Noch einmal, June

This is a heartwrenching portrayal of what it would be like to deal with dementia and a stroke by a family. Noni Hazlehurst was extraordinary in this and I thought Stephen Curry was fantastic as per usual. The cameo by Darren Gilshenan was a highlight. I'd watch this if you're a fan of Australian comedy. You won't be disappointed. I was welling up by the end!

Absolutely loved this movie it was such a beautiful story and each character was captured exceptionally .. though it was tinged with sadness it was also extremely funny and joyous.

Having seen The Father with Anthony Hopkins, it was with reservations I saw June Again. Another movie about old age and dementia? Am I glad I overcame my reservations.

This film was poignant and believable. Noni Hazlehurst is the rock around which this sad and funny movie is based. Her performance is outstanding and she is ably supported by Claudia Karvan and Stephen Curry. In fact all the cast add to a strong cast that keeps the narrative purring along.

The premise that a woman with vascular dementia 'suddenly' comes good is apparently medically quite sound.

What June does with her short time of lucidity is the crux of the story. Her family have fallen apart and then it's June to the rescue (admittedly not with the support of her children).

The film is heart-warming, sad and funny. The fall back to dementia, though expected is very sad.

As an older person myself, this film is quite hard to watch. Still I am glad I did. Well done to all concerned.

Who doesn't love Noni Hazelhurst?

Apart from her ex-John Jarratt of course.

She's Australia's favourite mum and the star who literally drives the narrative in "June Again" at the wheel of her dead husbands very cool Gold Valiant Convertible.

This is Kiwi JJ Winlove's major motion picture directorial debut plus he wrote the screenplay...so I can't wait to see what else he'll bring to the big screen in the future.

This movie is all about living and loving again.

Noni's June is in a Nursing Home after a series of strokes left her with dementia.

One fine day she wakes up and is lucid...a state of mind that may only last for a few hours so she takes full advantage and does a runner from the Happy Friday activities at the home to seek out her old life and try to pick up the pieces, but not in an "Average White Band" kind of way.

Only problem is it's five years since she was admitted and a lot has changed in both hers and her offsprings lives.

Her daughter, Ginny, is played by another top flight Aussie actress, Claudia Karvan.

While her son, Devon (which sounds more like cut of deli meat) is "The Castle" star Stephen Curry.

His comic timing is more precise than a Japanese movement watch in every line he delivers effortlessly.

Some other familiar faces flesh out the supporting cast including, the wonderful Darren Gilshenan, last seen on TV's "Harrow", but first came to my attention in the TV comedy "Chandon Pictures" with the award winning Rob Carlton.

So many new movies are dealing beautifully with this insidious disease.

The most famous being "The Father".

"June Again" treats dementia with respect, dignity and humour.

Noni breathes a very real performance into this 99 minute movie that will become an Australian Classic...she truly is superb.

It's a road trip that detours through the threads of the many lives it touches and dementia does touch a lot of lives and delivers a few shocker surprises.

This film will make you laugh, cry and sigh, so it's a winner covering the entertainment fundamentals.

2021 has certainly seen its fair share of feature films about dementia. The brilliantly staged 'The Father', the intimately moving 'Supernova'; the yet to be released Australian movie 'Ruby's Choice' and the title reviewed here: 'June Again' starring Aussie acting legend Noni Hazelhurst.

With quite the mix of tonal shifts through its duration, 'June Again' also stretches believability and does cut corners at times, but its heart is absolutely in the right place and it gives Noni her best role in decades. I gather that the Writer/Director JJ. Winlove did research into the subject matter, and a short term respite from the ravages of dementia can occur in certain cases, but as the device used here to explore family and estrangement within relationships, it felt a little at odds with the veering from gravitas to comedic sequences and be tackling dementia.

'June Again' is made most enjoyable by the leading lady and Noni Hazelhurst gives a tour de force in the title role and reaffirms why she is a national treasure. Having won a pair of AFI awards for Leading Actress in the 1980's, this film gives her the opportunity to reach into her acting toolkit and creates a wonderfully vivid and inimitable figure; one that is sure to earn the showbiz veteran another prize.

Claudia Karvan and Stephen Curry give wonderful supporting turns as 'June's' offspring and both have some terrific scenes with the star as well as with one another. Notwithstanding some of my concerns about the construct of the movie, there is much to relate to in the family dynamics. Curry is especially good here.

There are some brilliantly written and directed sequences that effectively convey what must be the indescribable experience of losing one's cognitive functions. Having marveled at Anthony Hopkins in 'The Father', Noni Hazelhurst also gives a master class in facial and vocal expression to depict the tyranny of dementia. For this, the movie excels.

So a mixed bag for me, tonally, but there is no denying the cogency of the performances by the central trio, and the fact that the condition is so pervasive in contemporary life, stories like 'June Again' even with some credulity issues, are essential viewing.