PEARLS OF THE FAR EAST 17 JULY 2014

Reels at Wehl Film Society has found Pearls of the Far East, an INDI (Independent) and award winning film which is not normally available in Australia through the normal channels. 

The anthology is based on a series of short stories and a novel, Between Two Mountains of Love, The Package of Cam le Tobacco, Blood Moon, Beauty, The Diary of an Abandoned Woman, Love is Out of Mind, and Beyond the Truth by Nguyen Thi Minh Ngoc who also wrote the screenplay and stars in the cinematic adaptation.  

Unlike  his Cloud Atlas (2012) there is no intercutting this time and different actors are used in each of the seven stories.  These factors work in the favour of the film as viewers are allowed the time to absorb each new world.  Filmmaker Cuong Ngo has taken a difficult creative path for his feature debut by minimizing the dialogue and relying on the visual impact of the images to tell his story. 

The cinematography is gorgeous and so is the cast which works with mixed results; whereas the Vietnam landscape enhances the picture, the latter at moments contributes to a Harlequin romance quality which is hard to ignore.  The musical score accentuates the internal conflicts and also helps to unify the different segments together. 

Country of Origin: Canada/Vietnam

Released: 2011

Ratings and Starbox scores:

The Federation of Victorian Film Societies scoring it 4.7 stars out of 5.

Whitehorse Film Society in Melbourne Starbox rating of 3.9

PRISONERS - REELS at Wehl May 15th Movie TRAILER

The terrific audience who saw the Oscar winning performance of Cate Blanchett in "Blue Jasmine" gave it a rating of 3.89 when rounded up became a rating of 4 Stars.  This topic became the basis of animated discussions over coffee and cake post screening.

PRISONERS Starring Hugh Jackman - screened Thursday 15th May

Quebec filmmaker Denis Villeneuve has snared top talent for PRISONERS, his first English language film, with JAKE GYLLENHAAL playing Loki, a cop investigating the disappearance of two girls on Thanksgiving. They're the daughters of Keller and Grace Dover - HUGH JACKMAN and Maria Bello and of the friends they were spending the day with - Franklin and Nancy - TERRENCE HOWARD and VIOLA DAVIS. An immediate suspect is local lad Alex - PAUL DANO.

When Alex is discovered to be mentally challenged and is released on insufficient evidence Keller decides to take matters into his own hands as the police pursue multiple leads and the pressure mounts.

Ratings: ABC’s At The Movies team of Margaret: David: both give it 4 Stars

IMDB give it 8.1

Classification: MA
Duration: 153 mins

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Lead actor: Hugh Jackman
Release Date: September 2013
Language: English

Coming Attraction, Thursday 10th April screening of "BLUE JASMINE"

Hot on the heels of last month's Italian comedy Basilicata Coast to Coast at Reels at Wehl comes the much anticipated and celebrated Blue Jasmine. CATE BLANCHETT stars in Woody Allen's latest film playing the role of Jasmine who flies first class from New York to San Francisco, talking non-stop to the stranger sitting next to her. First class seat one can only assume! She's come west to stay with her sister Ginger, though the siblings - adopted and with different birth parents have little in common. Flashbacks show how Jasmine was formerly married to Hal, ALEC BALDWIN a NYC wheeler dealer and Jasmine was part of a social whirl, unaware that Hal was a serious womaniser. All that has come crashing down, and Jasmine has to start life all over again, broke and in a strange city - it requires a great deal of re-adjustment. This is a movie that you have heard and seen a lot about and if David Stratton of ABC's At the Movies rates this highly with 4.5 Stars, it is a must see on Thursday 13th April. New members are always welcome to the film society and enjoy the movies with other lovers of quality cinema at the unique and intimate Wehl Street cinema.

Next Screening | Friday - February 14th, 2014 | A Royal Affair

SPECIAL VALENTINE'S DAY FILM

WITH

CHAMPAGNE AND CHOCOLATE

6:30pm - Drinks and Nibbles
7:00pm - Short film followed by 'A ROYAL AFFAIR'

About The Film...

