Keywords: Melbourne Film Festival
-
ARTS AND CULTURE
- Tim Kroenert
- 31 October 2013
2 Comments
On the eve of taking her vows as a nun, 18-year-old novice Ida learns that she is Jewish. This sets her on a journey of self-discovery as she seeks to, literally, uncover the bones of her past, which has its roots in the Holocaust. It is timely to reflect on these matters in the wake of last weekend's anti-semitic violence in Bondi. It is better to grasp the bones of truth than walk in pious ignorance past the mass graves of history.
READ MORE 
-
ARTS AND CULTURE
- Tim Kroenert
- 01 August 2013
3 Comments
On 1 January 2009, police in Oakland, California shot dead an unarmed African-American man, 22-year-old Oscar Grant. The event sparked riots, and renewed tensions around race and debates about police procedure. Underlying this politicised context is the story of a young father and former drug dealer who was trying, with mixed success, to turn his life around.
READ MORE
-
ARTS AND CULTURE
Kindergarten teacher Lucas' life falls apart after he is wrongfully accused of abusing a young girl. We might feel outraged at his persecution, yet are his persecutors really guilty of anything more than taking a victim at her word? Rather than a cautionary tale, Lucas' story is best viewed as a tragedy.
READ MORE
-
ARTS AND CULTURE
- Ellena Savage
- 21 December 2012
2 Comments
My most vivid childhood Christmas memories have little to do with Christmas. In one, I'm rifling through the antique wooden bowl beside my grandmother's fireplace, finding hundreds of ancient marbles. They glow in the amber light that spills through the hand-crafted lead-glass lights. I don't even remember the presents I got that year.
READ MORE
-
ARTS AND CULTURE
- Tim Kroenert
- 21 September 2012
After losing a bet, a gawky teenager asks a girl with a physical disability out on a date, and is humiliated when she rejects him. A deaf Jewish girl is abused in Nazi Germany. A man has a stroke and begins the hard journey back to the land of words. This is no pity party, but a challenge to engage in stories that enhance empathy.
READ MORE
-
ARTS AND CULTURE
- Tim Kroenert
- 22 September 2011
2 Comments
The interviewer snaps at one archaeologist, who is attempting, with little success, a demonstration of Palaeolithic spear-throwing. At other times he is astute and discerning, drawing experts out on both the academic and mystical significance of one of the world's most significant archaeological sites.
READ MORE
-
ARTS AND CULTURE
- Tim Kroenert
- 14 September 2011
2 Comments
UN peacekeeper Kathryn Bolkovac uncovers evidence that some of her colleagues have been involved with sex slavery and human trafficking. Her interactions with one victim reinforce her determination to achieve justice, while highlighting the limits of her ability to do so.
READ MORE
-
ARTS AND CULTURE
- Tim Kroenert
- 08 September 2011
3 Comments
A sacked employee takes out his frustration on his former boss's luxury car. His actions turn out to be simply the end result of an unhealthy workplace culture. Mediation attempts to resolve the conflict through dialogue rather than punishment or retaliation.
READ MORE
-
ARTS AND CULTURE
- Tim Kroenert
- 01 September 2011
2 Comments
An elderly couple renew their marriage vows, with a few cheeky variations. A young gay man comes out to his grandmother over the telephone. Life in a Day implicitly credits the online world as a physical space cohabited by many and varied individuals the world over.
READ MORE
-
ARTS AND CULTURE
- Tim Kroenert
- 25 August 2011
1 Comment
Leo's ailing health means he is due to become a ward of the state, forced from his house into a nursing home. He needs personal care that is better provided by loved ones than an institution. But Mike's compassion is overrun by material needs. He decides to exploit Leo's plight.
READ MORE
-
ARTS AND CULTURE
- TIm Kroenert
- 18 August 2011
5 Comments
Accused of conflating his Catholic faith with indestructibility, Brazilian Formula One driver Ayrton Senna responds, ominously, that he is ever conscious of his own mortality. His story is a tragedy of the highest order. You don't need to be a racing fan to be deeply affected by it.
READ MORE
-
ARTS AND CULTURE
- Tim Kroenert
- 10 August 2011
For those who seek role models at the multiplex, through the polarised lenses of a pair of cheap 3-D glasses, Green Lantern contains two types worth considering. One is 'the villain I hope I'm not'. The other is 'the hero that I could be'.
READ MORE