Dash22

There is a certain amount of trepidation in approaching a war film in the current climate of anti-war sentiment. Can you make it objective and avoid the over-sentimental patriotism of so many American entries in this genre?

The makers of Kokoda seem to have thought long and hard about this.

The moment in history depicted in this film is the invasion by the Japanese into New Guinea in World War 2. A situation that directly threatened Australia as most of the Allied forces were consumed with fighting their own battles many thousands of miles away.

For Australia it was a matter of going to this hostile environment to repel the enemy advance or watch them invade the homeland. Many volunteer troups were enlisted (known as "chocco's") to supplement the regular army. They were under-trained and poorly equipped for this battlefront.

We are shown that men may be drawn to war for the right reasons but when confronted with the prospect of death then the basic human instincts of survival take over. Would you just look after yourself or help your comrades?

First time director Alister Grierson and co-writer John Lonie wisely decided to take a small incident to humanise the situation rather than try for an historical docu-drama. The result is a tense, superbly acted and directed 90 minutes that never loses its grip.

Stunning cinematography highlights the beauty of the rainforest canopy against the human horrors unfolding below.

This would be a great film in any year. The fact that is has been put together by a first time director on a low budget with a mainly unknown cast (all performances are riveting) makes this a major achievement.

This is a very accomplished film from a director who had only had one outing before.

Bringing a large family together at Christmas is always fraught with danger as there is a good chance that it won't work out as a pleasant experience. This movie uses this as a background to set up some solid situations.

A fairly typical "disfunctional family" premise is enhanced by a wonderful performance from Dianne Keaton, interesting scenes of tension within the family unit and an intelligent treatment of an impending tragedy.

I have seen the stage version of The Producers and really liked it. Not only is the dialogue very witty and the situations lots of fun, but it is also one the very best directed musicals I have ever seen. I that sense Susan Stroman is a genius, pure and simple.

So it was with great enthusiasm that I looked forward to the film version, and her first shot at directing a movie. But it just doesn't work for me.

What has been attempted here is to try and give the screen version the "look and feel" of the stage. This has been tried many time before and it has never really worked. The best way to bring a musical to the screen is to cast aside the restrictions of the stage and embrace the film medium. Some notable successes have been Chicago, Cabaret, Jeasus Christ Superstar and Moulin Rouge.

Susan has tried very hard but has really just moved the stage show to the screen, and it feels flat. A nice try anyway. I hope she gets the chance to make more films.