John Cale co-founded The Velvet Underground with Lou Reed.Well, that should be reason enough to want to see him, but if not...He's worked with such luminaries as Brian Eno, Terry Riley and Kevin Ayers, appeared on Nick Drake's beautiful Bryter Layter and participated in the first ever performance of Erik Satie's 18 hour piano piece Vexations. He produced the following iconic and brilliant albums: Horses for Patti Smith (Horses, goddamnit!), The Modern Lovers' debut record, The Stooges self-titled debut, and fellow Velvet Underground bandmate Nico's The Marble Index, Desertshore and The End. Just to name a few little accomplishments.As a solo artist, Cale has the traits of a wanderer, picking up new instruments here and there, and experimenting with genres that may have seemed like odd choices at the time, but looking back his work has a kind of cohesiveness, an ebb and flow of pattern and talent with a love of drone. While still a student in London, he organised an early Fluxus concert he titled A Little Festival of New Music in 1963. Later he played in famed avant garde composer La Monte Young's Theater of Eternal Music, and while he still delves into pop (the titular single from 1973's solo record Paris 1919 is a real pop masterpiece, see below), there's always an element straying from the path.John Cale will perform as a guest of the Sydney Festival, live in concert with his band, supported by Sydney's own Jack Ladder. He will also present the Keynote Address for Circa 1979: Signal to Noise. https://youtube.com/watch?v=_3ueIweuUvo
Much has been celebrated about the post punk and new wave scenes of New York, LA and London, but what of Australia? The exhibition Circa 1979: Signal to Noise, presented by Modular Records with the Sydney Festival, seeks to address this by uncovering and sharing information about the experimental local arts scene of 1979-1985. A time period when the avant garde, early electronica and "little band" scene was simmering in warehouses, crumbling estates and being pressed onto small editions of vinyl to released by new independent labels. With the growing interest in this scene, as evidenced by the Can't Stop It: Australian Post Punk compilations released by Chapter Records and a sell-out cinema program with a similar slant in 2009's Melbourne International Film Festival, it's high time we take a look at the creative movement in a panel and gallery setting. Particularly at a point in local underground culture in which many of the venues and small labels that support the modern-day counterparts to this scene are closing down around us. It's not just history but a contemporary call-to-arms. Before we delve into this extraordinary piece of local history, the inimitable John Cale will present the Keynote Address at the opening party (tickets $30), discussing his own experiences during the late 70s and early 80s in the endlessly interesting New York art and music world, his work with Andy Warhol and his time in the Velvet Underground and as a solo musician. John Cale also performs in concert at the Enmore Theatre as part of the Sydney Festival. The first of its kind, an exhibition of historical ephemera including fanzines, album art, photography and previously unseen films will be on display at the Seymour Centre. Alongside this curated work, Circa 1979 brings together influential figures to discuss their experiences and look at the legacy, over a series of three free panel sessions on January 16th, all at Seymour's Everest Theatre. Session 1: World Domination - The Australian Post Punk Movement 12pm. Moderator: Marty Wirth Presenter: Julian Knowles Panelists: Michael Tee, Jaimie Leonarder, Roger Grierson, Andrew Penhallow, Clinton Walker Session 2: Postmodern vs. Modern debate on Remixing and Recycling 1:30pm. Moderator: Marty Wirth Presenter: Tom Ellard Panelists: Steve Malinder, Julian Knowles, Phil Turnbull, Ross Harley Session 3: Experimental Film & Video 3pm Host: Jaimie Leonarder Presenters: Jaimie Leonarder, Ross Hartley, Ian Andrews, Tom Ellard, Stephen Jones Image: Voigt 465 https://youtube.com/watch?v=KofUP7jPkMc
How is it that a band can form in 1984 and still sound as fresh and invigorating two and a half decades later? What's more, Yo La Tengo just keep getting more interesting as time, records and tours pass by. Let's all applaud the news then, shall we, that Yo La Tengo return to Sydney in February — a dreamy alterna-rock chaser to the glut of the summer music season. No strangers to these shores, in Sydney they've played in-store acoustic gigs, numerous shows at the Metro, Q&A's at the Chauvel, and made truly heavyvibe festival appearances. The manner in which Yo La Tengo perform is about as surprising as their musical tangents, evident across their almost cripplingly extensive back catalogue. This includes pop classics such as Electr-O-Pura, I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One, instrumental film scores like The Sounds of the Sounds of Science, Old Joy, and rather mental covers records with the tittering titles Yo La Tengo is Murdering the Classics and the recent Fuckbook (released under the name Condo Fucks), right up to 2009's excellent Popular Music. They even have a Christmas EP. This time, on their way to the Perth International Arts Festival, they're playing two separate sets in Sydney. The first is at The Basement on 17 February, the next installment of their ongoing The Freewheelin' Yo La Tengo Tour wherein the audience is invited to request the songs they will play each night and ask questions. The other is at theMetro on 18 February, which is the regular Yo La Tengo show Sydneysiders have come to know and love (if building a whopping big wash of sound, covering Sun Ra and occasional marital bickering on-stage is regular to you). Truly, I can't recommend a Yo La Tengo live show more. If that doesn't convince you, consider this: it's impossible not to love a band that named one of their first records New Wave Hot Dog, no? https://youtube.com/watch?v=zDgpQBaziy0
In a world where the new is often demanded but rarely considered or discussed for any length of time, the Berlin-based Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson is a memorable exception. A self-defined 'phenomenon-producer', Eliasson creates work from nature's supermarket: light, moss, water, ice and steam. He has summoned a geyser in Pittsburgh, erected waterfalls in New York, installed a sun inside the Tate Modern, and coloured rivers in Stockholm, Los Angeles, Iceland and Bregenz (Germany) a gaudy radioactive green. Renowned for his studio practice (where a small militia of assistants and collaborators specializing in anything from science, architecture and horticulture are employed), Eliasson is a serious manufacturer of experiences and one of those contemporary artists that art history won't be able to neglect. Here for his touring exhibition, Take Your Time, Eliasson will partake in a conversation with curator Madeleine Grynsztejn on his collaborations, past projects and current exhibition. And with much of Eliasson's work centered on shifting our perspectives through momentary and surprising encounters, you may well find that the mother nature of contemporary art has more to speak about than just the weather. If you miss the man see the show: Take Your Time: Olafur Eliasson is on from December 10 - April 11, 2010.
