When I moved up to Sydney from Melbourne in 1997, I honestly thought I’d be here for a year or so before I moved back home again. Twelve years later I’m still here, and twelve years later I’m still saying “this year I’m going to buy a subscription to the Sydney Film Festival and take 11 days off to go to the movies…”.
Taking 11 days off at this time of year to sit in the cinema is a bit of a fantasy really. But there are three movies I’d really like to see this year, and I think you might like them too.
A Good Man
An Australian documentary that illustrates the loving relationship of Chris and his wife Mary, who suffered a massive stroke 14 years ago, leaving her unable to walk or talk.
An Inverell farmer with the usual worries about the weather and the bank, Chris comes up with a bizarre solution to their financial woes – a brothel.
Saturday 6 June, 2:00 PM, 80 minutes
Greater Union George Street,Sydney
Blind Loves
A Slovakian film that combines documentary and fiction to depict a variety of scenarios in which people who are blind fall in love.
Miro and Monika are in love, but her parents disapprove not of his blindness but his Romany roots. As a hairdresser snips, a pregnant woman reveals anxieties and hopes. We meet Peter and Iveta, sitting listening to ski jumping – and in a wonderful sequence imagining a walk along the seabed.
Sunday 7 June, 12:30 PM, 77 minutes
Dendy Opera Quays, Sydney
The Horse Boy
A North American film that tells the story of autism, family and an attempt to treat the condition with traditional Mongolian spiritual healing. It sounds like a bit of a stretch for me, and probably the one I’d most likely miss if I had to pick one.
Journalist Rupert Isaacson and his psychology professor wife, Kristin, are struggling to cope with their autistic son, Rowan. The only time he’s calm is when he’s on horseback. They decide to travel to Mongolia, a land famed for its horses and shamans, to see if traditional healing can help. Their journey, intercut with footage of their life in Texas and testimony with autism experts, is both a spiritual and emotional rollercoaster.
Sunday 7 June, 2:00 PM, 93 minutes
Greater Union George Street, Sydney
So if I had to pick just one, my money’s on The Good Man. It sounds like a raw and engaging film that is bound to warm my heart. I’ll be seeing that one, for sure.
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