A Masterpiece!

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

There is much to love about 'A Month of Sundays'. What leaps out at this viewer within its first few minutes is the distinctive rhythm and flow of this quite unique Australian feature. It's not only the pacing; its the wonderfully quixotic score by Bryony Marks; the languid editing of veteran Ken Sallows; and the off beat wry dialogue exemplified by the early repartee between satirist supremo John Clarke's 'Phillip' and Anthony La Paglia's 'Frank'. The film never adheres to the expected trajectory of contemporary drama, preferring to lurch in one direction of social satire only to abandon that and veer into deeply personal territory and in so doing giving the flawed protagonist played beautifully here by La Paglia, his hero's journey.'A Month of Sundays' would be worth recommending alone on the above mentioned observations, but then there's the national treasure that is Julia Blake. The legendary stage and screen actress has been a familiar face for decades; and I first fell in love with her in 1979 in a TV series called 'Twenty Good Years'. There has always been an elegance but a strength and power to Julia's performances and age has neither wearied her talent nor her beauty. An alumni of Paul Cox's films as well as many other film makers, Ms Blake gives a dignified and moving performance here; one that deserves an AACTA nomination if not the prize. The chemistry that La Paglia and Blake share is crucial to the success of the narrative, and the viewer buying the coincidences and conceit that the film is built around. I can see why some other reviewers have not been able to get on board with this most unusual but universal story. It is refreshing to experience an exploration of grief and loss and the trauma of having faced those elements - for better and worse! La Paglia's Frank may or may not be destined to be one of life's losers. A modern day Willie Loman he may well be. This movie could be espousing the philosophy that it is not what happens to you in life; it's how you deal with it. The flawed but identifiable characters in 'A Month of Sundays' ring true and that is a huge part of the movie's success. That and casting such talented people with a smartly written and directed script by Matthew Saville. It's well worth the ride.

Some films attract critical consensus while others trigger polar opposite opinions like A Month of Sundays (2016). Australian colloquial drama is not for everyone and it takes patience to engage with slow-paced laconic narratives that rely on insider humour for meaning. Aussie horrors and dystopian thrillers are well known but there are few films that stand tall for sensitively exploring the inner world of male emotion. In fact, we have culturally fortified ourselves with a style of Ocker farce to shield us from knowing too much about what lurks within the Australian male.Lacklustre real estate agent Frank (Anthony LaPaglia) is the quintessential Aussie bloke. He is a poor salesman and has neither the verbal wit or emotional maturity to deal with the double-barrel grief of his recent divorce or his mother's recent death. By extraordinary coincidence he takes a misdirected call from Sarah (Julia Blake) who sounds just like his mother and the few minutes on the phone fills an emotional void. One thing leads to another, they become friends, and Frank learns to open up on the various emotional fronts of his life. The sub-plot lines include redeeming the relationship with his son, resolving feelings about his wife and mother, dealing with Sarah's health issues, and experiencing the ordinary pleasure of being nice to people. It's a simple narrative arc, but dense with emotional side-tracks and blockages that Frank cannot resolve alone. Themes of emotional estrangement, aging, death and grief are lightened by the deadpan humour exchanged between Frank and his boss (John Clarke) and the constant running commentary in real estate language, a clever device that mocks the Aussie obsession with property ownership.The filming has many long fixed frames and scenes where nothing happens except what we can infer is going on inside Frank's head. When he appears to be struggling emotionally, the recurring real estate babble kicks in to punctuate the silence while he retreats into his private world of make- believe sales talk with imaginary buyers. Some critics have panned the film's central premise and slow-burn plot, but it stands out as a thoughtful and well-acted portrait of an emotionally convoluted archetypal Australian male who exists just this side of clinical depression. Frank is ordinariness personified and not very likable at all, but he is very recognisable in this country. This is an original funny-sad look at a type of Aussie male who should watch this film for their own good.

I attended a preview screening of this film, which was followed by a Q and A with director Matthew Saville along with stars John Clarke and Anthony LaPaglia.To condense this film's monumentally mind-numbing existence into one word, it's 'terrible'. In fact my entire experience was terrible. The film was bad enough with its incompetent script, non-existent character development, irresponsible pacing, average performances and stock-standard cinematography. But, it was the Q and A that supplied the icing on this unpalatable cake. It provided evidence that the team behind this cinematic catastrophe have no place in the industry. Saville was unable to answer any of the questions posed to him regarding his inspiration or creative process, despite, apparently, writing and directing the film.The post-screening session divulged into a chummy, self-indulgent exercise of recalling the good-times back on set with absolutely no informed discussion about filmmaking or acting. All this was despite insightful questions from the three audience members who were given the chance to have their voices heard.To speak positively, the film's one element of quality would have to be its score. It offers a refreshing shift from a traditional soundtrack, containing unique instrumentation and motifs. What's sad is that it accompanies an absolute bomb of a movie."A Month of Sundays" is a clumsy attempt to comment on a cluster of clichéd themes. Themes including death, illness, family, divorce, disability, fame and (somehow) homosexuality, are conspicuously injected into it's clinically malnourished structure. However, beneath this wafer-thin surface lies the fact that this film is nothing more than a prolonged advertisement for Adelaide and, I would argue, an incredibly weak one.What continues to puzzle me about Australian films, this one being no exception, is how they are green-lit and approved for funding when the ideas are fundamentally flawed from their inception.

Real estate agent Frank Mollard (Anthony LaPaglia) can't move on. Divorced but still attached, he can't connect with his teenage son. One night Frank gets a phone call from his mother who died a year ago. This leads him to explore his grief with wise elder, Sarah played by Julia Blake ('Man of Flowers', 'Prisoner', 'Innocence', 'Wolverine').Set in the leafy suburban streets of picturesque Adelaide, it's a gentle tale of modern life during a real estate boom and of the human connection that makes a house a home. It is really about everything; parents, children, regrets, love, work, grief and ordinary people finding improbable salvation.Adelaidey-odlians will find it especially poignant because it involves a nostalgic nod to the ¼ acre block with fruit trees that is rapidly being consigned to history. But with the superb cast, it's a very fine film, regardless. LaPaglia (ex-Norwood High School) and Julia Blake (at 79 years) are note perfect in the lead roles.LaPaglia's real estate agent, Frank, is a sad sack with his rut deeply, sharply cut. All locations are described with his realtor's double-speak, even when he comes home to his Linden Park unit after work; "Needs a little attention, decorator's dream" etc.Mixed with the serious themes, there's plenty to laugh at in Frank's interactions with his newly successful ex-wife played by Justine Clarke, and in his clumsy interactions with his son and potential home-buyers. His boss is played by ex-Kiwi, the beloved comic John Clarke who inevitably steals all his scenes with hilarious dead-pan contributions. There's also a hearing impaired element to the story which can make this film that rare, rich experience for the deaf community (in its closed caption version) and the wider audience.With equal parts comedy, tragedy and heart-warming wisdom, writer director Matthew Saville (Tim Winton's 'Cloudstreet', 'Roy Hollsdotter Live' & Chris Lilley films) has created an understated masterpiece to sit alongside great suburban Adelaide films such as 'Travelling Light', 'Return Home' and 'Look Both Ways'. (Snowtown is in another genre!) Cinematographer Mark Wareham throws our streets and backyards onto the big screen with great understanding and skill, so best get yourself secure housing in Adelaide if you can, before the whole world sees this big-hearted film and comes a-bidding. Andrew Bunney, Let's Go to the Pictures, 9-11 AM Thursday, 3D Radio, Adelaide 937FM, Digital, iTunes