Sydney Film Festival 2019

SFF#01: PALM BEACH. Lifelong friends reunite for a party at Sydney's Palm Beach. In the past, director Rachel Ward has made films centred on confronting and unpleasant subjects. Here, she's finally directed a film with an audience in mind. This senior citizen chamber play is worth watching and a fine choice for Opening Night. And having a chat over a beer at the afterparty with the friendly and approachable Bryan Brown was a real bonus.

SFF#02: JOURNEY TO A MOTHER'S ROOM. A daughter decides it is time to move out of her mother's apartment. Painfully subdued, this Spanish drama really captures the daughter's boredom living with her widowed mother and the mother's emptiness when the daughter leaves.

SFF#03: BUDDHA IN AFRICA. There are Buddhist orphanages across Africa, where tough Chinese instructors teach youths discipline and martial arts. The youths are given opportunities they wouldn't otherwise have but many of them feel they are losing touch with their own culture. This observational documentary shows us the boys facing this struggle, along with spectacular displays of acrobatics and a not-so-spectacular fight with a machete that breaks out between the strict instructors and some defiant students.

SFF#04: BAIT. A British fisherman struggles to make ends meet while we struggle to stay awake. Flickering photography, choppy editing, stilted performances and incomplete sound design all add up to give this the feel of a student film from the 90s. But there will always be critics who call it art.

SFF#05: SKIN. Based on a true story, Jamie Bell plays Bryon Widner, a reformed white supremacist skinhead who underwent extensive and painful surgery to remove the racist tattoos that covered his face. But removing himself from his criminal family proved even harder. With a strong supporting cast, including Australians, Daniel Henshall and Danielle Macdonald, this is a bleak journey with a positive outcome.

SFF#06: QUEEN OF HEARTS. Why do actors these days feel the need to prostitute themselves with unsimulated sex scenes? This bold effort at capturing truth is actually an enormous distraction from the plot. And Danish directors are always the culprits! This potent drama tells the story of a woman who works tirelessly to protect abused children, only to have an illicit affair herself, with her teenage stepson. His youthful bravado soon falls away and he becomes an emotional and vulnerable little boy. Overlong and uneven, this is nonetheless a fascinating portrait of a manipulative monster. And it's refreshing to see the growing trend of female Scandinavian directors who completely reject the "all women are victims, all men are perpetrators" narrative that is constantly reinforced in our own culture.

SFF#07: PAIN AND GLORY. Any film by Pedro Almodóvar is met with much anticipation. In his latest, Antonio Banderas plays the director himself, or rather, a surrogate named Salvador. But the lives of great artists aren't necessarily filled with excitement and intrigue, as we soon learn here. This film is plodding and self-indulgent.

SFF#08: JUDY AND PUNCH. A 17th Century puppeteer with a drinking problem tries to kill his wife. This so-called "feminist revenge film" can't decide if it wants to be a drama or a comedy (and yes, I do get all the references to the classic puppet show). One thing's for sure, though, the director of this misguided fantasy has a real problem with men. [Trailer not available but this link seems appropriate]

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SFF#09: SUBURBAN WILDLIFE. Four friends in their early twenties try to find direction and purpose in their lives. "I think I'm just waiting for something," says one. Made with a budget of only a few thousand dollars, with excellent performances and photography, this Australian film is a real accomplishment.

SFF#10: MARIANNE & LEONARD: WORDS OF LOVE. I've been a disciple of Leonard Cohen for the past fifteen years. The depth of his writing, his understanding of what it is to suffer and the profound humility he showed in life all endeared him to millions of people worldwide. This documentary puts a focus on his muse, Marianne Ihlen, and their time living on the Greek island of Hydra. Many of the stories will be familiar to Cohen fans, but there are some surprise revelations as well. Irving Layton's widow has no reservations telling us what she really thought of Suzanne Elrod and Leonard's mother. Judy Collins speaks fondly but misremembers some details. And the director, Nick Broomfield, tells of his own romantic involvement with Marianne. For fans of the great Canadian poet and songwriter, and those wanting to know more about his muse, this is essential viewing.

