Archives For Three Summers

August Film Round Up

October 6, 2017 — Leave a comment

From the great to the shocking, here’s a round up of what I was writing about in August.

Small Town Killers (2017, Dir: Ole Bornedal) – ‘Your enjoyment will vary depending on how you feel about slumming it with the darker side of suburbia.’ Full review at filmink.com.au.

Ben Elton’s Three Summers of Love, Racism, Social Comment and Satire – Interview with Three Summers actors, Robert Sheehan and Rebecca Breeds. Full interview at filmink.com.au.

Bastardy (2008, Dir: Amiel Courtin-Wilson) – ‘Nearly ten years on from its release, Bastardy is still a powerful, bittersweet but optimistic watch about one of the biggest trailblazers in the acting world and indigenous rights.’ Full review at filmink.com.au.

The Silent Eye (2017, Dir: Amiel Courtin-Wilson) – ‘The Silent Eye is as much a monument to friendship as it is to gestation of creativity.’ Full review at filmink.com.au.

Three Summers (2017, Dir: Ben Elton) – ‘Uses the microcosm of a WA folk festival to pick at the scabs of Australia’s political climate.’ Full review at filmink.com.au.

Handsome Devil (2016, Dir: John Butler) – ‘A warm blanket of a film that manages to tackle sexuality and homophobia with a surprisingly light, but not ineffectual, tone.’ Full review at filmink.com.au.

 

 

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Three Summers (2017)

August 26, 2017 — 1 Comment

In Ben Elton’s second film as director, the writer and comedian uses the microcosm of a WA folk festival to pick at the scabs of Australia’s political climate both past and present. Elton has always been known for his politics, so his desire to sink his teeth into something like this is not surprising. What is surprising is how he wraps up the political back and forth in the form of a romantic comedy which sees overly serious theremin player, Roland (Robert Sheehan) and down to earth fiddle player Keevey (Rebecca Breeds) pretend they don’t fancy each other over three years.

Without this ‘will they? won’t they?’ as the main thrust of the film, Three Summerscould come across a little overwrought and perhaps even on-the-nose. That said, the film’s backdrop is a smart choice on Elton’s part; allowing characters of differing POVs to rub shoulders, without it feeling like they’ve been crowbarred into the scenario.

Read the rest of the review here.

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