The Sapphires
The Sapphires, directed by Wayne Blair is a 2012 Australian musical comedy-drama based on a true story. The film is written by Keith Thompson and Tony Briggs, staring Jessica Mauboy, Deborah Mailman, Shari Sebbens, Miranda Tapselland and Chris O'Dowd. The film was based on a true story exploring the themes of family, courage and race identity. Wayne Blair explored these themes by using various techniques throughout the film to have an effect on the audience.
Three Aboriginal sisters, Gail, Cynthia and Julie living in outback Australia in 1968 have a passion for singing. When Julie meets Gail and Cynthia at a talent contest which Julie wasn't allowed to go to they end up meeting a drunk Irish man called Dave, who worked as a MC. Gail and Cynthia meet up with an old cousin called Kay who used to live with them before the government took her for being a non-aborigine. Dave who is desperate for a job becomes their manager and piano player. The girls blitz the audition and travel around Vietnam performing for Vietnam troops were one day the 4 girls have no guards protecting them while they keep travelling.
The opening scene is important in any film as it sets the scene and introduced the characters, Wayne set the scene and introduced the characters in the starting scene absolutely perfectly by using techniques such as music, camera angles and characterisation. At the very start of the scene the audience would hear light panting form Gail and Kay running. The
The Sapphires directed by Wayne Blair represents the theme of war throughout the film with the use of cinematic techniques and setting. The Sapphires follows four aboriginal girls; Julie, Cynthia, Gail and Kay on their adventure to Vietnam in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War. The film follows the four girls on their journey around Vietnam performing for American troops while fulfilling their dreams of becoming a famous singing group. Throughout the film, Blair explores the theme of war through a variety of scenes and techniques. War ruins the lives of many people and this is demonstrated through the film with the use of cinematic techniques, setting and with the support of other themes. By exploring the theme of war, Blair is able to help the audience make connections to the film through the events and setting the character’s experience.
The film “The Sapphires” directed by Wayne Blair, is based around and set in the era of the Vietnam war. Belonging whether it’s race or love is a big part of this film and constantly appears in different ways. One of the main characters, Dave Lovelace throughout the film is constantly rejected as he tries to belong and be a part of the group.
In the orientation of the film Blair uses techniques such as setting, this is an important technique as different settings can either show a rise of reduction of prejudice towards indigenous people. The film begins in the Australian outback, where the audience is first introduce to two characters Gail and Kay. The two girls are cousins and are running across the scene, they make up about 10% of the height of the screen. Blair uses long-shot contrasting their vulnerability. Establishment shots of the homes and buildings and also seen, we as the audience understand that the girls are relatively poor as there are many family member sharing minimal houses, they are living in close proximity to each other and live in a remote area. Already Blair has expressed the theme of prejudice by depicting the isolation indigenous people have with white communities. The aboriginal families seem to be living in a mission environment contrasting that they were disadvantaged from the European settlers. After seeing the earlier setting of the
The pub scene in the Australian Outback helped me understand the consequences of prejudice through the combination of dialogue and cinematography. These film features shows the unfair treatment that Aborigines endured because of their race. The mid shots showed how the white Australian audience at the pub Talent Quest ignore the two Aborigine sisters as they began to sin. A panning shot showed the audience’s disapproving and disgusted looks as they avoided eye contact with the sisters. Clearly contrasting with the warm and enthusiastic cheers given to the white Australian performers before them, as also shown in a panning shot. Noticing the coldness of the crowd, Gail says, “Thanks for the half-heart applause.” The dialogue and camera shots clearly outlined the difference in treatment between Aborigines and White Australians in Australia. This clearly shows the inequality between the two races, as Aborigines were clearly mistreated based on their appearance. At the end of the Talent Quest, after the White Australian performer
The Australian film ‘Jasper Jones’ directed by Rachel Perkins showcases the ideas of racism, prejudice, sexual abuse and bullying. The film is based in the small mining town Corrigan in the year of 1965. In this period, the Vietnam War had Australia sending troops to fight. The war divided cultures, victimising the Vietnamese Lu family because of their race and frequently abusing against them verbally and physically. Sexual abuse and infidelity are other issues that lurk throughout the film as the truth of Laura Wishart’s disappearance displays how prejudice occurs within the small town in outback Australia in the 1960s.
The narrative code of “The Sapphires” positions the viewer to recognise what it was like for a Aboriginal attempt to succeed in what they enjoy, in this case a singing career. The audience views the struggles of race and prejudice towards Aborigines in the
The opening scene is significant because it gives the setting of the story. It is also important because it introduces the magical style of the story through over exaggerated details. Lastly, the significance of the opening scene also includes the introduction of the main character and what kind of family into which he was born.
