What an
exciting treat to be able to see this at the opening night of the Melbourne
International Film Festival! The film didn’t disappoint the huge crowd – I don’t
think I heard a bad word uttered about it as we left the cinema and joined the
party at the Regent Ballroom.
I love a film
that’s based on a true story, and this one is a gem. It’s based in the late 60s
when, in the most unlikely circumstances, a group of Aboriginal women travelled
to Vietnam
to sing for the troops. This backdrop allows the film to touch briefly on some
more serious issues like the Vietnam War and the stolen generation in Australia
but they’re not overriding parts of the story by any means, it generally stays
up-beat and bloody good fun. Jessica Mauboy plays the lead singer and she
certainly isn’t a one trick pony; her acting’s almost as good as her
off-the-dial good singing. I also loved Chris O’Dowd (the Irish guy in Bridesmaids
& The IT Crowd) as the group’s manager, his comic timing and delivery is
just beautiful. Kudos also to Deborah Mailman who was subtly gorgeous as always
and to my favourite Australian comedian Judith Lucy who also delivers nicely in
her small role as a racist pub owner.
This film
is that fantastic combination of being both a lovely story that’s fun to watch
and one that’s delivered in a beautifully crafted way. I was so engrossed in it
that when a lovely plot line reached a crescendo, I actually gave a little yelp
and tugged on the arm of the mate I went with who was polite enough to indulge
my excitement with a grin that said ‘yes that really happened’ and a bit of ‘wow,
you’re like a nine year old right now, this is embarrassing’.
This film
has pretty broad appeal and I wouldn’t be surprised if it goes the way of Red
Dog where the audience builds and builds for a long run in cinemas on the back
of positive word of mouth. If you see it and enjoy it, tell someone.
Check out the trailer here…
it’s in cinemas from this Thursday, 9 August.