Rock the Casbah Premiering Monday 25th July, 8.30pm
Laila Marrackchi’s dramedy about a family gathering to mourn its Patriarch is a warm, enjoyable and visually scrumptious affair, even if the premise is familiar.
The film starts off in a slightly offbeat manner as a wealthy upper-class Patriarch, played by Omar Sharif, informs us of his death. It’s a delightful cameo appearance from Sharif, who pops back briefly now and then, as his family, friends and mistress gather to mourn his passing.
A film about family dynamics with plenty of melodrama unfolds over numerous mouth-watering meals. An estranged daughter Sofia (Morjana Alaoui) returns from America for the funeral along with her young son, a missing daughter is grieved over, and a mistress and her moody son struggle to find their place amongst proceedings. Lebanese filmmaker and actress Nadine Labaki (Caramel) does a fabulous job of lightening the mood as a sister trying to catch the attention of her distracted husband through her plastic surgery.
It’s pretty obvious to see where Marrackchi’s script will take us next, and the American vs. Middle Eastern theme is predictable, but the film moves along at a steady pace and the interiors and garden provide an exquisite setting for this funeral to take place. If nothing else, you’ll be transfixed by the culture and food on display here.
A Royal Night Out Premiering Saturday 30th July, 8.30pm
Who knows what happened on May 8th, 1945 when Princess Elizabeth (Sarah Gadon), the future Queen, and sister Princess Margaret (Bel Powley) went onto the streets on London to celebrate VE day, but in director Julian Jarrold’s interpretation of events, they had a jolly old time!
This is a light-hearted and charming film that captures the Princesses’ brief moment of freedom as they swirl champagne, chase each other around London and mix with ordinary folk. Humour, as well as class, are pillars of the story with Elizabeth in particular interested in observing how the ordinary citizens view the Royal Family – a scene captured nicely when Elizabeth stands outside the gate of Buckingham Palace watching her parents wave to the crowd.
Princess Margaret, played delightfully by Bel Powley, gets to have all the fun and provide most of the laughs as she skips around London oblivious to the fact her older sister is frantically trying to find her. Princess Elisabeth played by Canadian actress Sarah Gadon (A Dangerous Method) recruits Jack (Jack Reynor), a young Republican airman to help her get her way around London, and the two flit from the Ritz to Trafalgar Square, Soho to the Chelsea Barracks as London’s citizens celebrate the same thing, but in different ways and with different expectations of the future.
The film is based on true events and yet it’s clear from Jarrold’s romantic comedy approach plenty of creative license has gone into crafting this story. Most importantly, he does a great job of capturing the genuine feel of the dawning of a new era, and this makes A Royal Night Out a pleasure to watch.
No More Heroes Premiering Wednesday 27th July, 8.30pm
As a child of the 70s, my childhood was spent teetering at the top of our neighbour’s steep driveway on a skateboard, plucking up the courage to push off. If you made it down the steep incline in one piece, you had a glorious ride all the way to their front door – a good 70 meters or so. This, like many other Kiwi kids, was how we passed the time after school and in the weekends and thanks to Andrew Moore’s documentary No More Heroes, you too will find yourself reminiscing about those glorious Pokémon Go free days.
No More Heroes captures the rise and fall of New Zealand’s skateboard scene in the 1970s along with the story of one of New Zealand's biggest skateboarding manufacturers, Edwards Skateboards that turned over $10 million between 1975 and 1980.
The film features plenty of interviews, a Flying Nun soundtrack and photos, but it wouldn’t be a legitimate skateboarding video without home movie footage. Moore has also unearthed plenty of previously unseen footage of New Zealand’s skateboard scene, so sit back and enjoy this nostalgic ride.