A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Reviews of all films made in Australia and New Zealand.
Australian and New Zealand Films, Southeast Asian Films
Bety Reis and Luigi Acquisto, “A Guerra da Beatriz / Beatriz’s War” (2013) A major first in the post-independence culture of Timor-Leste, “Beatriz’s War” is a…
Australian and New Zealand Films
Christopher Kezelos, “Zero” (2011) A heart-warming little short that could have been a lot more than it was with a bigger budget and more ambition, “Zero”…
Australian and New Zealand Films
Julia Redmond and Rhian Skirving, “Change My Race” (2013) This SBS production is a disturbing enquiry into a new trend known as “deracialisation” in which young…
Australian and New Zealand Films
Jeni Clevers (producer), “The Big Blue” (2006) There’s an area in the Southern Ocean just south of South Australia and south-eastern Australia near Tasmania where every…
Australian and New Zealand Films
Klaus Toft, “Killers in Eden” (2004) Made for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, this television documentary explores an intriguing partnership forged between humans and wild animals that…
Australian and New Zealand Films
Daniel Nettheim, “The Hunter” (2011) Based on the novel by Julia Leigh, “The Hunter” is both a mystery thriller and a journey of self-discovery and redemption…
Australian and New Zealand Films, British Films
Janice Sutherland, “Murdoch (Part 2)” (2013) As I suspected, the second half of this series turns out to be a damp squib: it’s basically a rundown…
Australian and New Zealand Films, British Films
Janice Sutherland, “Murdoch (Part 1)” (2013) Here be the story of the rise and rise of the global media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his empire News…
Australian and New Zealand Films
Nada Roude, “In the Footsteps of the Ancestors – Muslims Down Under” (2009) A little known timeline of Australian history extends further back than 1788 when…
Australian and New Zealand Films
Jacob Hickey, “Dirty Business: How Mining made Australia (Episode 3)” (2012) Final and best episode in a three-part series, this documentary examines the mostly unhappy relationship…