A band plays by the side of an American highway in a music video. The musicians look kind of catatonically into what they're doing on a grassy patch, oblivious to both the traffic and the camera. The music they're making is catchy and familiar with a great big wash of fuzz over the top. That's a typical slice of Thee Oh Sees surf'n'turf pizza party that's here on tour from San Francisco this week, en route to play the Meredith Music Festival in Victoria.Formed by John Dyer (Coachwhips, Yikes, Burmese), Thee Oh Sees are a four-piece whose sound conjures up images of sixties maudlin college mixers that eventually turn into wild frat stompers. Somebody spiked the punch! That said, their garage band feel is free of boring revivalism, this group mean business...in a laid-back west coast kind of way. A band heard best live to feel their sun-soaked visions of teen dreams and keggers up close.Supporting are Concrete Playground faves Naked on the Vague playing their gothic pop, along with Circle Pit and Yes Mix.https://youtube.com/watch?v=VVL3mEwBhBI
I once stood in line for a really long time to get a book signed by David Sedaris. During the wait, he proposed that smokers go to the start of the line because they've been getting such a bad rap lately. When I, a non-smoker who had to stay at the back, finally reached the front of the line he was just about ready to go. He asked me when was the last time I had eaten a lamington, pronouncing it lamming-tohn. I explained to him the tradition of the 'lamington drive' as a fundraising tool and he took a little notebook out of his breast pocket and wrote it down. He used it the next day in a speech he gave. I WAS THRILLED. Life could not get better. Then I found out he was touring Sydney again.It's these kind of small thrills that make up David Sedaris' memoirs, tales mostly mined from his large family. The first time I saw him speak live he wondered aloud about why his kin might be annoyed by his liberal lifting of their speech, his line of thought being "well what are [they] going to do with it?". His family offer many stories, particularly pertaining to his genius sister Amy (Strangers with Candy) and a filthy-mouthed younger brother known affectionately as The Rooster. His books â€" New York Times bestsellers, all â€" draw directly from his childhood, and more recently include tales of life with boyfriend Hugh in the French countryside that would seem idyllic to many, but to Sedaris it is a hotbed of intrigue teeming with zombie threat and "swimming" mice. A frequent contributor to The New Yorker and the much loved NPR radio show This American Life, David Sedaris is, how can I say this without seeming too forceful, not to be missed. His voice and particular talent with the pregnant pause add a whole new level of dry wit and sensitivity to his books which you should probably run out and read if you've not already. This is his third reading tour of Sydney, and his first at the State Theatre. Run/click quickly for tickets.https://youtube.com/watch?v=upXWyZ9Pe3Q
Dirty Projectors, and front-man Dave Longstreth's pre-DP projects, initially copped more than their fair share of flack for being too intellectually obfuscative (read pretentious). Their fourth album Bitte Orca seems to have soothed the critics and it's pretty easy to see why. Dirty Projectors happen to be particularly good at what they do and in Bitte Orca they've made it all a little more likeable without giving up on complexity. Their slightly off-kilter arrangements and the occasionally choral-like vocals of Longstreth, Amber Coffman, Angel Deradoorian and Haley Dekle make for a remarkable sound. With Bjork, David Byrne and The Roots among their fans, they've well and truly won the 'darling' tag.By all accounts Dirty Projectors' live shows are an experience and they'll be in Sydney in March for their inaugural Australian tour. https://youtube.com/watch?v=YMPF6lpM0XM
To be or not to be? This is a question that every theatre company should ask of themselves whenever attempting to stage a classic text, for no quicker are old words rendered obsolete than through boring, unimaginative parroting. Brave is the company, Berlin's world-famous Schaubühne in this case, that takes its production of Hamlet to an international audience.Performed in a German translation by master playwright Marius Von Mayenburg, this Hamlet demands your attention. Six performers recreate the antics of over twenty characters, ghoulishly inhabiting a stage covered in dirt and overlaid with grainy, live video feeds. Director Thomas Ostermeier has unearthed the rotten heart of a Denmark not unlike the spasmodic lurching of our own, often tragic, political landscape. Prepare to fight for a ticket!Image by Arno Declair
From the opening intertitle of The Informant! (or even from the title’s exclamation mark) it’s abundantly clear Steven Soderbergh is gearing up to have a lot of fun. Though based on the bizarre true story of white-collar whistleblower Mark Whitacre, there’s no way Soderbergh is going to let the facts get in the way of a good yarn. And what’s more he has Marvin Hamlisch supplying Broadway-style tunes (BYO jazz hands!) to further heighten his stylised, corporate caper. A chubby Matt Damon positively revels in the role of the Machiavellian yet ludicrously naïve agri-businessman Whitacre. Outwardly the role (and the extra pounds) is similar to Russell Crowe’s Oscar nominated turn in Michael Mann’s The Insider. Perhaps due to the success of that film, Soderbergh takes a self-reflexive, ironic about face and presents us with an entirely unreliable protagonist, one whose dealings with the FBI feel like something out of a movie. Case in point: most exposition is muted by Whitacre’s voice-over, where he quite randomly muses on life rather than narrating the facts. 
Then there are the visuals. Soderbergh, his production designer Doug J. Meerdink and his trusty RED camera recreate the Midwest of the 1990s with some splashings of 1970s kitsch. It’s an amusingly cheesy mix only aided by Whitacre’s succession of truly terrible ties and requisite taupe walls. Like all of Soderbergh’s experimental films, The Informant! is exercise in style as well as a refashioning of generic conventions. At times, however, it feels like everyone on set is having a little too much fun, forgetting to move the story along. Consequently the third act drags and Damon’s character borders on becoming a cloying caricature. It’s worth sticking with The Informant! despite this; just enjoy a decidedly Coen-esque, darkly comic romp around corporate America with the delusional man who decided to cry wolf to the FBI. The Informant! screens at Sydney Theatre Company at 1PM on Sunday afternoon, followed by a talk with director Steven Soderbergh. Sodenbergh's STC production Tot Mom opens on December 18.https://youtube.com/watch?v=ph4x5yw_DMQ
When Luigi Pirandello's Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore premiered in Rome in 1921, the play introduced the idea that fictional characters could exist beyond their creator, lost out in the world as orphans craving attention. But if there's anything that reality television has taught us, it's that many real people want to take part in a story bigger than their daily life. Even flesh and blood needs an author, so it seems.Rupert Goold, artistic director of the British company, Headlong, has re-imagined Pirandello's tragicomedy for a world besotted with the media. As the title suggests, six people interrupt the filming of a docu-drama and claim that they are fictional characters seeking an author. So, of course, someone with a handy camera decides that the only solution is to record it all for the world to see.https://youtube.com/watch?v=Dx6ClxxJXGE
Is there anything Japan doesn't have? Department stores full of plastic food models and animal hats, the world’s biggest pedestrian crossing, brothels shaped like train carriages… and a whole lot of great films! The 13th Japanese Film Festival jumps from bittersweet comedies to interpersonal dramas to dystopic action films, with a bit of anime thrown in for good measure. Opening night film The Handsome Suit is a fantastical take on one man’s quest for love. Ohki (Muga Tsukaji) is all out of luck with the ladies until he finds a magical suit. At first it’s all good news as the suit transforms the hapless chef into a smooth fellow named Hikariyama, but the question of whether money or, in this case, a magic suit can truly provide happiness remains. Another standout is All Around Us. The 2008 film from director Ryosuke Hashiguchi saw Tae Kimura collect four separate awards for Best Actress for her portrayal of depressed wife Shoko. The refreshingly honest dynamic between Shoko and husband Kanao (Lily Franky) is something different for a Japanese relationship drama, and the distinctly modern problems the couple face endear them to us all the more. Franky is also well known in Japan as an author, illustrator, radio host and frontman of Tokyo Mood Punks. Evidently, the word “slashy†hasn’t hit Japan yet, and it seems they’re all the better for it.Possibly the most talked-about film of the festival is Detroit Metal City, based on a manga series of the same name. The premise is that sweet, bowl-cut-sporting Negishi (Ken'ichi Matsuyama) just wants to make Swedish pop, but somehow ends up fronting the death metal band of the film’s title. His boss extinguishes cigarettes on her tongue and Gene Simmons makes a cameo, but Negishi’s main concern is that his mother will find out about his reluctant success. It’s obvious to say that a film festival has something for everyone but, judging by the perfect combination of death metal, magic suits and depressed housewives, this one really does. To win a double pass to any film excluding the opening and closing events at the Japanese Film Festival, email your name and address to hello@concreteplayground.com.au with 'Japan' in the subject line.Image from Detroit Metal City
Love is as definable as a car parked in a clearway at peak hour. Scottish-based author Dan Rhodes knew this, and so bravely gave 101 stories about very different loves to the world in his 2000 book, Anthropology: 101 true love stories. Now, almost ten years later, Even Books is using their eleventh outing to honour the airing of Rhodes' soulful sighs.The challenge has been set for all attendants to pen their own 101-word tale of juices, tears and blushing for the night, which will be quoted and shared over oceans of free beer, siroccos of music and the other devastating explosions of hyperbole that usually accompany the talk of love. Also, there'll be a chance for you to speak through the medium of pop by dedicating a love song to that special someone (or yourself).Video by Victor Solomonanthropology - 'trick' from victor solomon on Vimeo.
