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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 25 June 2024

52-year-old New Zealand actress Rachel House has made a career out of creating funny, distinctive characters.  Some of her best work has been under the guidance of Oscar winning writer-director Taika Waititi with supporting roles in Eagle vs Shark, Boy and Thor: Ragnarok.  My favourite House performance was in Hunt for the Wilderpeople where she played a darkly comedic social worker who, as part of a manhunt, channelled Tommy Lee Jones’s character in The Fugitive.

Having spent decades in front of the camera, The Mountain provides an opportunity for House to stand behind the camera as director for the first time.  Writer Tom Furniss (7 Days) created the initial script with House injecting a dose of Māori culture to craft something closer to her own values.  If you’re wondering about the title, much of the 4-week shoot took place at Mount Taranaki, the second highest mountain on New Zealand’s North Island.

In the same vein as American films like Five Feet Apart and The Fault in Our Stars, The Mountain is a story about young people dealing with terminal illnesses.  Sam (Atkinson) is an 11-year-old battling cancer who is tired of being cooped up in hospital.  Aided by a fellow patient, she escapes one morning and goes on a mountain hiking expedition to learn more about herself and the world.  Along the way she meets two other kids, of similar age, who tag along as they flee problems of their own.

The Mountain isn’t offering a huge deal.  It’s a short, 89-minute feature with a few silly laughs and a few moments of genuine drama.  The three child leads, who had no prior acting experience, struggle to deliver their lines with authenticity and conviction (it does feel over-scripted).  The better material has been saved for the quirky adult characters (the parents) but their screentime is limited as the children’s formulaic coming-of-age adventures are the focus,

I warmed to the film more in the second half as the kids head deeper into the mountain range and develop closer friendships.  House weaves Māori legends into the narrative which are mildly interesting… but she struggles to use them in a way which leaves an emotional footprint.  I wasn’t always convinced the characters believed in their own journey and the end goal.  The script also needed more drama.

Showcasing New Zealand’s beautiful landscapes (it’s such a great part of the world to be filming), The Mountain is a simplistic offering for families over the current school holidays.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 17 June 2024

In a recent interview, Danish director Nikolaj Arcel listed Lawrence of Arabia as one of his all-time favourite films.  He loves its epic nature in terms of cast, scale, complexity, and runtime (227 minutes).  The Promised Land isn’t quite as ambitious but it’s easy to see why he was attracted to Ida Jessen’s 2022 novel upon which the script is based.  It’s a sweeping historical drama set in rural Denmark during the 18^th Century.

The central protagonist is Captain Ludvig Kahlen (Mikkelsen), a retired military man who forged a successful career despite a relatively poor upbringing.  He has obtained permission from the King to create a potato farm on the expansive Jutland Heath, a remote part of Denmark considered unfarmable.  Many have tried and given-up before him but if Kahlen succeeds, he’s been promised a noble title, a manor, and a handful of servants.

While most believe he’ll fail anyway because of the immense challenge and lack of funds, there’s one heinous individual who wants to make certain of it.  The wealthy Frederik Schinkel (Bennebjerg) informally rules this part of Denmark and enjoys flexing his power at any opportunity.  He sees Kahlen’s activities as a threat in that, if fruitful, it will bring more inhabitants to the area and undermine his authoritarian control.  With endless wealth and people at his disposal, Schinkel will be an extremely tough adversary for Kahlen to defeat.

Shot on a relatively low budget (at least compared to a regular Hollywood movie), The Promised Land is an effective drama which generates interest in the period while also telling a worthy good versus evil tale.  Denmark’s top exports are pharmaceuticals, machinery and oil… but actor Mads Mikkelsen can’t be too far behind given his impressive international resume.  He’s best known for blockbusters like Casino Royale, Doctor Strange, and Fantastic Beasts but he’s also been involved with a bunch of memorable Danish productions including A Royal Affair, The Hunt, and Another Round.

Able to play the hero, the villain, or a combination of both, Mikkelsen again illustrates his versatility in The Promised Land.  He portrays Kahlen as a character who is likeable because of his determination and underdog status, while also being flawed because of poor decision making and a blunt rudeness which rubs people up the wrong way.  It’s a great performance.  Simon Bennebjerg is less nuanced as Schinkel but does exactly what the material asks of him – create a detestable scumbag who audiences want to see defeated.

Doing a great job in capturing the barren, windy landscape and backed by a distinct music score from American composer Dan Romer (Beasts of the Southern Wild), The Promised Land is another admirable project to come from Denmark.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 24 June 2024

Withholding information from the audience to build intrigue is an age-old cinematic technique which sometimes works… and sometimes doesn’t.  A Silence, a French flick from director Joachim Lafosse (Private Lessons), is an example of the later.  It begins with an out-of-sequence scene in a police station and then slips back a few weeks to chronicle the events leading up.  It’s a slow burn with the three-person writing team waiting a solid hour before revealing the film’s true premise.  I was unsold on the approach as it become a silly “mystery” as opposed to an intricate drama exploring the seriousness of certain issues.

