A new month begins bringing with it a new selection of films on Rialto Channel. Rialto World covers off the latest in Italian cinema, Rialto New Wave features a handful of debut films by Australian filmmakers, and Rialto Documentary features fascinating music stories on both Thursday and Friday evenings. There’s plenty to enjoy, here are my highlights for the week. 

The Broken Circle Breakdown
Starring: Johan Heldenbergh & Veerle Baetens
Directed by: Felix Van Groeningen
Screening: Rialto World, Monday 30^th March, 8.30pm 

According to director Felix Van Groeningen, you can’t share grief and this thought is at the centre of this heartbreaking film. Based on a play by its lead actor Johan Heldenbergh, The Broken Circle Breakdown tells the story of a bluegrass singer and a tattoo artist who struggle to cope with their young daughters cancer diagnosis. The two turn to music and each other to deal with this devastating blow, but it’s not enough. What’s most surprising about this film is it’s in Flemish and set in rural Belgium – not the most obvious place to find an American loving country singer - and this peculiarity gives this sad melodrama a nice edge. Gorgeous music, rich performances and genuine heartbreak – it’s clear to see why this was Belgium's official Oscar entry for Best Foreign Language Film. 

Artifact
Starring: Jared Leto, Shannon Leto, Tomo Milicevic
Directed by: Jared Leto (as Bartholomew Cubbins)
Screening: Rialto Documentary, Monday 24^th March, 8.30pm 

Anyone interested in music will know this story and the industry backstory that goes along with it, however it’s pretty addictive watching Oscar winning actor Jared Leto publically take on his record company. Regardless of the reasons Leto gives for making this documentary, such as documenting the making of their 2010 album This Is War, it’s clearly a vehicle for his band Thirty Seconds to Mars to get across their side of the story in their battle against Virgin Records/EMI. This is a classic David and Goliath story about a band that queried why after selling millions of albums, they’re still $2 million in debt to their record company. After trying to extract themselves from their contract, Virgin Records/EMI slapped a $30 million lawsuit on them for breach of contract. The documentary which was cobbled together from 40,000 hours of footage over a couple of years debut at the 2012’s Toronto Film Festival where it won the people’s choice award for documentary.   

A Promise
Starring: Rebecca Hall, Alan Rickman and Richard Madden
Directed by: Patrice Leconte
Screening: Rialto Selection, Saturday 4^th April, 8.30pm 

A Promise is the adaptation of Austrian author Stefan Zweig’s (1881-1942) novella Journey into the Past. It’s not the first of Zweig’s novels to be adapted for the big screen, Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel was partly inspired by Zweig's 1939 novel, Beware of Pity. The film is adapted by French director Patrice Leconte, who initially made a name for himself making light, satirical flicks, but this film that kicks of in pre-World War I Germany has a more ‘Sunday Masterpiece Theatre’ feel about it. It’s Leconte’s first English language film, and even though it doesn’t live up to it’s potential, it does feature good performances from Alan Rickman as a wealthy industrialist, Rebecca Hall as his younger wife, and Game of Thrones’ Richard Madden as her young love interest.