Is there anything better than watching a movie outside? Seriously, you're watching a movie, but it's OUTSIDE. You would normally watch a movie in your living room. But thanks to Sydney Festival (and let's temporarily ignore all other outdoor cinemas that are operating this summer), you'll get to watch a movie outside. Did you hear that? Outside. With the added bonus of fresh air, moonlight, picnic rugs and the sounds of Sydney fruit bats flying overhead, Sydney Festival is putting on a bumper series of classic Aussie flicks to entertain us these balmy summer nights. Not only that though, you'll be watching these movies on a giant, inflatable screen down one end of Sydney University's iconic quad. Immerse yourself in the history of the architecture and be simultaneously entertained by a talking picture. Sydney Festival also understands the importance of music in cinema, and so accompanying every film will be a live musical act. Listen to Decoder Ring before seeing Somersault or The Pigram Brothers and Alex Lloyd croon prior to watching Mad Bastards. Also included in the program are Kev Carmody with One Night the Moon, Archie Roach with The Tracker, The Necks with The Boys, and Tex Perkins and Murray Paterson with Beautiful Kate. Starting January 18 this will be your favourite cinematic festival event.
It is too easy to be cynical at Christmas time. Yes, consumerism is bad. Yes, Santa in his red and white garb has been used as a mascot by an evil beverage multinational to sell their evil beverage. And, yes, celebrating the birth of a Jewish boy by eating pig meat and shellfish is culturally insensitive. But for all that, a lot of people still have a sense of magic associated with this time of year, and no amount of acerbic irony will quash the memories evoked by old TV shows, mince tarts and classic Christmas tunes. This year Opera Australia is presenting one of the higher quality Christmas memory medleys with its Great Christmas Caper. Hosted by The Wharf Revue's Jonathan Biggins, the Caper presents a story about Santa and his awry helper, starring the impressive baritone of Teddy Tahu Rhodes and the cabaret queen phenomena that is Meow Meow (who presented her own Christmas show earlier this year). Combining operatic virtuosity with cheeky humour and showy chutzpah, this event promises to be meatier than your usual night of carols. Image by Jeff Busby
If you remember that most of us were first fed from a loving breast, then it makes sense that we often turn to food for comfort. We each have our foibles, our cravings and there is, upon every tastebud, a grin waiting to be unlocked. Either putting the epic or cure back into epicure, art collective Bababa International will transform Goodgod Small Club into a comforting respite from the reality of a table-less Christmas Eve. Those without a plan are encouraged to find at least three other individuals and bundle together for a feast of delightful promise. Sources suggest the Bababas are preparing anti-gravity corn chips, gift-wrapped tamales and the kind of spiced rum that demands its own poetic saga. Expect the kind of meaningful fun that turned Old Scrooge from humbugger to Tiny Tim's favourite codger. Bookings can be made by emailing info@goodgodgoodgod.com. Doors open at 5pm and dinner is served promptly at 8pm.
Oprah and U2 might have been in town, but you'd better believe the hottest tickets up for grabs now are for the movies. The Open Air Cinema certainly pulls rock concert figures, selling 30,000 in the first hour last year and exhausting advanced tickets completely within 12 hours. So you'd better be on your toes today as this year's line up is set to impress. A gamut of Oscar favourites are heading to Mrs Macquarie's Point, with Darren Aronofsky's exquisitely terrifying Black Swan, David Fincher's Facebook fable The Social Network and the compelling true stories currently bowling over critics: The King's Speech and The Fighter. Other films befitting the stellar surrounds include David Michod's crime epic Animal Kingdom, James Franco's gobsmacking performance in 127 Hours, the pitch-perfect family dramedy The Kids Are All Right and Christopher Nolan's mind and architecture-warping Inception. Then there are those films most compatible to the event's well stocked bar and gourmet food. These include Cher and Christina Aguilera's opening night number Burlesque, Ange and Johnny's high gloss travels in The Tourist, as well as the array of comedies like Ben Stiller's The Little Fockers, Morning Glory, and Vince Vaughn's latest, The Dilemma. 36 nights of film in arguably Sydney's most envy-inducing location 3 IF you can score some tickets! 9am Thursday 15 December: you know what you need to do. Open Air Cinema season runs from 12 January - 19 February 2011 https://youtube.com/watch?v=5jaI1XOB-bs
Wretched and beautiful, devastating and passionate, Blue Valentine evokes every inch of its title's dichotomy. From the simple premise of juxtaposing the beginning and end of a relationship, the film takes you to the giddy heights of new love through to the yawning abyss of loss. Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling are Cindy and Dean, two people from opposite sides of the tracks who gleefully succumb to love at first sight, though this courtship plays out alongside an altogether different point of view of their marriage, some six years later. In lesser hands this cross-cutting might have seemed trite, but writer-director Derek Cianfrance rather appropriately achieves the polar opposite. In the past, Cindy and Dean meet — their youthful exuberance leaping off the screen. While in the present, a seething discontent emanates from Cindy whereas Dean opts for blase, and horsing around with their gorgeous daughter Frankie (Faith Wladyka). But when the pair winds up with an unforeseen night alone, Dean presses Cindy to visit a gimmicky motel and opts, ominously, for the 'future room'. Like the cross-cutting, Cianfrance works this conceit with a deft touch. The neon blue hues of the future room are captured on the RED camera and clash perfectly with the warm red tones of the past, shot handheld on super 16mm. Similarly each vignette is superbly crafted, with the screenplay and editing ensuring every juxtaposition pays off for the audience, while the soundtrack by Grizzly Bear provides a musical throughline that ties the film together. Williams and Gosling convince absolutely as both halves of this Blue Valentine. Williams succeeds her stripped down performance from Wendy & Lucy, and though his young Dean shares a faint resemblance to Noah from The Notebook, Gosling is able to temper that earnestness with deeper emotional tones and some stark, poignant questioning. "You always hurt the ones you love," Dean serenades Cindy in one of the film's moving portents. It's a testament to the power of Blue Valentine that this hurt extends to the audience, for watching these two cinematic slow dances of hope and heartache is to experience it all for yourself. Palace Cinemas is holding advanced screenings of Blue Valentine on Wednesday 8th December and Sunday 19th December. Visit their website for more details. https://youtube.com/watch?v=aw0NChcdQfQ
Mitch Cairns, Janet Laurence, Brown Council and Tom Polo are just some of the big names you could stand to collect if you front up to Queen Street Studio's fundraiser this Saturday. And, who doesn't love a fundraiser? Especially when it's raising funds for a non-profit organisation that supports artists by managing studio spaces, establishing and running artists' residencies and facilitating professional development programs. Throwing your money at SpaceAID 2010 means more studio space for more artists, with Queen Street's long-term view to secure permanent spaces. Queen Street Studio already runs four spaces, including FraserStudios in Chippendale and Heffron Hall in Darlinghurst, but it needs more. So, if you're in a benevolent mood, or your walls are just looking a little spare, get yourself to the fundraiser and help support Sydney's independent art scene. rsvp@queenstreetstudio.com RSVP essential Image: Tara Marynowsky: Piper
In particle physics, mu meson is the former name for muon, an elementary particle, hypothesized to be the force that binds protons and neutrons together. After it exhibited only a weak attraction to nuclear matter, mu meson was cast out from the meson family and renamed. As a ridiculously overextended metaphor, this is kind of like the films screened at Mu Meson Archives. Many of the films proved less than attractive to audiences upon release, while many more are considered awkward moments in cinematic history. But, luckily for us, that’s why Jay Katz and Miss Death of Mu Meson love them. Almost any night of the week you can catch the best of the worst under the corrugated iron roof at the back of their home, with homemade supper included in the ticket price.Program highlights in August include Pray of the Roller Boys featuring awesome '90s yuppies in rollerblades; a special double-bill pussy night featuring Puss n Boots (1957) and The Uncanny (1977); conspiracy theories on UFOs, Dianna and the dollar bill; the usual range of rare music documentaries and subversive political films, and the monthly curated trash pit Freaks Geeks and Almost X-rated Peeks. Remember, it takes two to make a chemical reaction, so take a friend and get reactive at the Archives.Image: Knitler from Miss Death's monthly craft gathering Stitch n Bitch
