Irish actor Chris O'Dowd can do no wrong these days. He is hilarious in the mockumentary Family Tree on HBO, and in Australian gem The Sapphires, he will steal your heart.
Based loosely on the real life story of 3 aboriginal girls and their half white cousin in 1960s Australia who formed a girl band and performed for troops in Vietnam, it is like nothing else you have ever seen. And yet, it has that familiar "feel good movie" trajectory that I love so well.
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| Shari Sebbens, Miranda Tapsell, Jessica Mauboy and Deborah Mailman as The Sapphires |
The actresses are fabulous Aussie unknowns (hopefully not for long). The frocks are wonderfully evocative of the period, and the Go-Go boots are just fabulous!
The script was written by Tony Briggs, the son of one of the original singers, although he changed it (in his words, "we went a bit 'Argo'") to make the dynamics of the story richer. Actually, he had written a 2004 play by the same name and co-wrote the film script with Keith Thompson. The director Wayne Blair is also an aboriginal who acted in the original play.
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| The original Sapphires: Naomi Mayers, Lois Peeler, Laurel Robinson and Beverly Briggs |
So if you need a wonderfully uplifting and inspiring film some evening, with a bit of 1960s soul music and a dash of romance, this is your chick flick. My hubby loved it just as much as I did, and we both enjoyed the DVD extras with interviews with the four lovely ladies above.
Cheers!
P.S. If you liked this one, you might also enjoy the 2002 film Whale Rider about a spunky Maori girl in New Zealand.
I finally get to be the first comment! Yay!
ReplyDeleteI took your 12 year old niece to see this one a few months ago (when it was still at a small second-run theatre here in Toronto) - she was not exactly enthusiastic to see it 'cause she thought it was going to be a "Mom movie", but we both got caught up in the story, the humour and the great music!
Another fabulous pick ...
Hello dear sister. Just finally getting around to responding to comments. I need more quiet time!
DeleteGlad you and Jules liked this one. I love Chris O'Dowd! Have you seen him in the Christopher Guest show Family Tree? He is hilarious!
Just wanted to pop in to say that, here in Oz, Jessica Mauboy and Deborah Mailman are definitely NOT Aussie unknowns. ;)
ReplyDeleteLove the blog! ^_^
Hello Unknown! Thanks for the comment. Glad to hear that Jessica Mauboy and Deborah Mailman are well known in Oz. They are certainly incredibly talented!
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