The Sapphires (2013)

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

A good-time, 60's musical drama set in the unlikely locations of rural Australia and the U.S. Army bases of Vietnam as we follow the on-the-road adventures of four young Aboriginal cousins who form a close-harmony girl-group but who get frozen out at local talent shows due to white prejudice. Then, with the help of boozy, seat-of-his-pants, soul-music loving Irish musical arranger, Chris O'Dowd, they escape their small-town surroundings and get a gig touring said army bases having been made-over by him into a Supremes-type, crowd-pleasing outfit who of course go over big with the young, mostly black G.I.'s who make up their audience. Various romantic entanglements follow, not unnaturally as the girls hit their hormonal stride as well as other highs and lows as they end their dramatic tour-of-duty and return back home for the predictable but still welcome happy ending for pretty much everyone.Drawing on the shared racism by black Americans fighting for their country while back home the civil rights movement is in full swing with the less well-known racism experienced by the Aborigine community at the hands of the majority white "gubba" population, the film attempts and largely succeeds in improbably mixing this in with the more showbizzy musical backdrop as the girls knock out highly creditable versions of the great soul numbers of the day from the Motown, Stax and Atlantic labels.Somehow then this unlikely mix of "M.A.S.H." crossed with "The Commitments" works, largely down to the commitment (sorry) of its cast. The four girls gell well together, each with their own defined characteristics, handily explained to us late-on by O'Dowd's Dave Lovelace character while O'Dowd delivers another entertaining turn as the hard-bitten manager who softens to his protégés once they hit the road.The story is naturally episodic as the girls fall into one adventure after another and not all of them come to the light, to quote Sam and Dave, but its heart and soul are in the right place and if you're a dyed-in-the-wool soul boy like you'll love the dynamic soundtrack of sweet late 60's and 70's soul music too.

I had to check that this was directed by a man, just to confirm what seemed blatantly obvious. The women appear to make choices, but all as a direct result of what the men want them to do - manager, lover, boyfriends, soldiers. Every female action seems to be as a response to the men. The film seemed to me to lack charm or interest. It started off beautifully with a super rendering of Mockingbird, but nothing better than that later. The scenes jumped improbably, and I kept asking myself why? What happened then? How did we get here? And the music I found quite insipid, having seen most of the original artists themselves when I was but a youngster. Try this one - MLK has been shot, so go and shake your hips for those poor black boys. It might be true, but it don't make it smell nice. Sorry folks - nice try, but I didn't like it at all.

The problem with being a movie critic (here or anywhere) is the need to find common ground. If you are writing to a crowd conditioned to believe that every new Hollywood product is better than the last, or an "action" film MUST (simply must!) be great because it has whats-his-name is it, then frankly it is time to turn in the old keyboard for a toaster oven. I say this because I notice that, on IMDb, positive reviews get a positive reader response and negative reviews generally don't. In Psych 101, they call this "cognitive dissonance" and has to do with human nature -- many review readers prefer to read the reviews AFTER seeing the film, to seek agreement, rather than BEFORE, to seek wisdom. OK, sorry for the diatribe. To make it up to you, I will say that this film is a high-9. The script, the production values, the performances, are a joy. In fact, in my view, that is the key to the film. Joy. The secret to the 1960s (for those of you who were not there) is that for a short time it seemed (not making this up) like the forces of Light and Dark in the universe were struggling, and Light was about to win. In fact it did not turn out that way -- look at where we are today, look at the last half dozen presidents, look at the Japan disaster. But -- the point -- this wonderful film is not only superb entertainment on its own, but somehow succeeds in capturing the essence of the era. Hope and Joy. Even in the one "scary" scene (bullets flying, one of the main characters gets hit) we have fast segue to a love letter being read aloud, and that takes away the sting immediately. I defy anyone to watch this film and not feel better afterwards than they felt before. BTW, Chris O'Dowd and Deborah Mailman steal all their scenes together, which is hard to do, considering how solid the ensemble cast is. Loved it. You will too.

If there was any justice, this movie would destroy tripe like "The Butler" in the Oscar races. Since they both deal with racism, but this one isn't so ham fisted and preachy. This is a fun romp with great music and genuine heartfelt performances. Great characters and wonderful. I loved it. It may surprise people come March.What I most enjoyed about this movie is that, as an American, I got to see another part of racism that parrots our own. The insidious ways in which the "upperclass" continually find ways to gentrify a culture. This message is NOT overt though (like in "The Butler") It's subtle in it's slow burn. And these girls also face real problems. One is a single mother, another racked with guilt over the past, one that dreams of bigger stardom, and one that just loves seeing the world. This is an amazing ensemble that feels so real. The people feel real. The moments are recaptured on such a low budget scale, it's impressive. I marveled at their ingenuity and really happy I saw it. One of the best of the year.