For many people living in the inner city, a night out in Campbelltown is the start of a hardcore camping trip. If you’re one of those dreamers, here is your chance to celebrate your amazing powers of judgement. Twice a night, The Tent invites twenty people into a scrap metal and canvas world to join two mates, Brett and Michael, as they mull over the juicier bits of life. Unlike the usual banter of 4am philosophers, however, these two tackle the big issues with the help of superb puppetry, evocative sound and audio components and good old storytelling. Fresh from sell-out shows at the Next Wave and Liveworks Festivals, The Tent is a great excuse to dust off that passport and explore a part of Sydney’s growing artistic fringe.Photo by Debra Jason
We love larks after dark. We love Campbelltown Arts Centre. We love their ace program this year. We love the artists they are commissioning new work from. We love the Sizzler down the road. We even love the little drive down the M5. Our sincerest apologies, but there seems to be pretty much nothing here we aren't excessively enthusiastic about. New work from some of Australia's most awesomest video artists - including Philip Brophy, Pete Volich, Elvis Richardson, David Haines and Joyce Hinterding, Minaxi May and Ms&Mr - presented as large-scale projections every night on the front of the Campbelltown Arts Centre building, with a new one screened every eight weeks until March 2010. What's not to love? Image: Slide Show Land Dorothy by Elvis Richardson
It was with no small sense of trepidation that I dragged myself to a screening of The Age Of Stupid. Not because I didn’t want to see the film â€" far from it. More because it’s difficult to resist the pull of arguments coming from a filmmaker like Franny Armstrong. While I wouldn’t consider myself a revolutionary, seeing her previous film, McLibel, changed my life. I started attending protests, joined a student socialist group and decided to become a teacher, since I was nurturing a strong but vague sense of wanting to ‘help people’.Fortunately or unfortunately for me, The Age Of Stupid is even more brilliant than her earlier work. How this film manages to be so reasonable, so accessible, so hilarious and so emotive at the same time is beyond my comprehension. You should see this film not because ‘you should’, but because it’s so darn enjoyable.https://youtube.com/watch?v=DZjsJdokC0s
Possibly the only person whose diaries have been read and analysed as often as Anne Frank’s, Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara is no stranger. His face alone is one of the most world’s most recognisable images. Who he was, exactly, depends on your point of view: revolutionary, fanatic, hero, guerilla, theorist, poet, doctor, god, ruthless killer or the perfect icon for merchandise. Whatever your opinion, Che clearly has a fan in Benicio del Toro â€" who both starred in and produced these films, both full length epics in their own right. While it would be all too easy to turn the legend into a Hollywood blockbuster, director Steven Soderbergh has taken a more interesting approach. Presenting the narrative in fragments forces us to judge moments individually, and makes us work hard to piece together both the plot and an image of the entire man. Not always easy, but definitely worthwhile.We have 10 double passes (valid for both films) to give away, just email your details to hello@concreteplayground.com.au with "Free Che" in the subject line for your chance to win.https://youtube.com/watch?v=fqTw2dtVQzw
There’s an unwritten law in the world of heavy metal: if your lead guitarist uses a dildo to play his flying V, then you are bound for success.Sadly, unwritten laws have a habit of being forgotten and this is precisely the fate of Canadian band, Anvil. Now, twenty five years after their misfire at the big time, soul mates Steve “Lips†Kudlow and Robb Reiner flirt with oblivion in an attempt to achieve fame once and for all.Director Sacha Gervasi has captured a beautiful story here, shot mainly in diluted colours and with close-ups that reveal the grotesque cherubs of Anvil’s world. Combined with David Norland’s snow-locked score, Gervasi’s documentary is an illustration of the frostbite of missed fame and dreams that refuse to be broken.There is every chance that you will cry in this film: the story of Lips and Reiner is a bleak, realistic take on what happens to most people who desire fame and success in the arts.https://youtube.com/watch?v=DT7v2nUcmek
The unrelenting onward march of technology. The thrill of unbridled power. And, er, puffins. Forty-six million, two hundred thousand puffins.Rock, Paper, Scissors takes us way back to 1995, to a lighthouse on Muckle Flugga, Scotland. It’s home to Pat (Rob Flanagan) and Ronnie (Sean Barker), a whole lot of birdlife, and not much else – that is, until the delightfully pretentious young Dougie (Phil Spencer) turns up for a two-week stint of relief work, bringing with him a secret that could spell the end of Pat’s and Ronnie’s way of life forever. The lighthouse keepers’ attempt at the normalcy of routine is rock, paper, scissors: each week, they face off to determine who will be king for the day. As Dougie’s stay stretches on, what began as a benign distraction from the tedium of life in a lighthouse becomes a high-stakes snatch at power.In the hands of a lesser director, this might have been a quirky laugh at a couple of men left behind by modernity. Instead, Leland Kean’s production offers a genuinely warm look at the brutality of isolation, and at what might induce a man to live his life apart from the world: as Ronnie points out, “there’s some right ignorant people on that mainland.â€Happily, none of the actors chooses to follow the character-as-caricature path, though Flanagan is a clear standout: his depiction of a stickler-for-the-rules ex-teacher is witty and compassionate and, at times, surprising. Spot-on writing from John AD Fraser doesn’t hurt, either. In fact, after an hour or so of Muckle Flugga, the only nagging doubt is over the attempted Scottish accents – but it’s a forgivable flaw. It may be a pretty tedious game, but Rock, Paper, Scissors makes for excellent theatre.
Adapted for the stage from the novel by Guus Kuijer, The Book of Everything takes place in Amsterdam in 1951 - with the trauma of WWII German occupation still clearly evident - and centres around the life of an open hearted 'little hero' Thomas Klopper. The 9-nearly-ten-year-old (played by 33-year-old Matthew Whittet) writes down the things he sees that nobody else notices, discovers the joy of reading, composes his first love letter, makes friends with Jesus and embarks on his first forays into questioning authority - in particular that of the father and the Father. Marking the first collaboration in three decades between Neil Armfield's Company B and Kim Karpenter's Theatre of the Image, this new children's production raises several pertinent questions about bravery, fear, family and faith - with the critique of modern Christianity best achieved by the discrepancy between the funny, forgiving and open Christ who befriends Thomas, and the humourless, terrifying and dogmatic religious teachings the young boy's father imposes on him. The simple set design, live sound effects and playful choreography all work well, and a standout performance from Julie Forsyth as the eccentric neighbourhood witch Mrs Amersfoort injects the production with some very funny moments. But one is left with the feeling that E. B. White's words "anyone who writes down to children is simply wasting his time; you have to write up, not down," could have been better applied here. While dealing intelligently with some big ideas, The Book of Everything looses impact by crossing into the realms of cliché and caricature a little too often. Photo by Heidrun Lohr
Short films come in two flavours: the quick, one-two punch of a comic gag and the perfectly concentrated, pithy concept piece. A festival with only one type will stagnate pretty quickly, but one with both in balance can make for a worthy way to spend your time. Bondi's Flickerfest is such an outfit, and 2010's line-up is a rich programme of both international and homegrown bursts of inspiration. Those wanting to skinny dip in the meaningful should definitely check out the Stories of Human Rights session, while the Oscar Shorts demonstrate the growing recognition for brief flares of genius.