I’d like to talk about the “issues” but as they are revealed so late in the movie, I’ll be cryptic and describe this as a family drama.  The perspectives change throughout but the focus is on three key characters.  François (Auteuil) is a high-profile lawyer who loves the media spotlight and works on cases involving abused children.  Astrid (Devos) is his loyal, long-term wife who knows damaging secrets about her husband but keeps quiet to protect the family and her way of life.  Raphaël (Galoux) is their adopted teenage son going through a rebellious streak which includes skipping school.

The film has 90+ minutes to explore these three individuals but sadly, the time is wasted on unnecessary scenes which add little (such as those involving a pack of journalists parked outside the family home).  The material leaves a lot of unanswered questions, and I didn’t know much more about the character’s mindset at the end as I did at the beginning.  The dialogue between them all is trivial and aside from a probing police interrogation in the final act, it lacks the tension and drama to engage audiences (and get them thinking afterwards).  The closing scene is another disappointing weak spot.

Stars Daniel Auteuil (Jean de Florette) and Emmanuelle Devos (Kings and Queen) are two acclaimed French actors (they’ve each won two César Awards) but the screenplay doesn’t allow them to showcase their talents.  Perhaps I should have expected it given the title, but the film needed less “silence” and more direct confrontation between their respective characters. 

Loosely based on a true story, A Silence tackles an important subject matter but barely scratches the surface.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 13 June 2024

I started reviewing movies in 1996 and not once in the past 28 years has my favourite of a particular year received a sequel.  The closest was an award-winning musical adaptation of Billy Elliot (my top release of 2000) which premiered in London’s West End in 2005.  The streak now ends with the release of Inside Out 2, a sequel to the much-loved Pixar film which won the Academy Award for best animated feature.  It was my favourite movie of 2015 (edging out Selma and Mad Max: Fury Road).

If new to the material, Inside Out took us inside the mind of a vibrant, impressionable 11-year-old girl and the array of emotions and memories which reside therein.  It was funny, creative, and rich in detail.  Inside Out 2 picks up the story two years later.  Riley (voiced by Kensington Tallman) is a hockey-loving, braces-wearing teenager who is top of her class at school.  She has a strong “sense of self” and is looking forward to hanging with her two best friends at hockey camp as the summer holidays kick off.

The five emotions in Riley’s head (Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust) have things under control until they wake up early one morning and find a giant red light flashing on the “emotions dashboard”.  It signals the arrival of puberty and with it, a range of new emotions rock up to take control – Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment and Ennui (a specialist in sarcastic boredom).  These fresh feelings have good intentions but it’s not long before they’re upending Riley’s world and disrupting her relationships with friends and family.

You could argue it lacks as much originality as the 2015 movie but Inside Out 2 is still a terrific film to be enjoyed by people of all ages.  It’s the kind of movie you could watch as a teenager, enjoy immensely, and then appreciate it at a different level when watching again ten years later.  It clearly explores the complexity of human emotions, utilising both comedy and drama, and leaves you with something to chat about.  It’s remarkable how many cute, memorable characters are created inside of 96 minutes (a particular shout-out goes to Anxiety and Pouchy).

The production values are excellent.  Kelsey Mann, making her feature film debut, continues the great work of Pete Docter (who made the first movie) in crafting a fantasy world which is both fun and interesting.  I speak of everything from the simple sounds of rattling memory balls… to the detailed depiction of the hard-working “imagination team”.  There are also some great individual scenes such as a fast-paced moment where the emotions closely scrutinise body language as Riley talks with friends in the back seat of her parents’ car.

Engaging from start to finish (the time flies by), Inside Out 2 is a worthy sequel which, according to my own emotions, deserves a strong recommendation!

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 17 June 2024

Given it’s such a niche job, it’s remarkable that two movies about music conductors have been nominated at the Academy Awards for best picture in the last two years.  Tár featured a brilliant lead performance from Australian Cate Blanchett, while Maestro saw writer-director Bradley Cooper step into the shoes on the ionic Leonard Bernstein.  Both films, worth checking out if you’ve haven’t already, highlighted the creative highs and ego-driven lows that can exist within the profession.

Divertimento hasn’t received the same award-winning acclaim but for those interested in feel-good true story, it will have serious appeal.  It tells the true story of Zahia Ziouani, a French-Algerian woman from a modest background who, guided by her parents, developed a love for classical music as a teenager.  She yearned to be an orchestra conductor, but many scoffed at her ambitious because the industry was dominated by those who were old and male.

There’s a happy end to this story but with a few bumps along the way.  I won’t say too much more and let audiences enjoy this film.  It’s a little over-dramatized in places but writer-director Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar does a nice job in capturing Ziouani’s talent, passion, and ambition.  Lead actor Oulaya Amamra had no prior classical music training prior to making the film but, in being coached by the real Ziouani during the shoot, she’s created a character who is convincing and likeable.  You really do want her to succeed.

Divertimento premiered in Australia back in March as part of the French Film Festival and I was fortunate to host a Q&A session with Zahia Ziouani and her cellist-playing sister, Fettouma, as part of the program.  In being kind, modest, and full of wonderful anecdotes, they’ve me a greater appreciation of the movie and their inspiring upbringing.  They couldn’t give too much away but they will have a role to play in the cultural activities connected with the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

For those who missed Divertimento at the French Film Festival, it’s now getting a release in select cinemas across the country.  If you’re after a nice tale with great young actors and weighty music, it’s an ideal choice.