Ready to serve: Jack Braddy in ‘The Organist’.

MIFF PICKS #1

The Film festival is off and running. Here are some early recommendations.

THE ORGANIST A raft of terrific, high-key performances ignite a delightfully dark, decidedly twisted comedy about a hapless organ donation salesman who discovers the disturbing truth about the people he works for. Full of witty rapport and boasting a surprisingly polished narrative, it’s one of the very few Australian comedies in recent years (big or small screen) that seems to know what it’s doing. Very well-directed by Andy Burkitt, who co-wrote with Xavier Nathan and lead actor Jack Braddy. The film was apparently shot in Melbourne on a tiny budget but, to be honest, it’s hard to tell. Bound to be a festival favourite.
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HEAD SOUTH Inspired by his experiences as a music-obsessed Kiwi teen Jonathan Ogilvie serves up a winning period comedy set in 1979 just as punk was hitting its post-Sex Pistols peak. The redoubtable Ed Oxenbould plays Angus, a high schooler with a love for Public Image who wants to start his own band and get close to the girl who works in the pharmacy. The unforced references to music and movies combine with convincing performances and deft stylistic touches to bring the era of suburban grunge to life. Marton Csokas provides top support as father to Angus, eager to get his mother back in the picture. A gem.
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SASQUATCH SUNSET In this dialogue-free oddity from David & Nathan Zellner (Kumiko), Jesse Eisenberg and cast mates disappear under prosthetic skins to play a clan of Sasquatches living undisturbed deep in the forest. The first half plays like an over-extended comedy sketch with way more poo-poo, wee-wee and wanking than even these semi-evolved primates warrant. It’s only when they happen upon signs of the bigger world in which they live do things really start to get interesting. If you’re after unusual festival fare, this is a great place to start.
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TWILIGHT TIME Solid, absorbing cross-section of scholar, author, activist Des Ball. the hugely influential intellectual whose opposition to nuclear weapons and the presence of US bases in Australia marked him as one of the most important figures in the disarmament discourse. Ball died in 2016 so the film serves as a fitting tribute to his impact and to his shifting attitude to the operations at Pine Gap.
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FUTURE COUNCIL Former actor and warrior for Mother Nature Damon Gameau continues his quest to save the Earth via documentaries with this slickly produced little number in which he takes eight very bright kids (selected from around a thousand) across Europe in a bus to meet with corporate leaders and green-minded business types. Ironically, while the film shows great concern about the problems with plastic the film itself feels plastic, with too much gloss and emphasis on feelings rather than getting straight answers to tough questions. Designed primarily as a discussion starter for school kids, it’s attractively packaged with visual effects and humour, but it is a bit too touchy feely – for grown-ups anyway. Still, major props to Gameau for his on-going creative commitment to an unquestionably noble cause.
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