cantona. Funny, moving, uncharacteristically positive and with his trademark dashes of social realism, this is the closest director Ken Loach has come to making a beautiful film. Select. JSARTHUR AND CORINNE CANTRILL'S THREE COLOUR FILMS (75 mins) Unrated.Two of the greatest living Australian filmmakers open a window onto the fourth dimension in these entrancing works, which superimpose the same scene shot through different coloured filters. Saturday, 4pm. ACMI, All tickets $8. JWTHE MAGICIAN (85 mins) MA.Scott Ryan's blackly droll mockumentary on the relationship between a surprisingly chatty hitman (Ryan) and his fanboy sidekick (Massimiliano Andrighetto). Part of a Focus On Australian Noir. Saturday, 7pm. ACMI, JWCINE ABSTRACTS(82 mins) Unrated.Avant-garde cinema seems to be making a comeback in Melbourne. This program highlights the recent work of Richard Tuohy, who uses in-camera photographic techniques to explore natural and artificial landscapes. Part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival. Saturday, 8pm. 658 Plenty Road, Preston, all tickets $5. The Back door JWWAKE IN FRIGHT (114 mins) MBack on the big screen for the first time in decades, this 1971 Gothic nightmare from the Canadian director Ted Kotcheff remains the definitive portrayal of outback Australia as a hell on earth. Saturday, 8pm.Astor Theatre JWSOME LIKE IT HOT (119 mins) PGAttitudes to sexuality may have shifted, but Billy Wilder's comedy about a pair of musicians (Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis) forced to masquerade as women is possibly even funnier today. Co-stars Marilyn Monroe. Sunday, 4.30pm. Follows The Apartment (1960) at 2pm. Astor Theatre JWFILM QUOTE OF THE WEEK "Daddy, they're leaving. They got bored." Eddie Murphy's on-screen daughter cogently summarises the worldwide reception of his latest family friendly clunker Imagine That.
Β© 2009 The Age
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