TOP PICK
Pulp: A Film About Life, Death and Supermarkets
DVD and Blu-ray
While the media fizzed over the rivalry between Blur and Oasis, true Britpop fans knew the real stars of the mid-’90s fad were Sheffield group Pulp.
Led by the louche and witty Jarvis Cocker, Pulp made music that was clever, cheeky, acutely observed and incredibly danceable. Although their chart career peaked with 1995’s Different Class (featuring the ubiquitous Common People), the group didn’t pack up shop until 2001, with the much-neglected We Love Life.
A decade later, Cocker et al attempted a global victory lap, concluding with a triumphant show at their hometown stadium.
This understated doco from New Zealand director Florian Habicht (Love Story) paints a portrait of the reformed band by dedicating itself to their habitat, interviewing Sheffield locals in the run-up to the farewell gig.
As entertaining and idiosyncratic as its subject, the film takes a somewhat sideways approach to the traditional music bio, spending little time examining the band’s history or personalities.
Cocker is as eccentric and fun as ever, but the contributions from those around the band are more revealing. Essentially, this is an ode to the power of music to reflect and refine its environment, and to create a sense of belonging between fans who might have nothing else in common.
It’s also one of the few concert films to truly capture the energy, community and rapture of a stonking live gig.
FESTIVAL
Girls on Film Festival
Northcote Town Hall, September 12-14
The newest film fest on the block offers something most are missing – girls. Frustrated by the limited representations of females on screen, a gang of locals has put together a program of films that don’t forget the other half of humanity. Each movie proudly passes the Bechdel Test (the three rules a film must observe to be considered non-sexist, including whether it features at least two women talking to each other about something other than a man). Considering more than half the films released this year have failed the test, this is no small feat. Highlights include Exposed, a doco on the burlesque subculture, and T Is For Teacher, by Australian director Rohan Spong, which follows four transgender teachers who transition while working in US schools.
BALLET
The Nutcracker
Arts Centre, September 12-25, tickets from $39
» www.artscentremelbourne.com.au
The Australian Ballet brings Peter Wright’s acclaimed production of a Christmas classic to town this week. Performed to Tchaikovsky’s much-loved score, the ballet tells the tale of young student Clara, whose dreams of being a dancer are brought to life by a magical nutcracker doll. Striking design work by John Macfarlane will whisk Clara (and the audience) from Edwardian home to fantastical realms of snow and sugar. One for the whole family
MUSICAL
High Fidelity
Chapel Off Chapel, September 11-21, $32.50-$37.50
Rob Gordon’s girlfriend has left him. From within the cluttered walls of his record shop, he tries to work out why, with a little help from his hopeless employees Dick and Barry. Based on the Nick Hornby novel, via the Hollywood film, this new rock musical makes its Australian debut this week, thanks to Melbourne theatre collective Pursued By Bear. The original score is brought to life by a live band and a large cast of talented folk, including Russell Leonard as Rob Gordon.
TV
The Honourable Woman
BBC First, Monday, September 15, 8.30pm
» www.bbcaustralia.com/channels/first/
Simply put, The Honourable Woman is one of the finest British dramas in years. It is written and directed by Hugo Blick, who was responsible for The Shadow Line – which was about as frustrating as it was ambitious. His new series is a slow-burn political thriller of the Le Carré school, centred on Nessa Stein (Maggie Gyllenhaal), an Israeli businesswoman working to bring about peace in the Gaza Strip. Or is she? While Gyllenhaal invests her character with a great sense of worthiness, she also brings an opaque quality. Soon enough we have reason to doubt her motives – and everyone else’s motives, for that matter. Attempting to get to the bottom of everything is Sir Hugh Hayden-Hoyle (Stephen Rea), a disgraced spy with little reason left to toe the company line. The mystery is gripping, but the focus is on suspense and character rather than dizzying twists. At its best, there are echoes of the unimpeachable ’80s classic Edge of Darkness, with Blick content to let us drift down the rabbit hole without name-checking every point of significance en route. Clever, surprising, topical and beautifully cast, this is unmissable television.
MYKE’S SPACE
WATCHING Brilliant Creatures: Germaine, Clive, Barry and Bob (ABC1, Tuesday) Great doco tracing the role of Australian legends in the ’60s cultural revolution.
LISTENING Ballet School’s The Dew Lasts An Hour. Berlin group sounding like the Cocteau Twins making dance-floor ’80s pop.
IN CINEMAS Wetlands. A German coming-of-age flick that is likely to offend almost everyone.
Follow Myke on Twitter @mykebartlett
