Photographer Michael Wee and painter/writer Tom Carment,
have chronicled their experience of some great walks of Australia.
Combining photographs, paintings and words, the book
provides anecdotal experience along with the history of the places
traversed.It is nostalgic and full of
awe for the wild and varied landscapes that are distinctly Australian.
The book has a bit of everything: history, humour and art.
You may find things you are familiar with, such as the Coast Walk in NSW, or
unfamiliar things such as The Overland Track of Cradle Mountain in Tasmania.
This month the Movie Club will be screening 'The Artist'. A 2011 film made in the style of the
silent-era: black-and-white and no talking (in this case, minimal talking). The
film traverses many genres – comedy, romance, tragedy and melodrama – to form
a coherent story of George Valentin.
George is at the top of his game as a silent film
actor, he is famous and in-demand. He meets Peppy at a film premiere, and again
later when she begins working as a film extra. There is chemistry between the two
and Peppy continues to get work as an actor. When talking movies become popular, George refuses to
perform in them, insisting silent film is an art form unlike the ‘talkies’. As
a consequence of this George loses his career, wife and money, while Peppy
becomes a star of the new talking films.
The film is entertaining from the start, with a tight opening scene of a ‘film-within-a-film’,
to George and Peppy shooting a dance sequence over and over while slowly and
beautifully realising they are falling in love, to George firing his chauffeur
because he hasn’t paid him in a year.
There is no need for talking in this film, the actions
speak clearly for themselves, and they are beautiful. It is clear the film is a
‘love letter to cinema’, as director Michel Hazanavicius intended.
'The Artist' will be showing on Wednesday 12 April, 6pm
sharp at Narellan Library. Tea, coffee and biscuits provided, BYO snacks are
more than welcome. Stay after the screening for a short discussion about the
film. See the discussion questions to get some ideas.
Jess has it tough—two jobs, an
estranged husband who doesn’t contribute any child support, a stepson who gets
bullied, a gifted daughter who due to financial difficulties cannot get a top
education, and a guard dog that sleeps more than guards.
Ed is a successful man living in
the city, recently divorced but the owner of two homes and two cars and eats
out every night. After a bad business decision Ed is investigated for insider
trading. To hang low while his case is sorted he retreats to his seaside home
where he meets Jess – his cleaner.
From here Jess and Ed’s lives are
thrown together out of necessity—necessary because Jess needs to get her
daughter to a maths Olympiad in order to win the prize money to get her through
private school, and necessary because Ed has realised how bad loneliness is,
and is also in need to redeem himself from his own conscious.
The book starts out as a
dysfunctional family drama and slowly ebbs into romance a little bit before the
half way point. It’s not soppy romance either, but the kind that seems natural
and not forced.
This book provides a thorough listing of 140 of the best
walks, tracks and trails in New South Wales, located in national parks, coastal
parks, state forests, historic parks, conservation lands, and local government
areas.
You don’t need to be an experienced hiker, the walks listed in this book are ideal for the moderately fit individual.
This month the Movie Club will be screening 'Happy-Go-Lucky'. Written and
directed by Mike Leigh, ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’ is a character-driven film that
follows the protagonist, Poppy, as she experiences some ups and downs in her
life. Poppy is a 30-something school teacher living in London. She is
optimistic, chirpy and happy all of the time, it is not a superficial act, it
is just who Poppy is. Poppy lives with her friend and co-worker, Zoe, who acts
as a kind of moral compass in a film that combines extreme optimism with
extreme pessimism (in the form of Scott). Scott is a narcissistic driving
instructor whom Poppy seeks out for driving lessons.
The film
relies on a series of events that slowly reveal the characters of Poppy and
Scott. There is no major dramatic plot or action sequence, rather we meander
through the everyday life of Poppy: as she goes to work and deals with a
problematic student, as she converses with a homeless man, as she takes salsa
classes, as she visits her younger sister Helen, as she takes driving lessons
with Scott. It is through these sequential shots of Poppy’s life that we
build-up a knowledge base that reveals layers of Poppy’s character. Dramatic
tension is maintained throughout by the relationship between Poppy and Scott.
The film is
interesting not only for its character study of Poppy, but also its depiction
of gender and stereotypes. Most of the characters in the film are female,
except for Scott and Tim. Tim is only a minor character, and Scott is presented
as aggressive, impulsive and an unlikeable male. The lead character here is
Poppy, the film is Poppy’s film, and there is no male counter-part that she
ever needs to rely upon. To add to this, Poppy defies the norms of female
happiness; rather than gaining a sense of meaning from a man, children or
family, Poppy sources fulfilment from things such as work, flamenco dance
classes, trampolining, and friends.
Nominated for
an Academy Award, the film is funny and light, yet full of wise lessons and
deep emotion.
'Happy-Go-Lucky' will be showing on Wednesday 8 March, 6pm at Narellan Library. Tea, coffee and biscuits provided, BYO snacks are more than welcome. Stay after the screening for a short discussion about the film.
