By Simon Miraudo March 10, 2014 Clio Barnard’s variation on Oscar Wilde’s The Selfish Giant transplants the pastoral fable to depressing, modern day Northern England. Short story scholars, however, shouldn’t look for specific comparisons between the two takes. They are few and far between. In Barnard’s telling, newcomer Conner Chapman plays Arbor, an unhinged kid […]
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Tag Archives: perth international arts festival
Curb your historicism – Oh Boy review
February 17, 2014 
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By Simon Miraudo February 17, 2014 A German hipster ambles from uncomfortable situation to uncomfortable situation in Jan Ole Gerster’s Oh Boy. Though the black-and-white feature has its fair share of jazzy stings on the soundtrack, what it really needs are the infamous horns from Curb Your Enthusiasm’s theme tune. But then Gerster would have […]
Continue readingLive with it – What Richard Did review
December 10, 2013 0 Comments
By Simon Miraudo December 10, 2013 Newcomer Jack Reynor gives a startling, star-making performance in the slow-burn Irish drama What Richard Did. It’s no surprise he’s since been snapped up for a big gig like Transformers 4 (though it does suggest Michael Bay has seen this little flick, and liked it, despite it not featuring […]
Continue readingMild horse – Jappeloup review
December 2, 2013 0 Comments
By Simon Miraudo December 2, 2013 Not every athlete’s triumph needs its own cinematic adaptation. Not even the animal ones. A series of very ordinary events unfurl in Christian Duguay‘s Jappeloup, based on the true story of the horse of the same name, who was small or something. Despite his diminutive stature and a poor […]
Continue readingThe wives of others – Much Ado About Nothing review
November 25, 2013 0 Comments
By Simon Miraudo November 25, 2013 What it must be like to live in Joss Whedon’s mind, his neurons and synapses constantly electrified into formulating spunky one-liners for his talented pals to zing one another with. To paraphrase William Shakespeare, “Uneasy lies the head that wears that Buffy–creating crown.” No wonder, then, that Whedon takes […]
Continue readingHoliday road – The Loneliest Planet review
April 8, 2013 0 Comments
By Simon Miraudo April 8, 2013 Gael Garcia Bernal and Hani Furstenberg are marvellous – and marvellously comfortable with one another – as Alex and Nica in Julia Loktev‘s dark travelogue, The Loneliest Planet. The first half of the feature sees their engaged couple wander, almost aimlessly, across Georgia (the one near Russia, and not […]
Continue readingInterview: Julia Loktev (The Loneliest Planet)
April 8, 2013 0 Comments
By Simon Miraudo April 8, 2013 Writer-director Julia Loktev warns that her film The Loneliest Planet is a “dangerous” date movie. In it, an engaged couple played by Hani Furstenberg and Gael Garcia Bernal roam Georgia’s picturesque Caucasus Mountains. Though madly in love one another, they are confronted with a life-threatening situation that completely changes […]
Continue readingTalking cure – The Patience Stone review
March 25, 2013 0 Comments
By Simon Miraudo March 25, 2013 Are the navel-gazing antics of HBO’s Girls less significant than the tortured trials undertaken by the unnamed Afghan woman in Atiq Rahimi‘s The Patience Stone? Well, yes, obviously. But do the gravity of those trials make the latter automatically a more worthwhile work? Not necessarily. Rahimi’s dramatically inert Patience […]
Continue readingSnow black and white – Blancanieves review
March 18, 2013 0 Comments
By Simon Miraudo March 18, 2013 Blancanieves is the third adaptation of the Snow White fable we’ve seen in just 12 months. Though it’s been a boon for the little people acting guilds, audiences are surely starting to tire of seeing the same story over and over again (one that’s been ingrained in them since […]
Continue readingInterview: David Petrarca (Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, True Blood)
February 21, 2013 0 Comments
By Simon Miraudo February 21, 2013 “I look at the networks as dinosaurs standing in the tar pits; they’re just waiting to fall over.” So says David Petrarca, one of the television industry’s go-to directors. Over the past decade, he’s had a front-row seat to the medium’s extraordinary evolution. Having helmed episodes of hit HBO […]
Continue readingThe medium is the message – No review
February 18, 2013 0 Comments
