Free to Air 19th June

I went for a sci-fi triple header this week, first up was High Life (Kanopy), it’s a hard one to recommend due to the violence and sheer number of WTF moments, that said, performances we’re excellent and the sense of general unease created was reminiscent of my experience with Solaris (Tarkovsky’s). I immediately reached for more wine something light-hearted in the Fifth Element (SBS) which proved to be the tonic, just as much fun as I remember, just as crazy.

My pick of the week however, is Contact. Robert Zemeckis has forgotten more about camera movement than most of us will ever know. I’m not sure what they teach at film school but this should be required viewing, people still talk about THAT mirror shot, and I get it, it’s smart, but if you pay attention, every scene is a masterclass in blocking, movement and how that reveals character and can propel the story forward (or slow it down). A gem.

CONTACT - IMDB

THE MIRROR SHOT (WIth DOP DON BURGESS)