High Ground: Inspired by history this tells of the treatment of aboriginal people in the 1930s. Very confronting, particularly as it shows the dreadful treatment of aboriginal people in recent times. Rated as 4-4.5/5.
The Nest: An entrepreneur moves his American family to England, espousing his status and wealth as much better than reality. It was a dark story with cinematography to match but came across as a bit disjointed and the end was not quite clear. Rated as 2/5.
Long Story Short: A comedy around a newly married man whose life moved forward a year every time he woke up. It was easy watching, with a message around the importance of family and friends rather than money and time. Rated as 3/5.
Wild Mountain Thyme: The story of two young people in Ireland, who eventually come together. It is a light and gentle film. The music was excellent, but not enough of the rolling Irish hills included in the cinematography. Rated as 3/5.
Minari: The story of a Korean family who move to Arkansas in the 1980s. A story of determination and emotion with some excellent performances. Rated as 4/5.
Peter Rabbit 2: An animated film as a sequel to the earlier “Peter Rabbit” release. Only one class member saw this film and thoroughly enjoyed it – felt it was better than the original. Rated as 4.5/5.
Raya and the Last Dragon: In a re-imagined world, a young warrior sets off to find the last dragon to help save her father and world from a dark mass that turns everything to stone. It has a great message about greed and trust, as well as providing colour and action to appeal to younger audiences. Rated as 4/5.
Nomadland: Based on a book about a woman embarking on a journey in a converted van, this includes mainly real people who have various reasons for living a nomadic life. We were introduced to some interesting characters, with some great comments. “I am houseless, not homeless”, “things remembered will never die”. Rated as 3.5/5.
At our May class we will be discussing “The Father”, which is screening at BPACC from 6 May.
- Did you enjoy the film? What in particular did you like?
- Was there anything that you did not like?
- What did you think about the cinematography?
- What did you think of the performances? Any strong performances that stand out? Any weak performances that spoilt the film?
- Overall rating out of 5.
Joy Shirley