Optimism, that endangered species of the heart, is getting a double going over during this Sydney Festival. Though Tom Wright's modern adaptation will happily pick your pocket, American composer Leonard Bernstein's opera is far more humble in its demands for nothing. Rather like the drunken uncle on the ad hoc dance floor, Candide wants you to sway your hips luxuriously en masse in the steamy Domain. The ...in the Domain series is perfect as an emergency weekend filler over January, with the only punishing aspect being the inevitable crush of humans flocking to grab the best picnic spots. My advice is to befriend any homeless people in the area ahead of time, and then pay them to reserve a place for you. Not only will you get a great view of Paul McDermott, but you'll have made a solid gold human connection, which is what it's all really about in the end.
With its nods to noir filmmaking and the comical and popular Spanish culebrones style, Broken Embraces unravels through the eyes of the charming and troubled main character Harry Caine née Mateo Blanco, played with a great sense of world-weariness by LluÃs Homar. Harry Caine is an ex-director come screenwriter with (literally) no vision, his view of the world and the manner in which he loses and gains it is the primary concern of the film. Its secondary concern is the further Almodóvar advancement for Penélope Cruz as a diverse and incredibly talented performer.A mainstay of Almodóvar's offerings is a multilayered storyline, each new character bringing both a new piece of insight and the ability to loosen a thread that may just unravel as much as it can tangle. Harry Caine, it is revealed, left his identity and successful career as director after the demise of the film-within-a-film Girls and Suitcases. The making of the comedy turns to tragedy viewers begin to grasp, as Broken Embraces advances towards its final "aha!" moment. Without giving any of the inner workings away, Girls and Suitcases starred Almodóvar's frequent collaborator Penélope Cruz, her character Lena (as opposed to the character she plays in the film) is a woman trapped by circumstance, unhappily married to a much older, powerful man who allows her to pursue her dream of acting only if he can act as producer. He enlists his son, a budding director, to capture on film all the action on set. Watched wherever she goes, Cruz â€" brilliant in a way that only Almodóvar seems to be able to truly capture â€" is watched wherever she goes, and is all too aware of it. Gorgeous and doomed, this voyeuristic aspect becomes claustrophobic over time, and it is evident that tragedy looms.Hovering on screen is Harry's friend and assistant, Judit. Played by the brilliant Blanca Portillo (always a welcome sight in Almodóvar's films) she may just hold the key to the past but is unwilling â€" through a combination of self-preservation and protectiveness for her son and friend â€" to fully divulge. As in most noir and mystery films, there comes the time when all must be revealed, and though it is framed by "and one more thing..." dialogue, the director is too deft to allow it to be mere trope, instead he plays it with a well-paced and lingering comic hand.Broken Embraces may be remembered as a great film, but it is only a very good film when considered against Almodóvar's recent hat-trick of Talk to Her, Bad Education and Volver, all as equally brilliant as another. While it lacks the punchy comedy of Volver and the aching sadness of Bad Education, Broken Embraces remains a real treat for fans of the director.https://youtube.com/watch?v=bN0SlBE8yGQ
I love a good David and Goliath scenario. Like when young filmmakers persistently plug away at their projects and bust through the backdoor of an industry that has its golden gates wide open to anything screaming blockbuster and little else. Or when a small inner city pub sticks it to multiplex cinemas by screening such films on their balcony for free. ‘Casting Couch’ is Darlo Bar’s very own renegade indie film festival, premiering all things moving picture-like, from features to video art, on the first Tuesday of every month. Next up is Fortune, the feature length directorial debut from Aussie actor-turned-director Peter Scarf. A psychological drama, Fortune zooms in on the interplay between three very intense, very compelling central characters played by Scott Cohen, Jason Shaw and Golden Globe winner Kier Dullea. Together with co-writer/producer Ahmad Diba, Scarf examines the complexity of the father/son dynamic and how power-lust and greed can perpetuate dysfunction and corrupt the human experience. Also screening will be NONO, a short featuring Aussie talent Adam Drage and described by NYC director Jeff Trent as "a treacherous journey into a savage wilderness; a desert song; an uncomfortable, lonely film." So ditch whatever dull-as-dishwater x-mas event you’ve got penciled in, and indulge in some quality cinema beneath the stars… and I think they said something about free popcorn?Image: NONO
If you're like me and make it a bit of a project to complain about a city dominated by cars, or how there should be an energetic density to any metropolitan machine, you might agree that Festival First Night is a step in the right direction. For the opening of the Sydney Festival roads will be closed and made available to pedestrian traffic, parks will be occupied and stocked with food and drinks, and various musical acts will seek out ears to enter. Traditionally (for Medieval men and women) the carnival was a temporary reversal of regulations, a chance for the general population of a city to converge in blasphemous celebration, where social roles and stigmas could be momentarily laughed at or ignored. While to promise such things here could be a little misleading, there are things to look forward to, such as circus lessons and music for the family in Hyde Park, The Manganiyar Seduction preview at dusk, Al Green's first Australian performance in the Domain, Voodoo Daddy in Martin Place, as well as 'Sax in the City' (involving saxophone players performing on mass around the city). Importantly, this is all free. Who knows, maybe we will get close to experiencing what Goethe (a clever German) eloquently wrote regarding public festivals: Crowded together, its members are astonished at themselves. They are accustomed at other times to seeing each other running hither in confusion, bustling about without order or discipline. Now this many-headed, many-minded, fickle, blundering monster suddenly sees itself united as one noble assembly, wielded into one mass, a single body animated by a single spirit."
