This Month
Death of a Ladies’ Man
This is an odd, unclassifiable film that combines comedy, drama, tragedy and a musical homage to Leonard Cohen.
- John McDonald
‘Ema’ rewrites the adoption drama with fire, dance and a punk attitude
The latest work from Chilean director Pablo Larráin may not be for everyone – but it may also be the most original piece of cinema you’ll see this year.
- John McDonald
De Gaulle brings a French giant to the big screen
Portraying one of France’s most respected figures – an archetypal military man: stiff, formal, devoted to duty – in a way that engages modern audiences was never going to be easy.
- John McDonald
Oscars shine a light on films often lost to arthouse fringe
Politically and culturally Beijing scored an own goal banning news that Chloé Zhao won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director.
- John McDonald
April
And the winner is … the Oscars Best Picture contenders 2021
Here is the AFR’s verdict on the eight candidates for the 2021 Academy Award for Best Picture.
- John McDonald
A pair of intensely personal stories, worthy of an Oscar
Two contenders for Best Picture in this year’s Academy Awards put the viewer into the shoes of a woman hellbent on revenge and a young musician coming to terms with deafness.
- John McDonald
Mank: The drunken jester behind ‘the greatest movie ever made’
With this Oscar nominee, director David Fincher has made a glorious fable of Hollywood.
- John McDonald
Courtroom drama casts light on a shameful moment in US legal history
Oscar contender ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ sees master wordsmith Aaron Sorkin seamlessly take to the director’s chair once more, with a star turn by Sacha Baron Cohen.
- John McDonald
- Opinion
- Film
The Father is more horror movie than family drama
Director and playwright Florian Zeller takes viewers down a rabbit hole that mirrors the confusion of Anthony Hopkins’ character as dementia takes its toll.
- John McDonald
March
Michelle Pfeiffer’s star power can’t save French Exit
This surrealist comedy by Azazel Jacobs is an uneven concoction that loses its charm as it cloyingly attempts to surprise and beguile the viewer.
- John McDonald
Black Panther biopic shows how little has changed
Judas and the Black Messiah follows the life of a young Black Panther, who fights racism – the rumbling volcano of fear and hatred that still looms large over America.
- John McDonald
- Opinion
- Film
The French movie marathon is back
The Alliance Française French Film Festival is back in 2021 to provide Australia’s film-deprived audiences with a rich selection to choose from.
- John McDonald
‘Nomadland’ is a reaction to a world that has come unstuck
Strange, affecting and melancholy, Chloé Zhao’s film leaves one with a lingering feeling of sadness for a society fraying at the edges.
- John McDonald
February
What to watch at the Jewish Film Festival
With more than 50 offerings to take in, there’s something for everyone at this year’s Jewish International Film Festival, currently screening in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and Canberra.
- John McDonald
This new heartwarming Korean film snaps at the heels of ‘Parasite’
‘Minari’ could follow its South Korean predecessor ‘Parasite’ come awards seasons, but this is an idealistic parable that embraces the light over dark.
- John McDonald
Denmark’s sexiest man explores the pros and cons of daytime drinking
In “Another Round”, Mads Mikkelsen stars as a depressed school teacher who rediscovers his spark with the help of a vodka bottle – what could possibly go wrong?
- John McDonald
Lies, braggadocio and a failing marriage
The movie The Nest is in turns the story of a marriage falling apart, a moral parable about greed and love of money and a low-level horror feature – an identity crisis partially obscured by the quality of the acting and cinematography.
- John McDonald
January
New murder mystery hits uncomfortably close to home
Dominik Moll’s ‘Only the Animals’ chases the identity of a murderer across two continents. But it’s no simple mystery – and along the way unveils the animal emotions hidden in the human heart.
- John McDonald
Eric Bana stars in a neo-noir set under a blaring sun
Eric Bana's latest film is a whodunnit in an isolated country town where the locals' human sympathies have all but evaporated in the penetrating heat.
- John McDonald
Ammonite's love story leaves science on the rocks
Real-life Victorian-era fossil hunter Mary Anning is prised out of her natural history shell and into a fictional lesbian romance.
- John McDonald
