Category Archives: Cinema

The End of the Line screening again

Next week there is another screening of the documentary The End of the Line at the Mercury Cinema. It is being presented by the Adelaide branch of the Greens SA. The issues covered are particularly relevant to the campaign for Marine Parks in SA, see Greens MP Mark Parnell’s site, or the Wilderness Society, whose campaign manager Peter Owen will be available to answer questions after the screening.

From the filmmaker’s website:

The End of the Line, the first major feature documentary film revealing the impact of overfishing on our oceans, had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in the World Cinema Documentary Competition. Sundance took place in Park City, Utah, January 15-25, 2009.

In the film we see firsthand the effects of our global love affair with fish as food.

It examines the imminent extinction of bluefin tuna, brought on by increasing western demand for sushi; the impact on marine life resulting in huge overpopulation of jellyfish; and the profound implications of a future world with no fish that would bring certain mass starvation.

Filmed over two years, The End of the Line follows the investigative reporter Charles Clover as he confronts politicians and celebrity restaurateurs, who exhibit little regard for the damage they are doing to the oceans.

One of his allies is the former tuna farmer turned whistleblower Roberto Mielgo – on the trail of those destroying the world’s magnificent bluefin tuna population.

Filmed across the world – from the Straits of Gibraltar to the coasts of Senegal and Alaska to the Tokyo fish market – featuring top scientists, indigenous fishermen and fisheries enforcement officials, The End of the Line is a wake-up call to the world.

Andrew L Urban:

Helped enormously by a wonderfully rich score, The End of the Line presents its arguments cogently and without hysteria – but alarmingly. Clearly, apart from plain bureaucratic stupidity, money (ie greed) is what’s at the end of the line; a small number of operators are making multi million dollar harvests. And no-one is saying stop, except perhaps those who made this film. But there is a glimmer of hope …

Roger Ebert:

“The End of the Line,” directed by Rupert Murray, based on a book by Charles Clover, is constructed from interviews with many experts, a good deal of historical footage, and much incredible footage from under the sea, including breathtaking vistas of sea preserves, where the diversity of species can be seen to grow annually. We once thought of the sea as limitless bounty. I think I may even have heard that in school. But those fantasies are over.

 

[youtube QWB8KJ1aIJ4]

 

2011 Adelaide Cinémathèque

The Cinémathèque program for the first half of the year is out, as usual lots of great stuff. If you’re not familiar with it, the Cinémathèque is a film society screening films on Monday & Thursday nights at the Mercury Cinema, usually grouped into themed programs. You can’t buy individual tickets, you can buy a pass for 4 films, 16 films, or an annual pass which lets you get into everything (this is because technically they only have rights to screen films for members). I usually get an annual membership, it’s a great chance to see old favourites on the big screen, as well as catching up on those classics I never got around to seeing before and being exposed to fantastic obscurities that I’d never even heard of.

The program so far looks great, here’s some highlights for me

  • Alain Resnais! Last Year at Marienbad is one of my favourite films ever, even though I saw it not too long ago after buying the dvd I can’t miss a chance to see it on the big screen, I’ve never seen it in the cinema before. Look forward to the other films in the Resnais program as well (I’ve seen Hiroshama Mon Amour but it was quite a long time ago, haven’t seen Je T’aime, Je T’aime).
  • They haven’t had Woody Allen for a while so good to see some of his films there. Most of them I’ve already got on dvd and know well, but I never get sick of Annie Hall so I’ll probably go see it, and it’s hard to miss Manhattan just to see the opening on the big screen.
  • Brazil – I’ve only ever seen half of this, the video I was watching went bad halfway through so I’ll be keen to see this.
  • 1970’s Conspiracy Films – great theme! The only one I’ve seen is The Parallax View, so I’ll be keen to check out the others.
  • Rainer Werner Fassbinder – never seen any of his films, interested to check them out.
  • Bill Murray – nice selection, it’s a hell of a long time since I’ve seen Ghostbusters (have seen it on the big screen before, remember watching it at the Roxy in Parramatta when it first came out).

It all starts with Five Easy Pieces on March 28th.

[youtube inIRtrZIvwU]

[youtube zjGdLZNAdRc]

[youtube TBzHphcc2Jw]

[youtube cyRqR56aCKc]

 

This Way of Life at the Mercury Cinema

On the first Wednesday of the month the Mercury Cinema screens documentaries, the last one for the year is This Way of Life on December 1st.

From the Mercury Website

Against isolated mountains in New Zealand, Peter and Colleen Karena raise their six children on the thin edge between disaster and freedom, uniting their philosophy with their circumstances, turning hardship into a meaningful and satisfying life.  This complete immersion in another way of life reveals that the price of freedom is something that is well worth paying.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers.

[youtube Sl4MlNEhAXY]

Baraka at the Adelaide Cinémathèque

On Thursday May 27 the film Baraka will be screening at the Mercury Cinema as part of the Adelaide Cinémathèque. It really is an incredible film, perhaps the simplest way I can put it is that it is the story of our planet. It has to be seen on the big screen, and such opportunities may not come up too often (I think my last was in 1996 or 1997). Roger Ebert put it very well in this review (for the Bluray dvd release which is about the first thing that’s made me think that maybe bluray is worthwhile):

If man sends another Voyager to the distant stars and it can carry only one film on board, that film might be “Baraka.” It uses no language, so needs no translation. It speaks in magnificent images, natural sounds, and music both composed and discovered. It regards our planet and the life upon it. It stands outside of historical time. To another race, it would communicate: This is what you would see if you came here. Of course this will all long since have disappeared when the spacecraft is discovered. (go read the rest of the review)

[youtube 7geZs4qci1M]

Remember that you can’t get single tickets for the Cinémathèque, the minimum is a 4 film membership, but there’s plenty more coming up, there are films every Monday & Thursday for the rest of the year.