Review
Scorsese’s spiritual quest
PHILIPPA HAWKERThe longer he pondered how to tackle Silence, the better the director understood that less is more.
Such is motherhood
GRANTLEE KIEZANed Kelly’s heartbroken mother had some important advice for her son when she visited him before he was hanged.
Moved by tragedy
Sharon VerghisChoreographer and dancer Crystal Pite has embraced the unsettling darkness of one man’s personal loss.
Comedy of errors
Justin BurkeHow has a one-act play that began life in a small London theatre found its way to Australia and Broadway?
Something wicked
GRAEME BLUNDELLThe adaptation of Big Little Lies transports its malevolence and mystery from Sydney to California.
Saga of missionary misery
DAVID STRATTONMartin Scorsese’s love/hate relationship with the church has been given another outing in his new film, Silence.
Assuming the worst
RICK MORTONCynicism, often an occupational hazard for journalists, can poison the soul.
Older and a bit less fun
Stephen RomeiThe Trainspotting cast is reunited for the much-anticipated sequel. Sadly, it won’t be remembered as their best work.
Between friends
CHRISTOPHER ALLENThe Margaret Olley exhibition shows how sociability and learning together can enrich an artist’s experience.
The usual seducers
stephen romeiWith Valentine’s Day in the air this week, I decided to have a fling with an alluring little book.
Bridging the gap
Staff writersTwo bands from Istanbul’s vibrant entertainment scene bridge the gap between East and West, ancient and modern.
Your weekly TV planner
Justin Burke gives his top recommendations for this week’s viewing on the box.
Tangka with a twist
Bronwyn WatsonNepal-born artist Tsherin Sherpa has combined a Buddhist tradition with abstract concepts in a striking work.
This (bovine) life
Kim WilsonTo me there is something very beautiful about cows — about herbivores in general.
Between the lines
Peter PierceVietnam-born, US-raised writer Viet Thanh Nguyen strives to unite both sides of the war that can never be forgotten.
Faint scent of overkill
Miriam CosicKate Grenville has written one of her rare nonfiction books to highlight something that has long bothered her.
Poetic probing of big issues
Ed WrightFifty years into his writing career, David Ireland is not seeking closure.
Portrait of a serial collaborator
Patricia AndersonThe seeds of Martin Sharp’s eccentricity sprouted early, according to this affectionate biography of the artist.
German ‘aliens’ lost liberty
Ross FitzgeraldThere’s bound to be considerable interest in the stories of German-Australians interned in camps during World War II.
Approaching the long goodbye
Peter CravenMargaret Drabble’s new novel is a wisdom book that should be in every school and library.
Anxiety an ironic art form
Don AndersonRevulsion is the latest novel by exiled Salvadoran writer Horacio Castellanos Moya to be translated into English.
Irish lives distorted
Diane StubbingsJohn Boyne’s new novel traces the recasting of Ireland’s attitude towards homosexuality.
Living with the consequences
Joy LawnChance plays a part in five novels for young adults using settings from Melbourne to Mao’s China and Ireland.
Brought into focus
Iain SheddenThe collapse of Ryan Adams’s marriage is at the heart of his latest album, but the singer-songwriter is not complaining.
Woody’s big deal
staff writersFor one month in 1941, Woody Guthrie was employed by the US government to write songs about a huge dam project.
Woman of honour
GRAEME BLUNDELLLegal drama Newton’s Law draws an Upstairs, Downstairs contrast between savvy barristers and a struggling solicitor.
Ana and Christian back at it
Stephen RomeiJamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson are back for EL James’s Fifty Shades Darker and both look in fine shape.
Australia’s poster boy
BRONWYN WATSONThe man who created the Qantas kangaroo logo helped put the nation on the world map in other ways.
Romance dives deep into danger
Helen ElliottHans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid is at the heart of Kathryn Heyman’s sixth novel.
Picasso parting
Justin BurkeFrederick Mulder is selling one of the world’s biggest Picasso collections, and only Australian buyers need apply.
Home truths
Rosemary NeillPerth-bound architect Marwa al-Sabouni wrote her remarkable memoir while the bombs fell around her in Syria.
Survival of the hippest
DEIRDRE MACKENIf you want to escape a world gone mad, certain skills will come in handy.
Claim to fame
PHILIPPA HAWKEROctavia Spencer has discovered that in the quest for Hollywood success, if you don’t ask, you don’t get.
The play’s the thing
DAVID STRATTONThe question of how to adapt plays for the screen has been around since movies began.
Packing their bags
Iain SheddenIt’s looking very much as if 2017 could be the year for Sydney trio Middle Kids.
A tribute to the sun king
Harold Savage was on Culburra Beach on the NSW south coast in 1937 when photographer Max Dupain took his picture.
MORE STORIES
Spellbinding virtuosity
MURRAY BLACKMaxim Vengerov’s performance with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra exceeded all expectations.
Strings attached for octets
Mark CoughlanWhat would festival directors do without the Mendelssohn octet?
Awkward silences add meaning
CHRIS BOYDDo you ever wonder how many times your life is gonna end ... totally change and then, like, start all over again?
Flair is not enough
Suzannah ConwayThe Queensland Symphony Orchestra has a terrific opening program for this season, but the performances lack passion.
Australia should be honest broker
TROY BRAMSTONAt a time of worldwide disruption, Australia should be a ‘model of global power’ in the Asia-Pacific.
Battler spirit powered dream
VERITY EDWARDSWhen it comes to sport’s folklore, the Cods did the equivalent of a country town team winning the AFL flag.
Karvan’s law as guilty pleasure
STEPHEN BROOKClaudia Karvan is not one of those award-winning actors who view the audience desire for reality TV with disdain.