A trio of performances, Concord is dramatic, charming and sharp, occasionally all at once. Annually, the Australian Ballet presents a triple-bill to display both important repertory or reworked pieces and new works in a diverse setting. The three presented in Concord could not be more disparate, and yet their differences were never jarring, but a pleasant surprise.Opening the production is Por vos muero (For Thee I Die), a work steeped in the romantic darkness of Spain's Golden Age. Choreographer Nacho Duato was inspired by the music and dance of the sixteenth century. Poetry lies at its core, with the texts of Garcilaso de la Vega acting as a comma between the individual dances. The choreography, abetted by dark, flowing costumes switched between sweeping statement and clean movement — akin to the ebb and flow of life and death it represents. Set to a beautiful medieval score, Por vos muero is such a rich ballet, I found myself willing it to continue long after the dancers had relinquished their masks to the curtains.Smartly situated in the middle is Scoula di ballo, a story ballet set in a dance school filled with characters with whom most of the audience could identify — the boorish stage mother, the opportunistic instructor, the terrible-but-trying-anyway student — all performed so gleefully. Though beautifully executed and incredibly charming, I don't often connect with the pantomimish behaviour of these sorts of works. The rest of the audience around me, however, was in fits and giggles and offered much applause.Waking the audience from merriment is the final ballet Dyad 1929, performed for the first time in August this year. With choreographer Wayne McGregor at the helm, this work is part of his Dyad diptych, the other, Dyad 1909 to be performed in London. Abstract in its style, Dyad 1929 exists free from the flowing movements of the first two parts of Concord, inspired by the aviation advancements of the age for which it is named. This work is clean and incredibly tight. The set is simple and terrifically effective with its use of light. Dedicated to the memory of seminal choreographer Merce Cunningham who passed away earlier this year, Dyad 1929 shares a kinship with the energy of his work.Ultimately, the most impressive element of Concord is the dancers at its heart, able to so swiftly move between not just roles, but immense changes in style and aesthetic. Concord is a collection of short stories so diverse that it should and will endear the notion of attending the ballet to more than just its loyal subscription base. The current magic of the Australian Ballet certainly deserves it.* If you are under 26 - you are eligible for massive savings. See The Australian Ballet website for ticketing details.Stephanie Williams & Andrew Killian performing Dyad 1929. Photo: Jim McFarlane
If you didn't get tickets to Vampire Weekend on this same night, you could divert yourself down the stairs at the OAF and catch Sydneysiders The Model School in the gallery bar for free. They are launching their second album called Memory Walls, which sees them carrying on their ramshackle alt/pop with major head nods to Beck (almost too much so sometimes) and hat tips to pop artists as diverse as The Beach Boys and Bowie. Brendan Wixted is the curly headed honcho of the band, the main songwriter and wheels of the operation, and he pens some nice pop hooks with skewif lyrics over the top. Its Hard To Dance When Your Legs Are On Fire is a good example of his music, a strummy straight forward acoustic guitar drives the song and Wixted drawls affably over the top with lyrics that are obtuse and a melody that is almost drab, whilst casios and other bleeps and beeps are splashed around the background. Support comes from Melbourne's Plastic Palace Alice. These guys were everywhere for a while a few years ago, their song Empire Falls was unavoidable and their live show full of energy and charm. They disappeared for a while and after a few lineup changes, are back. So, coupled with their friends The Model School, it should be well worth the trip to Darlo for this free show.
In 1996, me and my friends skipped school to see Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day as soon as it opened. Aliens blew up the White House, Randy Quaid drove a cropduster right into the mothership and Will Smith punched an alien the face and said, “welcome to Earth†while chewing on a cigar. For my teenage boy brain this was the apotheosis of cinema. Citizen Kane for hormonal idiots.But since then, in a post 911 world (yeah, I said it) the idea of state monuments blowing up and the world in a state of chaos seemed to lose its fantastical edge. Emmerich's follow ups (10,000 BC, Eight Legged Freaks, The Day After Tomorrow) failed to hit the mark in quite the same way.Until now. 2012 is awesome, absolute destructo-porn. As far as mindless destruction goes, it outranks anything you’ve ever seen. Everything blows up. Plus all the performers are solid and no one seems to be taking it too seriously. Even the ridiculous, pseudo-scientific, plot is surprisingly plausible.The movie may divide people who don’t really go for this kind of thing. But if you went “Holy be-jesus!†when you saw the trailer, then the movie does exactly what it says on the box. For me, it’s hard to imagine anything matching the sheer silliness, mass destruction and spasmodic glee of this movie. But that’s what I thought in 1996. And they even blow up the White House again.
Cuthbert & The Nightwalkers music sounds like a pop-up book for kids that have grown up too quick. It jumps out at you with Richie Cuthbert's lyrics about 20- something life brashly topped with Pogues like punk/sea shanty tunes, and all with heavy servings of chanting female backing vocals. The band is comprised of a weird, completely un-nuclear family, with members coming and going and the size of the band ever shifting between 6 and 12 members. They even had a big house they all lived in together until they got evicted â€" and you can hear this in the music â€" celebratory and bombastic, but in a gentle and lovely way. They have just released their second album Mr Pickwicks Camera (see it even sounds like a kids book). They have stripped it back to a 6 piece, losing some of the Cuthbert choir, and after seeing them live a few times and hearing the new songs, it seems they have focussed things nicely. Pace Ourselves the lead cut off the album is a great example of this, with the playful nature of their first album Love Needs Us extended on, with a slow bass and drum driven groove that Richie and co sing over with massive amounts of zeal and heart, before the synth kicks in with the melodicas for a great outro. They are great live, it's always a party that leaves you with warm fuzzies.https://youtube.com/watch?v=7LLbhPa_A0M
Melbourne band The Basics have just dropped a new album, titled Keep Your Enemies Close. Sometimes known as the side project of Wally de Backer (aka Gotye), it seems that Wally has taken a good break to focus on The Basics as they have been touring through Japan and the UK/Europe extensively. They're also currently doing a big national tour to support the album. Lately they've dropped the barber shop shtick that they started out with and gotten away from the suits, the 50's kinda Buddy Holly vibe. I was mortified after listening to With This Ship, one of the tunes off the new album which has all the trappings of some big dumb emo band trying to pair it back to the basics (duh, no pun intended). But then, it seems this is a sore thumb on the otherwise ok pop album. Whilst the LP sees them struggling a little, or at least fossicking through genre and songs to become something more than an early Beatles incarnation, they are a good live band, and some of the songs would stand up nicely live, with the group of 3 talented musicians. So, probably worth popping your head into The Factory.https://youtube.com/watch?v=k-MsLoOevpU
My girlfriend and I got into an elevator in Tokyo recently with Kim Moyes, and it was one of those awkward moments where you are both Aussies in a different country and you have to have a chat, you know, say g'day. It was even more awkward because the lift was made for Japanese sized people and we knew who he was, and he probably suspected we knew. Anyway, we filled the awkward 5 or so floors with idle chit chat about vintage synthesizers and then parted ways. He seemed nice.We knew him for his work as one half of The Presets, he behind the drumkit, but also contributing the techno influence and cool factor to Julian Hamilton's fundamental classical training and nerd-chic.Kimberley Issac Moyes has put together a collection of works which he has been tinkering away at since leaving the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. He has aptly titled it Selected Jerks 2001-2009. It is a varied mix of tunes which shows a keen ear for musical trends and a deep knowledge of electronic music. It will be released by Cut Copy's label Cutters Record through the taste making Modular records. He will be dropping these in your ears at the Sydney album launch at the OAF with Bang Gang and Riot In Belgium member Beni supporting.https://youtube.com/watch?v=PwJwXpHivQM
