DUMBO (64 minutes) G
Walt Disney and his team were at their very best (and least cloying) in this 1941 fable about a baby circus elephant mocked for his giant ears. Though the character's eventual comic triumph is never in doubt, there are traumatic moments along the way, including an extraordinary, nightmarish drunk sequence that suggests the animators had early access to LSD. Digitally projected. Thornbury Picture House, Saturday, September 1, 2pm. All tickets $12.
Damian Hill in West of Sunshine.
BICYCLE THIEVES (93 minutes) PG
At a time of economic crisis, an unemployed labourer (Lamberto Maggiorani) wanders the streets of Rome, with his small son (Enzo Staiola) by his side, in search of the thief who stole his bicycle. Vittorio de Sica's 1947 film is a historical landmark that defines "neo-realism" in Italian cinema – and is still touching today. Digitally projected. Thornbury Picture House, Sunday, September 2, 2pm.
Enzo Staiola and Lamberto Maggiorani in Bicycle Thieves.
PAPER MOON (102 minutes) M
Peter Bogdanovich's 1973 comedy-drama casts the real-life father-daughter team of Ryan and Tatum O'Neal as con-artists on the lookout for midwestern suckers in the midst of the Depression. Shot in black and white by the versatile cinematographer Laszlo Kovacs, this has a mix of folksiness and precise craft that anticipates the Coen brothers, aiming to charm and succeeding. Digitally projected. Astor, Sunday, September 2, 7pm. Double bill with A Place In The Sun.
CRAZY RICH ASIANS (120 minutes) PG
Jon M. Chu's romantic comedy-drama about a Chinese-American girl set to marry into the Hong Kong business elite is a fascinating extension of the vogue for "exotic" wealth porn that runs from Twilight to Call Me By Your Name. Michelle Yeoh takes the acting honours as the heroine's steely prospective mother-in-law. General.
The world depicted in Crazy Rich Asians is not as unrealistic as you may think.
WEST OF SUNSHINE (78 minutes) M
This first feature from local writer-director Jason Raftopoulos is a conventional but touching social-realist drama, following a day in the life of a no-hoper courier (Damian Hill) as he drives around Melbourne's industrial west, looking to pay off a debt while bonding with his alternately sulky and supportive young son (a very natural performance from newcomer Ty Perham). Selected.
Ryan O’Neal and Tatum O’Neal in Paper Moon.
Supplied for publicity purposes 1973
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