The Sapphires
Year: 2012
Director: Wayne
Blair
Cast: Chris O’Dowd,
Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Miranda Tapsell, Shari Sebbens
Before I begin my
review…
It hasn’t been a huge year
for Australian film in 2012 so far, but The
Sapphires has more than a little potential to change that.
The Sapphires is now showing in
Australian cinemas and is already proving to be a huge success in the local
market. It has had the best opening weekend of an Australian film in the past
two years and the third strongest of the past three years. It is going from
strength to strength at the home box office and is about to make an impact on
the international market.
The film made its debut at the
Cannes Film Festival in May and has since received international praise. The
infamous Harvey Weinstein has scooped up the rights for its distribution in the
states after its successful showings at the festival…which is a sign that you
are onto a good thing if there ever was one. The Sapphires is set to make its North American debut at the
Toronto International Film Festival in September.
Personally I can see why this
film is such a runaway success. It is one of those films that I love that cross
genre’s so that it grabs a wider audience than a strictly genre film. There is
something for everyone and as well as addressing the serious social issues,
provides some light and fluffy humorous moments.
Just a side note, how well has
little Jessica Mauboy done for herself? Back in 2006, Australian Idol took their auditions to the Northern Territory for
the first time and their major find was 16 year old Mauboy who stood outside in
the heat of the Australian desert and sang “I Have Nothing” by Whitney Houston
while swatting flies away from her face. Now she has enjoyed the LA lifestyle
and working with such artists as Snoop Dogg and Ludacris and The Sapphires is her second feature
film. That’s called knowing you’ve
arrived.
Review
The Sapphires may be one of the best Australian films of the year
(if not the best), but it is a great film regardless of which country it was
made in.
Director Wayne Blair has brought
the true story of an all-girl Aboriginal singing group to the big screen in a
film that crosses all genre defining lines and makes this a film everyone will
enjoy. The Sapphires is sweet, funny
and feel good, but doesn’t eliminate the seriousness and emotion of the
important issues it addresses.
Gail (Deborah Mailman) and her
two sisters, Cynthia (Miranda Tapsell) and Julie (Jessica Mauboy) are living in
1968 Australia where racism against Indigenous Australians is still at large,
especially in an outback pub where they take part in a talent quest. However,
they do catch the eye of Dave (Chris O’Dowd) who gets the sisters and their
cousin, Kay (Shari Sebbens) an audition to sing in war torn Vietnam. It is a
journey which allows them to face their concerns and fears and realise their hopes
and dreams a long way from home and everything they have ever known.
The Sapphires has a bit of everything for everyone. It is not often
a film about Indigenous Australians comes along with addresses the seriousness
of the trials and tribulations they have faced in regards to racism and the
Stolen Generation (when Aboriginal children were taken from their families and
placed with white families and brought up away from their culture), but also
makes you smile and laugh. The characters and the location of the mission are
extremely realistic and give you an appreciation of how hard these women fought
for what they wanted despite the rocky road.
The film is obviously also a
musical, but not the type where they burst out in song in everyday conversation
for no reason. The musical sequences are well placed and the vocal talents of
each of the girls used perfectly. And The
Sapphires also is made complete by being a war film set in the Vietnam war.
It captures the raw emotion and the horrors of the war, but also shows some of
the beauty of the Vietnamese landscape and Saigon.
The script by Tony Briggs and
Keith Thompson is very well written and adapted from the stage musical of the
same name. It is clever and the jokes witty.
Deborah Mailman gives a career
best performance as “mumma bear” Gail. She is a strong and determines female,
yet her emotional vulnerability shown in the film is tear jerking. Although she
is a woman you wouldn’t want to get on the bad side of, she is extremely
likable.
Chris O’Dowd is also so likable as
the group’s manager, Dave. He is hilarious, but also gives a solid performance.
Miranda Tapsell gives a sweet and funny performance, and Shari Sebbens also gives a good performance as the
cousin who is racially confused as to whether she is white or black. Jessica
Mauboy is extremely realistic as the youngest, but most stubborn sister.
The Sapphires is a film that is about Australians, but not one that
is only to be enjoyed and understood by Australians. There may be one jokes
non-Australians may not get, but just as long as you know that Melbourne is in
Australia and not Ireland, you should be fine. There are many reasons to like
this film and to remember it.
8.5/10
References
News.com.au
Herald Sun
if.com.au
The Internet Movie DataBase