Bringing cinema to the beach for the ninth year running, the Bondi Short Film Festival has well and truly established itself as a cult cinematic event. In fact the matinee session has already sold out, even before the fourteen finalists have been announced!The judges may well be a drawcard. Festival director Francis Coady has assembled an illustrious list including Beautiful Kate writer/director Rachel Ward, actor Damon Gameau (Underbelly, Balibo), writer/director David Caesar (Prime Mover), filmmaker Gracie Otto (3 Blind Mice) and Filmink editor Dov Kornits. Triple J’s Robbie Buck will be mc-ing the event, with a gourmet barbecue and well stocked bar available for patrons.For filmmakers, there are even more delicious treats to enjoy. Prizes for best film, cinematography, actor, script, music and design include a trip to the USA, $3000 and a wine soaked weekend away in the Hunter Valley. Plus the accolades from local film fans, as well as potential sunburn courtesy of Bondi Beach.Summer may not officially be upon us come November 28, but the Bondi Short Film Festival promises to kick off the season in cinematic style.To win one of five double passes to the Saturday matinee of the Bondi Short Film Festival email your name and address to hello@concreteplayground.com.au with 'Bondi' in the subject line.https://youtube.com/watch?v=QriRWpoiHIc
A central theme to She went that way, the first major exhibition of Raquel Ormella’s work, currently showing at Artspace, is memory — personal and collective.An image like The Domain reminds us all of a place we know. For Sydneysiders, it’s un–mistakable, for those from anywhere else, it’s their equivalent. Ormella’s ideas of space and perspective convey this familiarity. She has a gift to recognise the diurnal happenings and miss-happenings of our lives, and the guts to comment on them. Originally made in 2001, The Domain, like many other early works, has been re-jigged for the Artspace show.The show’s title suggests Ormella ran out the back door on the opening night, or during the install, leaving the gallery attendants pointing in her wake. It speaks not only of the relationship of the artist to their work, but also to the direction in which Ormella might be moving. As an artist working over an array of activities (video, painting, installation, drawing and zine production), who’s to tell which way she’ll go next.Image: Raquel Ormella, The Domain, Sydney, February 2001, 2001-09
Midnight Juggernauts steamed ahead of the pack of indie/electro bands way before it became the flavour of 2009. Before The Presets were winning ARIAs, while Ladyhawke was still eating fush'n'chups in NZ and before New Rave came and (thank god) went, the Juggers were slogging between Sydney and Melbourne as a two-piece, playing every show they could gnash their teeth into. When they poached Dan Stricker from The Valentinos and released their debut album Dystopia, they went gangbusters. Sold out show after sold out show ensued, as well as tours through the US with Justice, remixes for almost everyone, being featured on über cool French dance label Kitsune and even programming a Fabric Live mix. They really thought outside the box, and, to their credit â€" thought outside Australia â€" which made them even more desirable and respected here.This New Technology is the first single off their forthcoming second album, and it's a bit of a departure. Leaving aside the oonce-oonce disco beat, the Melburnians do a bit of a psychedelic synth thing, over a soul style back beat before fading out with an ELO inspired outro. So it should be interesting to hear what else they've got in store for us when they hit The Metro on the 6th of November.NZ indie rockers Cut Off Your Hands, a great live act, will be opening.https://youtube.com/watch?v=pneTh7XXgEg
You'd be hard pressed to find someone in Sydney that doesn't love a block party, so imagine the glee that this conjures every year — a catered block party. A street in Waterloo, Danks is famous for its restaurants such as Danks Street Depot and Fratelli Fresh, and once a year throws the tastiest soiree in the city. The suburb of Waterloo was named after the 1815 battle (not the song), but you'll find no such warring festivities this Sunday. It's much more like Napoleon being taken to Waterloo: water theme park and having a blast.This year for the first time, there's a focus on sustainable food and its preparation with the addition of the Live Green Kitchen. Local celeb-chefs such as Kylie Kwong and Jared Ingersoll will be on hand to demonstrate cooking techniques with an environmental ethos. This way of thinking stems beyond food, with a handmade market popping up for the first time. While you glaze over from all the delicious treats, find your restraint taking a vacation as you poke around locally made handcrafts, knowing that the proceeds go to nearby artists and charities.It's not all new, though. Festival favourites will all be there too, including the design and produce markets. So that's your stomach and your wallet taken care of, but there will also be live entertainment all day, including the talents of The Donovans and Dimity Clare & The Bleeding Hearts. The website boasts "surprise shows you'll never forget"...Napoleon vs the Duke of Wellington and Blucher? Safe to say, not tonight, Josephine.
Saturn's Return, by Tommy Murphy, is a charming elegy for the three decades of our extended youth.Caught on the cusp of thirty, Zara (Leeanna Walsman) attempts to control her life and the people orbiting it with a thoroughly disarming honesty. Murphy’s writing is at its best in Zara’s voice, capturing the nuances of Sydney’s inner city whilst playfully slashing the parachutes we all use to escape awkward social freefalls.A wealth of honesty is not a replacement for truth, however, and this presents an obvious vacuum at the sudden ending of Saturn’s Return. There is no true story, no resolution of the narrative hints cast out in earlier scenes; what you have instead is a sequence of alluring vignettes connected by spider silk plot threads.Director David Berthold has crafted a strong, energetic production that makes good use of designer Adam Gardnir’s revolving set stage magic. The three actors – Walsman, Toby Moore and Matt Zeremes – are engaging and highlight the humour of Murphy’s words with their convincing performances.If you still want more than a dollop of narrative with your poetry, however, you’ll have to buy a copy of the program. It doesn’t offer concrete answers, but it will provide useful gristle for the necessary, post-show debrief.Photo by Tracey Schramm.
"In the end, our knowledge will have its revenge on us." (Nietzche)In his latest exhibition We Can’t Put it Together. It is Together. Jesse Hogan peers behind the curtain to see if there really is life after death. No, Hogan is not about to start preaching or perform live experiments a la Flatliners. But as with Flatliners, Hogan is interested in what happens when something ‘dies,' but doesn’t go away.Painting. The Rorschach Ink blot test. Plastic bags. All of these enjoyed a glorious hey-day in which they were hailed as triumphs of humankind. Yet each has also experienced a cultural backlash, ridiculed as evidence of yesteryear’s foolishness and dismissed as outdated failures. Perhaps the product of Gen-Y cynicism, Hogan asks his audience a simple question - what, if anything, can be taken at face value?
Kinji Fukasaku’s Battles Without Honour and Humanity (1973) harks back to a time when directors of mob films didn’t care about “slick,†they just focused on “violentâ€. The film follows Shozo Hirono (Bunta Sugawara), living the thug life on the mean streets of Hiroshima in 1945. In its post-war state, the city is an ideal battlefield for feuding Yakuza factions, under the watch of a dubious Japanese government. Battles covers ten years in its 99 minutes, and each generation of bosses seems to possess even less mercy than the last. The result is one of the most frenzied and unrelentingly intense films you’re ever likely to see.In a statement for his subsequent film Battle Royale (2000), Fukasaku says that he possessed “a poisonous hatred†for adults after his high school class was drafted to work on munitions for Japanese soldiers fighting in WWII. After being caught in crossfire, Fukasaku and his surviving classmates were made to bury the corpses.“This is the point of departure for all my films,†he says in the statement. “Lots of people die in my films. They die terrible deaths. But I make them this way because I don’t believe anyone would ever love or trust the films I make, any other way.†https://youtube.com/watch?v=KRnXpt94O1A
