Charlie Chaplin: The Kid
G
USA, 1921
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Language: English
Director: Charles Chaplin
Starring: Charles Chaplin, Jackie Coogan, Edna Purviance
What's it about?
Considered one of Charlie Chaplin's best films, The Kid also made a star of little Jackie Coogan, who plays an orphan boy cared for by The Tramp like his own son. Troubles arise when the his mother reappears to claim the child back. The result is a funny, clever and tear-jerking comedy, which, after almost a century since its release, hasn't lost any of its charm and brilliance.
Source: SBS Movies
Bicycle Thieves
PG
Italy, 1948
Genre: Classics, Drama
Language: Italian
Director: Vittorio De Sica
Starring: Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell
What's it about?
Italian director Vittorio De Sica's Oscar-winning neorealist masterpiece is widely considered one of the best movies ever made, and it's required viewing for Father's Day. Set in post-World War II Italy, this powerful story of dignity and sacrifice follows an impoverished man and his son as they walk the streets of Rome, desperately looking for a stolen bike - their means of survival.
Italian director Vittorio De Sica's Oscar-winning neorealist masterpiece is widely considered one of the best movies ever made, and it's required viewing for Father's Day. Set in post-World War II Italy, this powerful story of dignity and sacrifice follows an impoverished man and his son as they walk the streets of Rome, desperately looking for a stolen bike - their means of survival.
Boy
M
New Zealand, 2010
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Language: English
Director: Taika Waititi
Starring: James Rolleston, Taika Waititi, Te Aho Eketone-Whitu
What's it about?
Taika Waititi (Hunt for the Wilderpeople) is hardly going to win any Father of the Year awards for his portrayal of a deadbeat dad, but his feel-good '80s comedy bears the writer/director's trademark quirky sense of humour and visual inventiveness. Waititi inspires both ridicule and empathy as prodigal father who barges into the lives of his children to "reconnect". Eleven-year-old Boy, who had imagined him as a hero for all these years, sees his fantasies shatter one by one.
Taika Waititi (Hunt for the Wilderpeople) is hardly going to win any Father of the Year awards for his portrayal of a deadbeat dad, but his feel-good '80s comedy bears the writer/director's trademark quirky sense of humour and visual inventiveness. Waititi inspires both ridicule and empathy as prodigal father who barges into the lives of his children to "reconnect". Eleven-year-old Boy, who had imagined him as a hero for all these years, sees his fantasies shatter one by one.
Boy review: A rose-coloured ode to the '80s
Watch Taika Waititi & James Rolleston interview
Watch Taika Waititi & James Rolleston interview
Source: SBS Movies
In Order of Disappearance
MA15+
Norway, Sweden, 2014
Genre: Action, Comedy
Language: Norwegian, Swedish
Director: Hans Petter Moland
Starring: Stellan Skarsgård, Kristofer Hivju, Bruno Ganz, Peter Andersson
What's it about?
Expect a good dose of black humour, violence, and a lot of snow in this Scandinavian answer to the Coen brothers' Fargo. Nymphomaniac star Stellan Skarsgård (and the dad of True Blood's Alexander Skarsgård) plays introverted and hard-working snowplow driver Nils, who after losing his son to heroin, turns into a ruthless vigilante, waging war against the gangsters he holds responsible for his son's death.
Expect a good dose of black humour, violence, and a lot of snow in this Scandinavian answer to the Coen brothers' Fargo. Nymphomaniac star Stellan Skarsgård (and the dad of True Blood's Alexander Skarsgård) plays introverted and hard-working snowplow driver Nils, who after losing his son to heroin, turns into a ruthless vigilante, waging war against the gangsters he holds responsible for his son's death.
Stellan Skarsgård on his ‘Norwegian Fargo’, standing up for Lars von Trier, and why he loves being nude
You might also like: Icelandic drama 'Trapped'
You might also like: Icelandic drama 'Trapped'
Patrik, Age 1.5
M
Sweden, 2008
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Language: Swedish
Director: Ella Lemhagen
Starring: Gustaf Skarsgard, Torkel Petersson, Thomas Ljungman
What's it about?
This heartfelt Swedish comedy about prejudice stars Gustaf Skarsgård (Floki in Vikings and Alex Skarsgård's brother) as Goran, one half of the perfect, loving gay couple he forms with Sven (Torkel Petersson, Kops). Newly approved for adoption, they believe that baby Patrik, age 1.5, is on his way. One tiny decimal mistake later, they find themselves stuck with a 15-year-old homophobe with a criminal record.
This heartfelt Swedish comedy about prejudice stars Gustaf Skarsgård (Floki in Vikings and Alex Skarsgård's brother) as Goran, one half of the perfect, loving gay couple he forms with Sven (Torkel Petersson, Kops). Newly approved for adoption, they believe that baby Patrik, age 1.5, is on his way. One tiny decimal mistake later, they find themselves stuck with a 15-year-old homophobe with a criminal record.
The Way
MA15+
United States, 2012
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Language: [language]
Director: Emilio Estevez
Starring: Emilio Estevez, Deborah Kara Unger, Martin Sheen, James Nesbitt, Tcheky Karyo
What's it about?
Tom (Martin Sheen) is an American doctor who comes to St. Jean Pied de Port, France to collect the remains of his adult son (Emilio Estevez), killed in the Pyrenees in a storm while walking the Camino de Santiago, also known as The Way of Saint James. Rather than return home, Tom decides to embark on the historical pilgrimage to honor his son’s desire to finish the journey. What Tom doesn’t plan on is the profound impact the journey will have on him and his 'California Bubble Life".
[link title="The Way: Emilio Estevez interview" url="node/882"]
[link title="The Way Review" url="node/5826"]
Source: SBS Movies
