MIFF : Little Sparrows movie review

Little Sparrows is the story of a mother’s love and how her children ultimately grow up to lead their own lives.
The mother, Susan (Nicola Bartlett) is dying from second stage cancer. She only has months to live and makes plans to “die in her own way.” Her estranged husband James (James Hagan) comes home to live as she organises one last Christmas to share with her 3 daughters and their families.
The action of the film centres around the lives of the three daughters and the decisions they make. The emotional highlights of the film is when each daughter has a conversation with their mother, alone, in the hospital ward. Susan gives each daughter some advice, her unconditional love and ultimately closure so that they can move on with the next stage of their lives.

MIFF : Blame movie review

It was a pleasure to attend the premiere of Australia’s newest film, Blame.
The Australian film industry has been accused over many years of green lighting films that “no one wants to see”. It is noteworthy therefore that a greater batch of Aussie films in recent years demonstrate that a film’s potential audience is considered at the concept stage and not as an afterthought. Likewise, the limitations of budget were addressed by having a small cast at a fixed location allowing for minimisation of cost without compromising the entertainment of the story, similar in that regard to last year’s Van Diemans Land.
Blame is part of a recent canon of young adult thriller/horror genre films. MIFF alumni The Loved Ones and Acolytes come immediately to mind.

MIFF : The Tree movie review

The Tree, a French / Australian co-production, tells the story of a family coming to terms with its grief, set in a rural Queensland town.
Husband Peter suffers a heart attack on his way home from a job behind the wheel of his ute. This occurs at the top of the drive of his family home which he shares with his wife Dawn (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and four children. The ute gently rolls down the hill and comes to rest by the trunk of the enormous Moreton Bay Fig that towers over the house.
The tree in a way is the spiritual centre for the family.

MIFF : Winter's Bone movie review

Similarly bleak in premise, Winter’s Bone likewise follows the story of a family without a father, while eldest daughter (17 year old) Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) cares for her ill mother and two younger siblings.
Set in the Ozark mountain range of Missouri, Ree is the embodiment of the capable and independent spirit of the best of its inhabitants. Her self reliance allows her to chop wood, hunt squirrel and deer, and make measured decisions regarding the well being of her family.

MIFF 2010 Begins!

My workmates are in a buzz. I’m off to see a film over lunchtime. It’s the first day of MIFF and the sun is shining.
Inside the ACMI theatre, the back four rows are filling up. Cineastes are settling in for their first taste of the new festival and everyone is relaxed and chatting amiably.
Japanese pop music plays from the speakers until the lights dim. The rows of school children that have been bussed in for the event, hush.
MIFF’s advertising campaign this year is “It’s a matter of taste” and the lead trailer is a back alley scrap between an oversized popcorn and choc-top. The children laugh appreciatively which probably means the campaign is a winner.
Settle back in the seat. Roll credits. Let the festival begin!