The film The Sapphires is set in the 1960’s and is based on a true story, portrays four young Aboriginal women singers who fight against egalitarianism and white society judgement in order to be
The film ‘The Sapphires’ directed by Wayne Blair in 2012 focused on four indigenous Australian women that strive to achieve their dream ;while they also encounter serious issues that they must overcome and face which are racism and the stolen generation. The Sapphires consist of four indigenous women Gail [Deborah Mailman], Cynthia [Miranda Tapsell ], Kay [(Shari Sebbens), Julie [Jessica Mauboy] and one white man the manager Dave also known as the sole man. Wayne Blair is an Indigenous Australian that had directed this film based on a true story and had also set this in the 1960’s in Australia. The Sapphires uses cinematic techniques and goes through several of genres. The film captures the essence of each the individual scene.
The opening shot of a film is one of the most crucial parts of a movie. In the same way that an establishing shot introduces us into the scene, the opening shot introduces us into a movie. Although not the most memorable, the opening shot is important because the director can use it to convey the film’s main ideas, premises or character arcs. Inglourious Basterds (2009) opens with a long shot of a farm: lush fields of green, small farmhouse, and a man (Denis Ménochet) chopping wood at the center. This is where action will take place. This is 1941 France and life
The 1996 film of The Crucible is a historical drama inspired by the Salem witchcraft trials. The film has won a multitude of cinematic achievements and continuously blows audience members away with the accuracy of the historical events and portrayal of the characters by the actors and actresses. The profound work of Arthur Miller is also expressed within the written play of The Crucible. However, the film did the best job of portraying characters that were both historically accurate and believable to an audience member. One main character from The Crucible that is both historically accurate and extremely believable in the film is Abigail Williams. Winona Ryder, the actress of Abigail Williams, did an impeccable job portraying her character and became widely known for her work through several achievements and film reviews. The recognition that she and the rest of the cast received due to the characterization in this cinematic production is what made the film do the best job of portraying characters as historically accurate and believable to an audience member instead of the written play. Although the written play describes the actions and thoughts of the characters very precisely, the film did the best job of portraying characters as historically accurate and believable to an audience member through the achievements and film reviews received from actors and actresses such as Winona Ryder, the recognition the cast as a whole earned, and the actions and emotions the actors and
The movie Precious, is based off of the novel Push by Sapphire. In this movie, there is a 16 year old girl named Precious. She is pregnant with her second child from her father, still in junior high, and is morbidly obese. Not only that, but is continuously abused by her mother and father; verbally, mentally, and physically.
“The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” is important to Australian culture not only for a great laugh but because it teaches people that there are many different types of Australian men and to embrace our diversity. Elliot used the AIDS epidemic as inspiration for this movie and did a very good
The three girls lived in the desert side of Australia, with the Jialong tribe. Mr. A.O. Neville was informed about three half-caste girls that lived in the outback community of Jialong. He ordered his men to snatch the girl and bring them to the Moore River Native Settlement which was about 1,200 miles away from Jialong. The girls escaped and walk all the home by following a rabbit-proof fence that could lead them back home. The tracker, Moodoo, enacted by actor David Gulpilil, was sent to find the girls and bring them back. The oldest girl, Molly Craig, played by Everlyn Sampi, became the leader who led the girls back home by covering their tracks so they wouldn 't be found. On their journey, they encountered several people who insist in helping them with food, warm clothes and a sense of direction. Mr. A.O.
The movie ‘Samson and Delilah’ directed by Warwick Thornton deservedly won the Cannes Film Festival Camera d’Or award for best first feature film in 2009. Melissa Gibson who plays Delilah takes on a role of the hero in the movie, Rowan McNamara who plays Samson takes on a role who petrol sniff and he also seems to be the lost soul who needs to be saved. ‘Samson and Delilah’ are 2 Aboriginal teenagers who falls in love and lives in an Aboriginal remote community in the central of Australia who embarks on a journey to Alice Springs as tragedy strikes in their community, they also encounter to a more hardship situations in Alice Spring. The viewers would see the reality of what most Aboriginal people go through in their life. ‘Samson and Delilah’ goes through abusement and racism , although life isn’t fair for them they have they have the love for each other. It’s love story that gives you an insight into a hidden world, it is a raw and confronting movie that leaves you speechless. Therefore it is a must see movie.