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Little Miss Sunshine

Review by © Jane Freebury Dysfunctional families are a dime a dozen on screen nowadays. Then, just when you think the movies have milked all they can from…

The Devil Wears Prada

Review by © Jane Freebury There are some delicious put-downs lines in this movie, but you have to listen closely to hear them. They’re mostly spoken sotto voce…

Macbeth

Review by Jane Freebury The stories behind the infamous gangland murders in Melbourne are worth a movie or two in their own right and hardly need the overlay…

Kenny

Review by Jane Freebury Shit happens. Kenny and his crew know all about that, because their jobs depend on it. Kenny (Shane Jacobson) half-heartedly tries to pass himself…

Jindabyne

Review by Jane Freebury It would be interesting to see what director Ray Lawrence could do with a genre thriller, because he is a master of suspense. The…

Interview With Writer/Director Deepa Mehta

Credits include Water; Earth; Fire; and Midnight’s Children Over the phone her voice came across as authoritative, warm and good-humoured during our interview earlier this month. It was…

The Proposition

Review by Jane Freebury It’s said that one of the reasons Hollywood has snapped up Australian cinematographers to shoot movies like Dances with Wolves, Chicago and Cold Mountain,…

Last Days

Review by © Jane Freebury Clambering through leafy woods and taking a dip in a mountain stream is not what you’d expect a drug addled rock star to…

Little Fish

Review by Jane Freebury Little Fish heralds the very welcome return of two talented Aussies to the big screen in a fine Australian film. Cate Blanchett needs no…

The Beat My Heart Skipped

Review by © Jane Freebury The world of real estate doesn’t seem to lend itself to cinema particularly, though it worked well enough for Glengarry Glen Ross, and…

The Oyster Farmer

Review by Jane Freebury The last time I remember being on the Hawkesbury River in an Australian movie was afloat in that fantastic glass church, the centrepiece in…

2046

Review by © Jane Freebury The year 2046 is the last of the ‘50 years without change’ that China promised Hong Kong from 1997. It’s also the number…

Downfall

Review by © Jane Freebury The face of actor Bruno Ganz, his gentle, impish features transformed by the intensity of performance in this portrayal of one of the…

Head-On

Review by © Jane Freebury Experiencing this striking new movie from Turkish-German director Fatih Akin is like colliding with an artist’s pent-up fury and frustration. And it is…

Million Dollar Baby

Review by Jane Freebury Million Dollar Baby sounds more like a romantic romp, a battle of the sexes, or a doco about IVF than a drama about a…

The Motorcycle Diaries

Review by © Jane Freebury In the middle of last century, two young Argentinians set out on a journey of discovery to explore the South American continent. It…

Garden State

Review by © Jane Freebury Every once in a while a feature comes along that signals a fresh, new creative voice that makes filmmaking look effortlessly fluent and…

The President Versus David Hicks

Review by Jane Freebury Since this remarkable documentary on David Hicks was completed, the young Adelaide man who needs no introduction has finally met with his father Terry,…

Interview With Writer/Director Cate Shortland

Credits include Somersault and Lore By the time this piece goes to print, there won’t be anybody left who doesn’t know that film director Cate Shortland, in her…

Fahrenheit 9/11

Review by © Jane Freebury The deliberations of the jury at the Cannes film festival this year aren’t on public record, but it’s hard to imagine how Fahrenheit…