By Simon Miraudo February 18, 2013 It’s the rare movie that celebrates marketing minds. Even the heroes of TV’s Mad Men are presented as having questionable professional ethics, what with their uncanny ability to peddle cigarettes and their willingness to promote such blights on U.S. culture as Richard Nixon and jai alai. Pablo Larraín‘s No […]
Continue readingThis prison of ours – Caesar Must Die review
February 11, 2013 0 Comments
By Simon Miraudo February 11, 2013 The continued relevance of William Shakespeare’s work more than 400 years after it was originally written is an impressive feat of prophetic penmanship, to say the least. Who, from this day and age, could possibly compare? I daresay E.L. James will unlikely set future generations alight with her BDSM […]
Continue readingLived in bars – Smashed review
February 4, 2013 0 Comments
Smashed – Starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Aaron Paul, and Nick Offerman. Directed by James Ponsoldt. Rated MA. By Simon Miraudo. Mary Elizabeth Winstead‘s name wasn’t among the recent batch of Oscar nominees. Had it been, it would’ve signified the biggest “little movie that could” success of the season, and a late commendation for her criminally […]
Continue readingA new career in a new town – Barbara review
January 28, 2013 0 Comments
Barbara – Starring Nina Hoss, Ronald Zehrfeld, and Rainer Bock. Directed by Christian Petzold. Rated M. By Simon Miraudo. Those Germans are an austere bunch; a stereotype that won’t be challenged by Christian Petzold‘s bluntly christened Barbara. Where it may wind up surprising audiences is in its warmth and humanity, that will perhaps only reveal […]
Continue readingFamily ties – Sister review
January 21, 2013 0 Comments
Sister – Starring Léa Seydoux, Kacey Mottet Klein, and Gillian Anderson. Directed by Ursula Meier. Rated M. By Simon Miraudo. Ursula Meier‘s Sister commands your respect if not your attention. It tells of the complicated relationship between a 12-year-old thief, Simon (newcomer Kacey Mottet Klein), and his burnt out soeur, Louise (the entrancing Léa Seydoux). […]
Continue readingWhen the heat gets hot – Safety Not Guaranteed review
January 14, 2013 0 Comments
Safety Not Guaranteed – Starring Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, and Jake Johnson. Directed by Colin Trevorrow. Rated M. By Simon Miraudo. If you like your science-fiction lo-fi, and your coming of age parables with a handy technological metaphor at their core, Colin Trevorrow’s Safety Not Guaranteed is the movie you’ve been waiting for (or perhaps […]
Continue readingBrew ha ha – The Angels’ Share review
November 26, 2012 0 Comments
The Angels’ Share – Starring Paul Brannigan, John Henshaw, and Roger Allam. Directed by Ken Loach. Rated MA. By Simon Miraudo. The Angels’ Share is the charming story of four Scottish criminals who find redemption – if not exactly rehabilitation – through alcohol. It may not seem like the typical logline for a heart-warmer; it […]
Continue readingWhat a beauty – Miss Bala review
November 23, 2012 0 Comments
Miss Bala – Starring Stephanie Sigman, Lakshmi Picazo, and Juan Carlos Galvan. Directed by Gerardo Naranjo. Rated MA. By Richard Haridy. Gerardo Naranjo‘s riveting Mexican thriller Miss Bala is a tremendous cinematic achievement; both a stunning technical exercise in sustained tension and a rich allegory highlighting the hopeless scenario facing an entire society caught in […]
Continue readingQuirky in any language – Medianeras review
March 26, 2012 0 Comments
Medianeras – Starring Javier Drolas, Pilar López de Ayala, and Inés Efron. Directed by Gustavo Taretto. Rated M. By Simon Miraudo. Medianeras plays the Perth International Arts Festival from March 26 to April 8. Click here for more details. Gustavo Taretto’s Argentine rom-com Medianeras owes a lot to quirky American cinema. Fans of Wes Anderson […]
Continue readingInterview: Joshua Marston (The Forgiveness of Blood)
March 26, 2012 0 Comments
Interview: Joshua Marston (The Forgiveness of Blood). By Simon Miraudo. New York-based writer/director Joshua Marston made a splash with his feature debut Maria, Full of Grace in 2004; a Spanish-language film that earned star Catalina Sandina Moreno a Best Actress nomination at the 77th Academy Awards. He spent the next six years trying to put […]
Continue readingTwo serious men – Footnote review
March 12, 2012 0 Comments
