OCCUPIED CITY Scores of accounts about the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam during World War 2 are deftly counterpoised by contemporary shots of the city, many revisiting the addresses and locations as they are dryly described by an unemotional narrator. Tales of torture, persecution of Jews, transportations, food shortages, summary executions, resistance and collaboration are set against often placid scenes of people doing everyday things – walking down streets, riding bikes, going to school, making out in parks, drinking, eating, sitting on benches, getting married, shooting music videos, skating. Director Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave), working from the book Atlas of an Occupied City by his wife Bianca Stigter, book, paces his four-hour, 26-minute essay at an unhurried pace, often leaving you to dwell on streetscapes without any narration. Absorbing as the film is, it’s a demanding sit, which is why the option to soak it all in at home might serve the film better.
Tix & info
COPA ’71 While this so-so sports doco vividly illustrates how the staging of the women’s World Cup in 1971 was a magnificent backhander to the sexism of the era in general and of the male preserve of FIFA in particular – which strenuously refused to endorse the event – there’s a bit too much missing. Interviewing many of the valiant team members as they reflect on the experience, most of the film is dedicated to retelling the games. What should have drawn more scrutiny is the post-game media blackout and how the sport recovered to the enjoy the dominance and coverage it does today. Still, as incomplete a portrait as it is, there’s no arguing the bravery of the players and the statement they made at the beginning of feminism’s most formative decade. Executive produced by Venus & Serena Williams.
Tix & info
THE MOOGAI The noble attempt by writer/director Jon Bell to upgrade his award-winning 2020 short film into a full-blooded feature might well earn it a special accolade as the politest horror film ever. A member of the stolen generation and raised by a nice foster family, Sarah (Shari Sebbens) appears to be happy, living a good life as a legal consultant and earning more bread than husband Fergus (Meyne Wyatt). A difficult birth rouses the spectre of the titular beast, a malevolent spirit deputized by the colonial past to steal babies, presumably indigenous ones.
Bell stages some strong set-up scenes as Sarah becomes progressively unhinged and does a good job mashing history into his horror concept. Unfortunately, the closer he draws to the climax the more he loses his grip, too intent on making a statement than delivering scares or any real sense of threat. As a horror film The Moogai is just far too well-behaved, never losing its head like it should. Also annoying is the film’s portrayal and sidelining of non-indigenous characters. Sarah’s adoptive family, for instance, literally vanish from view. Disappointing.
Tix & info