Two of the best Australian movies of the year — Ladies in Black and Gurrumul — ready to stream on the smaller screen
A flawlessly cast bundle of sweet nostalgic joy with Ladies in Black and a moving and mesmerising documentary on the unique life of the late indigenous singer-songwriter Gurrumul Yunupingu. Here’s where to watch them this weekend.
Leigh Paatsch
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Two movies have landed on the streaming services this week that are some of the best our Aussie industry has to offer — Ladies in Black and Gurrumul.
And don’t miss a stop-motion delight starring Hugh Jackman that gets the seal of approval from audiences of all ages.
THE ONE DRESSED FOR SUCCESS
LADIES IN BLACK (PG)
***1/2
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A sincerely sweet bundle of nostalgic joy, unwrapped amid a lovely, light-drenched and laid-back Sydney of yesteryear.
It is the summer of 1959, and to while away an agonising wait for exam results that may get her into university, a bright teenager lands a position as a sales assistant at the city’s finest department store.
While learning a little about style, commerce and customer service during working hours, Lisa (a luminous Angourie Rice) learns a lot about life after hours from Magda (Julia Ormond), the imperious head of the store’s glamour outfits section.
Though the movie trades ably on its glorious looks — the period production design and vintage fashions are both exquisite — there is a thematic substance behind all that style which is not to be denied.
The acting ensemble, which includes Rachael Taylor, Susie Porter, Noni Hazlehurst and promising newcomer Alison McGirr is flawless.
In fact, it is hard to recall a better-cast Australian movie in recent times.
Directed by Bruce Beresford from the novel by Madeleine St. John.
THE ONE WITH A VOICE WORTH HEARING
GURRUMUL (PG)
****1/2
SBS ON DEMAND
Moving, mesmerising and genuinely from the heart, this extraordinary documentary holds a mirror to the unique life and music of the late indigenous singer-songwriter Gurrumul Yunupingu.
The subject, a blind Yolngu man from Elcho Island up Arnhem Land way, signed off on the final cut days before his sad passing at age 46.
Tribal elders have allowed its release to honour his legacy, a rare exception from Yolngu lore regarding mentions and depictions of the dead.
In his brief career, the enigmatic Gurrumul crafted a refined body of work that conveys emotions, feelings and spirits that are difficult to put into words.
Hear his voice for the first time, one of his aunts says, “ and already the song has told you who he is in the world.”
The most remarkable aspect of this poignant, revelatory doco is that despite Gurrumul’s unyielding refusal to discuss his music, the time we get to spend in his company here speaks volumes for a towering aural artist taken from his home and his people too soon.
THE ONE WHERE THE SEQUEL PROVES EQUAL
SICARIO: DAY OF THE SOLDADO (MA15+)
****
STAN
Don’t come to Day of the Soldado expecting a straightforward sequel to Sicario.
While the principal location remains the same, the change of direction executed here is instantly noted.
The overall impact is a lot less subtle than before, but often, just as powerful.
An aggressive opening act projects a hellish vision of the Texas-Mexico border that is no longer simply all about the movement of drugs.
Mexican cartels are now putting a foot down on the barbed wire and letting through terrorists of all creeds and callings.
To stem the tide, CIA black-ops specialist Graver (Josh Brolin) and his rogue Central American enforcer Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) stage a strategic kidnapping that may provoke the cartels to turn upon themselves.
THE ONE WHERE THE ROCK PICKS A FIGHT WITH AN EARTHQUAKE
SAN ANDREAS (M)
**1/2
NETFLIX
Both in his old career as a pro wrestler and his current gig as the most irresistibly likeable action star of them all, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has never grappled with an adversary he couldn’t eventually pin down.
So don’t go start worrying for his welfare in San Andreas.
So what if the movie pits The Rock against two terrifying tectonic plates that may relocate the entire US west coast to the ocean floor? Want to chuck in a third-act tsunami as well? Bring it on. Doesn’t matter.
Johnson stars as Ray, a rescue chopper pilot who must somehow save his estranged wife and daughter once the cataclysms commence.
What follows is a basic, moderately engrossing old-school disaster movie, heavy on skyscraper-scrunching effects and people saying “oh my God!” while making their eyes as wide as they can go.
Co-stars Carla Gugino, Paul Giamatti.
THE ONE FOR VERY YOUNG VIEWERS
MISSING LINK (PG)
***1/2
GOOGLE, ITUNES
A wonderful stop-motion adventure from Laika Animation (Coraline, ParaNorman).
Zach Galifianakis voices the lead role of Mr Link, a thoughtful and inquisitive Sasquatch who wants to live among his own kind instead of as a recluse.
Enter Sir Lionel Frost (Hugh Jackman), a fearless 19th century British explorer who will guide Mr Link a journey to find his long-lost yeti cousins in the fabled valley of Shangri-La.
An emphatic yes for this one across all ages, particularly primary schoolers and toddlers.
THE ONE WHERE A WOLF IS A MAN’S BEST FRIEND
ALPHA (PG)
***
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Long before dogs had their day — some 20,000 years ago, to be exact — another species had an impressive tryout for the job as man’s best friend.
This is the story of a hardy Arctic wolf named Alpha, and how she buddied-up big-time with Keda (Australian star Kodi Smit-McPhee), the only son of the chief of a nomadic tribe.
On his very first hunting expedition, Keda gets on the wrong side of a rampaging pack of bison and takes a tumble over a ledge.
Left for dead, Keda faces an impossibly arduous journey home until a chance encounter with the kindly and clever Alpha.
What follows is a stark, yet stunningly mounted adventure odyssey, wherein boy and wolf must meld minds to continually elude every danger nature sends their way.
Younger viewers (boys in particular) will plug into this experience on an easy-to-follow, coming-of-Ice-Age level.
Older onlookers won’t mind it either as a shorter, sweeter version of The Revenant, minus the murders and revenge killings, of course.
THE ONE THAT’S SORT OF POISONOUS, AND KIND OF BITES
VENOM (M)
**
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The extraterrestrial mega-symbiote from Spider-Man 3 gets his own sub-franchise, with an origin story in which he comes to occupy the body and mind of eccentric investigative journalist Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy).
The first half of the movie is marginally the better of the two, if only because it draws on an oddly endearing goofy quality Hardy finds in the character of Brock.
Later, everything devolves into a bit of a slick, FX-driven shambles as Brock/Venom slugs it out with a devious, Elon Musk-style tycoon.
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