Footnote – Starring Shlomo Bar-Aba and Lior Ashkenazi. Directed by Joseph Cedar. Rated PG. By Simon Miraudo. Footnote plays the Perth International Arts Festival from March 12 – 25. Click here for more details. It arrives in cinemas nationally April 5, 2012. Joseph Cedar’s Footnote is easily one of the most exciting and creatively executed films about […]
Continue readingHome alone – This Is Not a Film review
March 5, 2012 0 Comments
This Is Not a Film – Directed by Jafar Panahi and Mojtaba Mirtahmasb. Rated G. By Simon Miraudo. This Is Not a Film plays the Perth International Film Festival as part of PIAF’s In Retrospect line-up. It screens with Panahi’s The White Balloon on March 9, 2012. Click here for more details. This Is Not a Film arrives […]
Continue readingMark Wahlberg wants in on Headhunters remake
February 29, 2012 0 Comments
Mark Wahlberg is keen to star in the English language adaptation of Jo Nesbø’s crime novel Headhunters. Wahlberg told Shortlist he was a big fan of the recent Norwegian version, going so far to call it “one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time” “I met with the director [Sacha Gervasi] and pleaded with […]
Continue readingNorwegian hood – Headhunters review
February 28, 2012 0 Comments
Headhunters – Starring Aksel Hennie, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Synnøve Macody Lund. Directed by Morten Tyldum. Rated MA. By Simon Miraudo. Headhunters plays the Perth International Arts Festival from February 26 to March 11. Click here for more details. It arrives in cinemas nationally March 8, 2012. Morten Tyldum‘s Headhunters is the latest adaptation of a […]
Continue readingPerth International Arts Festival – Tabloid review
February 20, 2012 0 Comments
Tabloid – Directed by Errol Morris. Rated M. Originally published June 12, 2011. By Simon Miraudo. This review was first run – in slightly shorter form – during the Sydney Film Festival. Tabloid plays the Perth International Arts Festival from February 20 to February 25. Click here for more details The hilarious documentary Tabloid, from director Errol Morris, […]
Continue readingInterview: Miranda July (The Future)
February 14, 2012 0 Comments
Interview: Miranda July (The Future). By Simon Miraudo. Miranda July is a unique talent with many strings to her bow; she’s a performance artist, musician, novelist, screenwriter, director, actor, and, as I discovered when I sat down with her at the Sydney Film Festival, a generally charming human being. Her latest movie – The Future – is a romantic drama about crumbling couple […]
Continue readingPerth International Arts Festival – A Separation review
January 30, 2012 0 Comments
A Separation – Starring Peyman Moaddi, Leila Hatami and Sareh Bayat. Directed by Asghar Farhadi. Rated M. Originally published July 31, 2011. By Simon Miraudo. This review was first run during the Melbourne International Film Festival. A Separation plays the Perth International Arts Festival from January 30 to February 12. Click here for more details. […]
Continue readingInterview: Aki Kaurismäki (Le Havre)
January 25, 2012 0 Comments
Interview: Aki Kaurismäki (Le Havre). By Simon Miraudo. Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki (ah-kee kaur-oohs-mak-ee – more fun to pronounce than even Michel Hazanavicius!) is one of the most acclaimed writer-directors in the world. Famous for his adaptation of Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, as well as The Match Factory Girl and The Man Without a Past, […]
Continue readingPerth International Arts Festival – Buck review
January 23, 2012 0 Comments
Buck – Directed by Cindy Meehl. Rated PG. Originally published August 1, 2011. By Simon Miraudo. This review was originally run during the Melbourne International Arts Festival. Buck plays the Perth International Arts Festival from January 23 to February 5. Click here for more details. Following the exploits of real-life cowboy (as well as inspiration […]
Continue readingPerth International Arts Festival – Le Havre review
January 16, 2012 0 Comments
Le Havre – Starring André Wilms, Blondin Miguel and Jean-Pierre Darroussin. Directed by Aki Kaurismäki. Rated M. By Simon Miraudo. Le Havre plays the Perth International Arts Festival from January 16 to January 22. Click here for more details. Besides having one of the best names in cinema history, Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki, (ah-kee kaur-oohs-mak-ee; […]
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