As the 19th Century’s most accomplished writer of soap fiction, one of the keys to Charles Dickens’ longevity has been his ability to create a likeable hero. More impressively, he also possessed an uncanny ability to weave almost every aspect of society into a coherent storyline, gentlemen’s clubs, gaolers, average Joes and all.
The Gold Coast Film Festival (GCFF) presented by Pacific Fair Shopping Centre today ‘unmasked’ its 2013 Program showcasing 28 feature films from a diverse selection of local and international filmmakers including a host of award-winning films.
Swamps, sweat, humidity and crime are the focus of Lee Daniels’ third directorial effort, which takes a curious look at Southern USA in the late…
The French auteur Francois Ozon has crafted a deftly intelligent character drama interwoven with a psychological thriller that works extremely well in the first two thirds before collapsing under the weight of expectation in its finale.
Damien Hauer (an unkempt Jean-Pierre Bacri) is a down-trodden Parisian professor whose relationship with long-time companion and playwright Iva (Kristin Scott-Thomas) is falling apart….
Those who are familiar with Les Miserables will know that Victor Hugo was not the most cheerful of chaps. The Man Who Laughs, one of his less well known works, might sound merry but where pre-revolutionary France is concerned, there is not a great deal to laugh about.
Showing as part of the section of “Women’s Stories” this year in the French Film Festival is On Air, a character driven drama that follows an emotionally damaged women’s search for closure with the mother who gave her up to an orphanage as a child.
What’s a French film festival without an unabashedly full-blown, over the top romance? Serving that purpose this year is Happiness Never Comes Alone, a movie that is to cinema what a ridiculously large lollipop is to confectionary: it starts off with a pleasant enough sweetness, but goes on way too long and by the end, it just hurts your teeth.
Written and directed by Dan Mazer (known for his work with Sacha Baron Cohen on such films as Borat and Bruno), I Give It A Year shows you life after marriage for young impulsive couple Nat (Aussie Rose Byrne famous for being the “perfect” bridesmaid in Bridesmaids) and Josh (Rafe Spall).
Any film dealing with dark themes such as child disappearances, sex trafficking, and identify theft should theoretically be greatly disturbing. But Bart Layton’s The Imposter is more exhilarating than frightening; instead of scaring the audience, it continually makes them want to see more.