Thomas Eckert
Author's posts
Sep 23
Oz Asia Festival – 2016 – Election – Johnnie To – Mercury Cinema – 4K
By Tom Eckert Johnnie To has created a fast paced thrilling insight into the dynamics of Hong Kong mobsters in Election. The setting was perfect in depicting the underground transactions and businesses run by the tribes – the juxtaposition between raw brutality and loyalty to a family would not have worked as well anywhere else …
Sep 22
Oz Asia Festival – 2016 – Under Electric Clouds – Aleksey German – The Mercury Cinema4K
By Tom Eckert Aleksey German’s Under Electric Clouds is a sprawling narrative deeply metaphorical and richly referential to the long cultural and political history of Russia it is an intimate examination of the Russian condition on a grand scale. This two-and-a-half hour epic follows the stories of seven characters seemingly unrelated but proven to be …
Sep 19
Oz Asia Festival – 2016 – Cinema Program
By Tom Eckert One thing that the 2016 OzAsia festival’s Cinema program can be proud of is its diversity, in many facets. The program respects a wide range of geographical locations from subcontinental India in Psycho Raman, to the mountains of Tibet in Paths of the Soul and the metropolises of Korea in Train …
Sep 19
Oz Asia Festival – 2016 – Paths of the Soul – Yang Zhang – Mercury Cinema – 4K
By Tom Eckert Yang Zhang’s Paths of the Soul is a deeply meditative experience that touches on the deep spirituality of native Tibetans in an idiosyncratic pilgrimage journey of 2,000km to their most holy site made, unbelievably, whilst prostrating themselves to pray every few steps. The cinematography is simultaneously deeply respectful and awe-inspiring. Keeping his …
Sep 19
Oz Asia Festival – 2016 – Paths of the Soul – Yang Zhang – Mercury Cinema – 4K
By Tom Eckert Yang Zhang’s documentary Paths of the Soul is a deeply meditative and privileged vision of an idiosyncratic Tibetan Buddhist pilgrimage ritual that sees them traveling 2,000km to their holy capital whilst throwing themselves prostrate every few steps. The cinematography is simultaneously deeply respectful and awe-inspiring. Keeping his distance, Zhang never allows the …
Sep 18
Oz Asia Festival – 2016 – Stranger – Emek Tursunov – 4K
By Tom Eckert Stranger is the completion of Ermek Tursunov’s trilogy examining the Kazakh identity. Whilst described as apolitical by the director, Stranger is set in the times leading up to world war two after its protagonist defies to Soviet Union by not serving in the military following a situation where his father dies …
Sep 17
OzAsia Festival – 2016 – Psycho Raman – Mercury Cinema – 1K
by Tom Eckert Psycho Raman, a psychological suspense film directed by Anurag Kashyap has a lot going for it but unfortunately could have been executed better. The plot centers around the parallel narrative of a psychopath and the Mumbai policeman whom he becomes platonically infatuated with upon seeing the policeman murder someone with the …
Jun 25
The Adelaide Cabaret Festival – 2016 – The Birds – The Space Theatre – 3K
By Tom Eckert To walk into The Space Theatre occupied by The Birds is to feel like you are walking into the dimly like smoke halls of burlesque past. Women lounge lasciviously around the hall awaiting you to take your seat. From the outset this takes the form of a typical burlesque show. Each individual …
Jun 24
3.5K – The Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2016 – Starman – Sven Ratzke – The Space Theatre – 3.5K
By Tom Eckert Sven Ratzke, a Dutch man performing the work of Bowie inhabits the Space Theatre like a moody wolf prowling the stage (and occasionally the auditorium). He owns the space he occupies and does so it the most flashy of ways. This man has a reservedly rich voice comfortable in all …
Mar 04
Fringe 2016 – A Simple Space – The Vagabond – The Garden of Unearthly Delights – 5K
By Tom Eckert The first thing that will strike you about a Gravity and Other Myth’s A Simple Space is precisely the simplicity of the space. A small sprung stage and a rug of yellow lights and the performers themselves in muted earthy tones. Don’t mistake this for blandness by any measure rather it is …
Recent Comments