MINOTAUR – ★★★

I’m guessing I’ll be in the minority with this, but while the film wasn’t bad, I guess I was hoping for more. Perhaps seeing this film showing an unethical man the day after seeing the documentary “Silenced” made me less tolerant towards selfishness, or using bureaucratic systems as a weapon against others. And that was all around in this film, not only on the screen, but the selfish person who thought bringing a young child to the session and letting them make noise for extended periods, as well as the asshole who was rightfully annoyed, but decided to yell at the parent in an unkind way, telling them to leave.
Back to the film… Basically, it centres around a father whose wife is cheating on him, and who is far more focused on his business than his family. An unethical man, in an unethical system. He is given instructions to nominate 14 of his employees to be drafted into the state’s war machine (a parallel to the story of Greek mythology where 14 sacrifices are to be chosen), and comes up with an unethical plan to avoid it impacting him, and that’s not to mention how he handles the family issues.

SILENCED – ★★★★

This excellent documentary had its Victorian premiere last night. Very highly recommended, and important to watch. It covered the tendency of women who suffer from violence, and then the ordeal placed upon them when they are hauled through litigation used as a weapon against them, and how social media plays a part in turning the public’s opinions regardless of facts. The bravery of the women to come forward, then having to relive the experiences again, be ridiculed and publicly judged is incredible. So too are the filmmakers who likely had to weave through much additional legal process to avoid being subjected to defamation claims themselves. I additionally liked the international perspective offered, showing that this is something that seems to happen everywhere. Important viewing, and I strongly suggest watching it. 

HEN – ★★★★

Pretty incredibly made film about a chicken. The filmmakers have done an excellent job portraying the life and adventures of a chicken born in a factory, but who through a series of events finds itself out in the wider world. There were a few minor flaws, but I was happy to overlook them. Will definitely be looking into how they achieved this – I’m guessing it would be impossible without some help by CGI and/or generative AI. (Addition: I just checked and WOW, no CGI or AI, apparently! An incredible achievement)

DIGBY & CAMILLE – ★★★

A sweet enough documentary about two thirty-something Sydney-siders who are both people with Down syndrome. They’ve been dating for several years. They want to get married, but there are concerns about their ability to live autonomously. I liked that it showed their obvious love for each other but also some of the matters that complicate the situation. I did feel like the filmmaker possibly was too close to the subjects, and could potentially have explored a little more into the dynamics around the parents’ concerns, as well as some external opinions around the difficulty navigating the rights of the couple as adults, while also addressing the potential needs for ensuring that they are able to live quality lives.

THE TALE OF SILYAN – ★★★★

A very well-made documentary about an ageing farmer in North Macedonia, showing the joys of everyday life and family, as well as the struggles in a more modern world to make ends meet. It’s paralleled with the story of Silyan, a young man who, when cursed by his father for wanting to leave his village, is turned into a stork. Similarly, as the farmer loses his family to the increasing calls of emigration abroad for economic opportunities, he rescues and cares for a stork. Plenty of lovely moments in this, and some incredible footage.

ROSE – ★★★★☆

By no means a feel-good film, this has been the highlight of my festival so far. A black-and-white film, excellent acting, and a compelling story set in the 17th century about a woman who, after presenting herself as a man to fight as a soldier in the Thirty Years’ War, went on to claim land by adopting the identity of one of her fallen comrades. Moving and recommended, especially if you’ve liked Sandra Hüller’s previous work, or the black-and-white films of Pawel Pawlikowski such as Cold War and Ida.

PRESSURE – ★★☆

Sometimes when watching films at home, and the script is predictable enough that we can predict what the characters will say or do, we’ll call it out and, when right, give each other a high-five. If this film about the preparation of the Normandy D-Day invasion was watched at home, we’d likely have had sore hands. Brendan Fraser’s talent was wasted here. It was nice for a change to recognise a small cog in the operation (being meteorologists) as opposed to war heroes of a more typical nature, but I felt this was Hollywood-ised just a bit too much.

EXTRA GEOGRAPHY – ★★★

Nothing particularly wrong with this British film set in an exclusive girls’ boarding school, but I’ve probably seen enough coming-of-age films around high school-age girls with their cliques and power dynamics. If you enjoyed films like Booksmart, Heathers, Mean Girls, etc. (none of which I disliked), then perhaps this will offer something to you. 

Summer Tour – ★★☆

It was a day of documentaries, and this was the weakest of the three. A missed opportunity and an interesting enough premise; following around a couple of young deadheads (Grateful Dead fans) as they drove their van around America. I felt like they could have dug a little deeper, spent more time exploring the history of this community, and less time having us watch the central subjects dancing by spinning, spinning, spinning, spinning. A strange juxtaposition of people who mainly were about being good to others, yet seemed totally okay with sneaking into shows without buying tickets.

The Cycle of Love – ★★★☆

Interesting documentary about what happens when you’re young, fall in love, and decide to bicycle your way from India to Sweden to do something about it. Likely the biggest “Will they, won’t they?” of the festival. I’m guessing it was for dramatic effect, but it did feel like they weren’t telling the audience the full side of the woman’s tale.

Once Upon a Time in Harlem – ★★★☆

An important watch, enlightening, often entertaining, and mostly interesting. This is a documentary made 50 years after footage was shot in the 1970s at Duke Ellington’s home in Harlem, where many of those who were part of the Harlem Renaissance of the early decades of the 1900s came together for an afternoon to discuss the times and the results of it. Like spending an afternoon at a family gathering of an older generation, there was laughter, as well as disagreement, and if anything, it shows that for the advances of humanity, some things don’t change.