Easter is upon us, and we know what that means: a four day weekend.
Lean into all that extra long weekend time with these highlights from the SBS On Demand line-up, which benefit from us all having extra time on our hands.
Toni Erdmann
M
Germany, 2016
Genre: Comedy
Language: German
Director: Maren Ade
Starring: Sandra Huller, Peter Simonischek
What's it about?
When a prank-loving music teacher decides to reconnect with his businesswoman daughter, she’s not all that interested. Undeterred, he re-inserts himself into her life by (badly) disguising himself as someone else. She’s not fooled, but those around her take something of a liking to his clumsy antics and blatant lies, which only makes things worse – until she starts to warm to his act as a way to escape from the pressures of her own life.
Magnolia
MA15+
USA, 1999
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring: Julianne Moore, Tom Cruise, William H. Macy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jason Robards
What's it about?
What doesn’t happen in Paul Thomas Anderson’s epic tale of life in California? This features everything from Tom Cruise (in perhaps his best performance to date) as a foul-mouthed men’s right’s activist-slash-motivational speaker to William H Macy as a former child quiz champion to a rain of frogs falling from the sky. At one point all the characters stop what they’re doing to sing an Amiee Mann song; this is a film you really have to see.
Laurence Anyways
MA 15+
Canada, 2012
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Director: Xavier Dolan
Starring: Melvil Poupaud, Suzanne Clément, Nathalie Baye
What's it about?
The third film from French Canadian director Xavier Nolan is an epic look at the decade-long relationship between a woman named Fred and a transgender woman named Laurence (initially living as a man). Laurence is an award-winning writer who on her 30th birthday reveals to Fred that she’s always felt that she was born into the wrong body, and while Fred eventually comes to support her choice, that doesn’t mean the often heart-breaking relationship between the two runs smoothly.
The Big Blue
M
France, 1988
Genre: Action Adventure
Language: Italian, English, French
Director: Luc Besson
Starring: Jean Reno, Jean-Marc Barr, Rosanna Arquette
What's it about?
A relatively rare big-screen outing for director Luc Besson that doesn’t involve spaceships or gunplay, this is a heavily fictionalised take on the rivalry between two legends of the free diving scene from the 60s through to the 80s. With extensive underwater scenes and a classic score, this might not be one for those looking for Besson’s more traditional action – but if you’re willing to go with the flow, it’s easy to see why this is seen as a classic amongst diving fans.
Black Venus
MA 15+
Belgium/France, 2010
Genre: Drama
Language: French, Afrikaans, English
Director: Abdellatif Kechiche
Starring: Yahima Torres, André Jacobs, Olivier Gourmet
What's it about?
Nominated for the Gold Lion at the Venice Film Festival, this is the moving and often horrifying story of the “Hottentot Venus”, a South African woman who was paraded around Europe in the early 19th century as a freak show. Her “master” insists she’s a free woman – they even go to trial where she insists she’s an actor, not a slave – but each night she’s made to act like a wild animal for the amusement of Europe’s elite and the study of their scientists.
Barry Lyndon
M
UK, 1974
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Starring: Ryan O'Neal, Marisa Berenson
What's it about?
The most visually stunning (and most often overlooked) of Stanley Kubrick’s masterpieces, this is the tale of an 18th century Irish rogue who, believing he’s killed his cousin’s would-be husband in a duel, finds himself enlisting in the British Army, fighting in the Seven Years War, and eventually rising through the ranks to the heights of English society. But for a compulsive gambler and man-about-town, staying at those heights might be a bit of a problem.
O Lucky Man!
MA 15+
USA, 1973
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Director: Lindsay Anderson
Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren, Ralph Richardson, Arthur Lowe
What's it about?
Legendary British surrealist director Lindsay Anderson re-teams with Malcom McDowell for this quasi-sequel to their schoolyard classic If…. (don’t worry, you don’t need to have seen it to enjoy this). McDowell plays a young hard-working go-getter who bounces from job to job in a satire on western society and the difficulties of trying to do good under capitalism, with a hefty swipe at the UK’s role in propping up various corrupt dictatorships in order to turn a profit along the way.
Ali
M
USA, 2002
Genre: Biography, Drama
Language: English
Director: Michael Mann
Starring: Will Smith, Jamie Foxx
What's it about?
Michael Mann’s epic look at the life and times of Muhammed Ali goes well beyond his (impressively filmed) achievements in the ring. Anchored by an extremely powerful performance from Will Smith, this looks at Ali’s initially conflicted role in the Civil Rights movement, his refusal to serve in Vietnam, and the way his growing political awareness threatened his career, all against the backdrop of the turbulent 60s.
Bird
M
USA, 1988
Genre: Biography, Drama
Language: English
Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Forest Whitaker, Diane Venora
What's it about?
These days Clint Eastwood isn’t exactly known for his subtlety as a director. But back when his career was largely about being a tough guy in front of the camera, the long-time jazz fan moved into the director’s chair to helm this highly acclaimed took at the life of sax player, junkie and jazz pioneer Charlie “Bird” Parker, who died at the age of 34.
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