This week on Rialto Channel Barney’s Version (Saturday 19th May, 8.30pm) should be at the top of your viewing list. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t enjoyed this witty romp through the highs, lows and three marriages of Barney Panofsky, played brilliantly by Paul Giamatti.
This week on Rialto Channel Barney’s Version (Saturday 19th May, 8.30pm) should be at the top of your viewing list. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t enjoyed this witty romp through the highs, lows and three marriages of Barney Panofsky, played brilliantly by Paul Giamatti.
Based on the novel by Mordecai Richler and directed by Richard J. Lewis, Barney’s Version is narrated by the man himself and takes us through 30 years of women, work, health problems and regrets. He’s had a few. What makes this film so charming is that Barney is an ordinary guy, and he reminds us that being ordinary doesn’t mean your life has to be. The film loses momentum and focus at times but is held together by a great performance by Giamatti and a strong final act. It is simply impossible not to fall in love with this everyday hero.
After listening to Consumptionomics’ author Chandran Nair, at the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival in the weekend, as he talked about the challenges facing Asia over the coming decades, there is something sobering about watching Last Train Home (Thursday 17th May, 8.30pm). Directed by Chinese-Canadian filmmaker Lixin Fan, this insightful and moving film documents the migration of 130 million Chinese workers who every Chinese New Year throw the Chinese rail system into chaos as they head home to celebrate with their families.
The film follows a Chinese family who typify poor rural families in which the grandparents are left to raise the children while their parents head to city based factories to earn a living. It’s a situation that requires sacrifice, builds resentments and fractures families, and this documentary shows the collateral damage caused by China’s economic boom and rise to economic superpower.
Finally, and for all you Game of Thrones addicts, Black Death is another medieval romp staring Game of Thrones star Sean Bean and screens on Monday May 14th at 8.30pm, For those of you unfamiliar with this medieval fantasy series, Game of Thrones is based on George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series of novels and is the latest “it” television series.
Black Death is set in 1348 when Europe is being decimated by the Bubonic plague. In England a hardened Knight called Ulric (Bean) is sent by the church to discover why a small village in a marshland has been spared from the plague. Accompanied by a bunch of seasoned thugs, Ulrich’s trip through the forest as he is guided by a young monk Osmund (Eddie Redmayne) is a particularly gruesome one, with plenty of blood and guts being spilt. Black Death is a mix of drama, horror, and splatter flick - be it a serious one. It’s not for the fainthearted, but Sean Bean’s career is fast being defined by characters carrying a sword and he is hard to resist.
Enjoy.