The nostalgia value of Astro Boy alone is sure to see crowds beating a path to the cinema. The antics of this pint sized action hero have been delighting comic and cartoon fans since the 1950s. And if you ever wondered where the anime obsession with gigantic eyes comes from, you can look directly into Astro Boy’s peepers. In fact, in a bit of a case of life imitating art, Astro Boy’s creator, Osamu Tezuka is considered the ‘father of anime,’ revered much as Walt Disney is by the west. And so it seems fitting that an American/Japanese collaboration is responsible for bringing Astro Boy to the big screen. Writer/director David Bowers (Flushed Away) has stepped into the gigantic red boots, bringing along an impressive voice cast that includes Nicolas Cage, Bill Nighy, Donald Sutherland, Kristen Bell and Freddie Highmore as the eponymous hero. Charting science-wizz kid Toby Tenma’s transformation into Astro Boy and the subsequent rejection of a grieving father, Dr. Tenma (Cage, with his best hair yet), the film very much follows in the footsteps of the hero’s journey. However the trappings of convention, combined with some really cheesy dialogue and lacklustre action make for a rather uninspired movie. Perhaps we’ve been spoilt by Pixar, and other innovative, intelligent animation that effortlessly appeals to children and adults alike. Unfortunately, Astro Boy pales in comparison. Laughs are pushed a beat too far, while the jokes themselves are quite childish (a machine gun coming out of Astro Boy’s bum-cheeks being just one example). There is certainly nothing wrong with a fun kids’ film for the little ‘uns to enjoy â€" on that account Astro Boy may well deliver â€" but for adult audiences wanting to reconnect with the cartoon hero from their youth, this latest version just won’t pack enough of a punch. https://youtube.com/watch?v=lUVlfuePF0Y
Death and taxes are two certainties in life. Good cinema, unfortunately, is not â€" but leave it to the Japanese to make a film about death and everyday tragedies that will make you laugh until you cry, or cry until you laugh, or both in no particular order.Departures follows Daigo Kobayashi (Masahiro Motoki), a cellist in Tokyo who finds himself at a loose end when his orchestra is disbanded. After moving back to his hometown with his wife Mika (Ryoko Hirosue), he answers a job advertisement for a career in “departures†at an “NK agencyâ€. As it turns out, NK stands for nokan: the Japanese rite of “encoffinmentâ€, which occurs prior to cremation.From there, Daigo is forced to confront both an instinctive fear of human decay, and the prejudices of his young wife, and society, against those who deal with the dead. Complicating Daigo’s return home further still, memories of the father who abandoned him as a boy are at once omnipresent and painfully inaccessible.The beauty of Departures is that plenty of comic relief is interspersed among the heavier scenes â€" and it’s not always entirely differentiated. No one in the audience knew if they were supposed to be laughing during a scene where Daigo, Daigo’s employer Sasaki (Tsutomu Yamakazi) and the office secretary (Kimiko Yo) sit around a table and gorge on chicken wings. While they tear flesh from bones with greasy mitts, it’s hard to know how you’re supposed to feel. Is it an ashesâ€"toâ€"ashes analogy? Is it a parody of the futility of life? Is it simply a light-hearted scene to pass time between funerals?These questions are never fully answered. Instead, Departures holds its focus and its sense of purpose with the dedication of Daigo in his encoffinments, imbuing a subject so often mishandled in cinema with dignity and wit.https://youtube.com/watch?v=6UFlWO5zhO8
2ser 107.3 has been a pillar of the airwaves in Sydney for 30 years now. This month they celebrate this 30th with a great lineup of shows all around town. The gigs seem to achieve the same diversity as the station itself, from Dubstep to folk and in between - check out the whole lineup here. For one such evening, they've enlisted the tall-as-hell troubadour Jack Ladder. Ladder has decided that instead of being a moody balladeer as he was on his debut Not Worth Waiing For, he'd quit the self pity and get himself a band, tapping into more of a Sam Cooke/Otis Redding vibe, but still with slight hints of post-punk weirdness and malady from his baritone. In 2008, Ladder - nee Tim Rogers - developed this new sound whilst living in the USA and Europe, putting it down on an album which came out earlier this year called Love Is Gone. The LP sees his bluesy stories on top of a bigger beat, with rollicking drums (courtesy of Pivot's Laurence Pike) and electric guitars all jangling along, conjuring up ideas of dusty saloons and smokey basements. The Cad Factory will be the setting for these electrified tunes this evening, and there's a great lineup of supports, specifically Adrian Deutsch (ex Red Riders) and Tired Hands (Moonmilk). It's all ages too so kids, come on down!https://youtube.com/watch?v=2BLC5yp1XjA
The Vikings didn't make it as far as Australia but the Nordic Film Festival is venturing to our shores for the first time this October. Films from the far northern lands of Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark will be stopping at the Dendy Opera Quays for your cinematic pleasure. The festival kicks off with Sauna, a rather gruesome-looking twist on Finnish bathing culture by Jade Warrior director AJ Annila. Also screening is Finland’s 2009 entry to the Academy Awards, The Home of Dark Butterflies, an adaptation of a best-selling novel about one boy’s troubled upbringing in a secluded boys’ home. Sweden dishes up the Golden Globe nominated Everlasting Moments, about an early 20th Century woman transformed by the burgeoning art of photography. While Susanne Bier’s Once in a Lifetime looks at an entirely different cultural adventure: the Eurovision Song Contest. Two big budget blockbusters represent the Nordic resistance fighters of WWII: Norway’s Max Manus is hot off the press from the Toronto International Film Festival and Flame and Citron is Denmark’s take.Denmark is also previewing its 2010 entry for the Oscars, Terribly Happy. A black comedy in the vein of David Lynch and the Coen Brothers, Terribly Happy has already been slated for an English remake, so be sure to check out the original. For the full line up of the Nordic Film Festival, head to the Dendy website. https://youtube.com/watch?v=si8IqpZc8Fo https://youtube.com/watch?v=WbK4WTQFf9U https://youtube.com/watch?v=JYEz1z86ePg https://youtube.com/watch?v=Iy7Sf6GlPp4
How many Australian films have been on your radar this year? Did Samson & Delilah’s win at Cannes pique your interest? What about the first Aboriginal comedy, Stone Bros? Surely the political and powerful Balibo got a look in, and now you’re rushing to see Bruce Beresford’s adaptation of Mao’s Last Dancer? Yes? No? Why? Why not?Metro Screen is holding a forum to toss around some ‘precious eggs’; discussing how and why there seems to be a schism between Australian cinema and Australian cinemagoers. Despite 2009 being a bumper year for local theatrical releases, for the most part it just hasn’t translated to the box office. Garry Maddox highlighted some sobering statistics in his article The Year in Pictures; also advocating for more Australian film heroes, and more marketing money. While Beautiful Kate director Rachel Ward* railed against the ‘dark and bleak’ monikers bestowed upon local fare, defending her ‘precious egg’ and suggesting Australian film critics need a vocabulary lesson. Both Maddox and Ward will be taking part on the panel to expand upon their thoughts. Moderated by Urban Cinefile’s Andrew Urban, other panellists include: Margaret Pomeranz (ABC At the Movies), Dr. Ruth Harley (CEO Screen Australia), Susan Hoerlein (Tsuki Publicity & Promotions manager), Tony Lum (Managing Director, Hopscotch Films), Kath Shelper (Producer of Samson & Delilah) and Anthony I. Ginnane (SPAA). Producer of Little Fish Liz Watts will also be guest speaker of the evening. Oz Film vs. Oz Audience isn’t going to be a group whinge, rather an animated and frank look at our film industry. Funding, filmmaking, marketing and distribution will all be up for discussion in an effort to source some solutions to overcome this cinematically great divide. *Read up on the debate:Lynden Barber's response to Rachel WardOn Beautiful Kate and Australian Criticism Michael Coulter: Screening the Same Old Dreary StoryLuke Buckmaster: Is Australian Film Still Down in the Dumps?OZ film vs. OZ audience. Forum by Metro Screen from Metro Screen on Vimeo. https://youtube.com/watch?v=PQ28vr7plFI
Charlie Sofo is a very talented artist out of Melbourne who makes slightly psychadelic 60’s style Op Art exploring colours and shapes. Mary MacDougal is a brilliant Sydney based painter who was recently shortlisted in the Lempriere prize for her watery portraits of wacked out 60’s Pop Svengali Phil Spector. Now, in what seems like the most inevitable crossover since Magnum P.I. swaggered onto Murder She Wrote, these two flower children have joined forces at Black & Blue Gallery to bring us Soft Glue. We went to the opening last friday and can tell you that this is a seriously impressive exhibition with beautiful paintings, printwork and huge ambitious sculptural installations dominating the space.An exhibition this good deserves two openings. So they are doing it all over again – tomorrow! Get down and check it out all over again this friday night with new work from Bababa International and Dara Gill among others.