The true story of an ordinary man who wins the queen’s heart and starts a revolution. Centering on the intriguing love triangle between the ever more insane Danish King Christian VII (Mikkel Boe Følsgaard), the royal physician who is a man of enlightenment and idealism Struensee (Mads Mikkelsen) and the young but strong Queen Caroline Mathilda (Alicia Vikander), A ROYAL AFFAIR is the gripping tale of brave idealists who risk everything in the pursuit of freedom for their people... and above all, it is the story of a passionate and forbidden romance that changed an entire nation.

Read on for review by Margaret and David from ABC's 'At The Movies...

Ratings:  Margaret: David:  

 

Review by Margaret Pomeranz

The Danes are riding high on the international film scene at the moment with MADS MIKKELSEN winning best actor in Cannes recently. He stars in a new release here, A ROYAL AFFAIR, about a possibly little-known historical event in Denmark in the 18th Century. A young English princess, Caroline - ALICIA VIKANDER - travels to Copenhagen to be married to the Danish king Christian - MIKKEL BOE FOELSGAARD.She's horrified to discover that her young husband is mentally unstable. When Johann Struensee, Mikkelsen, is appointed to be his personal physician, a dangerous closeness develops between the young Queen and the doctor.

When the Queen and Struensee become involved in politics, trying to reform some of iniquities in Danish society, they enter even more dangerous territory.This has been beautifully directed by Nikolai Arcel from a screenplay he wrote with Rasmus Heisterberg, the duo that brought us the first and the best of the Stieg Larsson adaptations, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO. It's not only a grand romance, it's also an insight into the dangers of personal and political hubris. MADS MIKKELSEN is wonderful as Struensee as is ALICIA VIKANDER as the Queen, but it's the performance of MIKKEL BOE FOELSGAARD as the King that is stunning, he brings a beautiful pathos to his demanding role. It is quite a conventional film in many ways, but it's been done intelligently, it is an engrossing work.

Next Screening | January 17th, 2014 | Red Obsession

6:30pm - Drinks and Nibbles
7:00pm - Show screened

 

From ABC's 'At The Movies' with Margaret and David

 

Ratings: Margaret: David:

 

The great chateaux of Bordeaux struggle to accommodate the voracious appetite for their rare, expensive wines, which have become a powerful status symbol in booming China.

 

 

Review by Margaret Pomeranz

A most fascinating documentary about the wine industry has been made by Australian filmmakers Warwick Ross and David Roach. RED OBSESSION focuses on the wine producers of Bordeaux, on the 'grand cru' estates, where for centuries the combination of ancient vines, soil, climate and devotion has produced some of the greatest wines in the world. The creation of a good wine is regarded as an art form by the winemakers, the grapes are more miracle than agricultural product.

But with the global financial crisis many traditional markets in the West fell away, leaving it to the rich of China to pick up the slack, which they did with gusto.

This beautifully shot and constructed film, cinematographers Lee Pulbrook, Steve Arnold and editor Paul Murphy must take a lot of credit, with narration by Russell Crowe, is a revelatory account of a crucial moment in history for the famous French vineyards. It is absolutely fascinating, jaw-dropping in some instances when you realize what prices are being talked about here, but at the same time the film is more than the sum of its parts. It's about the commodification of wine, the marketing of brands, the buying for status, it's a cautionary tale of our times. And all this began when Warwick Ross sat next to Master of Wine Andrew Caillard on a plane to London. The journey began there but went on to France, Hong Kong and the outer reaches of China. It really is an epic tale.

 
Director: David Roach and Warwick Ross
Classification: PG
Duration: 79 mins

Release date: 15/08/2013
Release details: Limited national release
Genre: Documentary
Distributor: Roadshow Films

Festivals & Awards:

Cinefest Oz 2013

Melbourne International Film Festival 2013

Sydney Film Festival 2013