SFF#11: THE PUBLIC. I greatly admired Emilio Estevez's previous film, THE WAY. In his next, he plays a librarian in a tough position. Homeless men take over his workplace one evening to avoid having to sleep on the streets, where people are dying in the freezing cold. This film has a great premise and though it drags in places and doesn't ring true in others, it does succeed in provoking thought about a serious social issue.

SFF#12: IN MY BLOOD IT RUNS. A boy living in the Northern Territory fails in the classroom but thrives in the bush. Light on narrative, this is strictly for the patient viewer. [Trailer not available]

SFF#13: LIFE AFTER THE OASIS. Years ago, I came across a $1 DVD at a video store. It was the excellent Australian documentary, THE OASIS, that looked at the tireless work Paul and Robbin Moulds did with the Salvation Army to help homeless youth on the streets of Sydney. Ten years on, the filmmakers try to track down these homeless people to see what has become of them. Have they got off the streets? Have they got off the drugs? Are they even still alive? This sobering follow-up film deserves to be seen by everyone.

SFF#14: SCHOOL OF SEDUCTION: THREE STORIES FROM RUSSIA. In Russia, women outnumber men. As a result, schools have emerged where women can formally study how to get a husband. One institution, run by a sleazy, middle-aged man, teaches women to cry and act stupid in order to get what they want. This disconcerting documentary follows three women over a period of seven years as they manipulate their way to marriage.

SFF#15: SLAM. A young Muslim man living in Sydney tries to track down his missing sister. She's a "slam" poet who writes and performs embarrassing, undergraduate-level verses that aim to divide people. Was she abducted or has she fled the country? This arty and contrived melodrama has so many dream sequences, it becomes difficult to determine what is supposed to be real and what is supposed to be imagined. Both seem artificial.

SFF#16: IT ALL STARTED WITH A STALE SANDWICH. 'Art should challenge you to question your beliefs,' we're told. I love art. But what is art and what is trash? This documentary looks at the public art commissioned over the decades by entrepreneur, John Kaldor. Unfortunately, a prolonged and unnecessary introductory speech from the director, Samantha Lang, delayed the start of the film and I had to leave for the next screening before this interesting documentary was completely finished.

SFF#17: DANGER CLOSE: THE BATTLE OF LONG TAN. One hundred soldiers against an enemy of two thousand isn't exactly a fair fight. Director Kriv Stenders has done an excellent job recreating this tense and violent battle. He also did an excellent job handling a gentleman who tried to hijack the Q&A after the screening.

SFF#18: PARASITE. The most talked-about film of the festival is this year's Palme d'Or winner and with the director in attendance, the lines at the State Theatre were around the block. Members of a family living in poverty in South Korea con their way into the home of a family with wealth. What starts as a clever comedy becomes a bizarre bloodbath and it's not easy to go along with this drastic change of gears.

SFF#19: THE LEUNIG FRAGMENTS. Michael Leunig's weaponised whimsy has provoked and enthralled Australians for decades. This is a wonderful film about a wonderful artist.

SFF#20: THE AMAZING JONATHAN DOCUMENTARY. Filmmaker Benjamin Berman had spent months of his time shooting a documentary on the terminally-ill Amazing Jonathan, only to learn he had competition from another documentary crew who were also making a film about the crazed magician. And the rival team was much more experienced, with two Academy Awards. What follows is a race to make the better film, in this strange story with unexpected twists.

SFF#21: THE DEAD DON'T DIE. Jim Jarmusch's zombie comedy has a terrific cast that includes Bill Murray, Danny Glover, Tilda Swinton, Selena Gomez, Adam Driver and Steve Buscemi. It's just a shame the script is so, well, lifeless.