Lifes rich fabric_英文原版
felicity price plays broadhurst.
instead of a straightforward portrait, the elder stateswoman of australian film tells broadhurst's story as a primary-coloured whodunit, complete with intertitles and monty pythonesque animation.
the idiosyncratic end result has a playfulness more commonly found in a director's earlierworks - before bigger budgets and a-list stars start to dictate many of their choices.
unfolding florence reminds us that armstrong, whose 30-year career spans my brilliant career and oscar and lucinda, was at the cutting edge of the new wave of australian cinema in the 1970s with films such as high tide and starstruck.
the film gives a strong impression that the director and screenwriter katherine thomson relished the challenges required by its limited budget - as well as the creative freedom that afforded.
and that in a character like broadhurst - who was glamorous and gutsy but also self-promoting and domineering - they have found an appropriate muse.
seldom has floral wallpaper been used to such wonderful effect in a feature film - only garden state would come close. but in between screen printsand society balls, the filmmakers have also comeup with a surprisingly convincing hypothesis as towho was behind broadhurst's brutal murder,at the age of 78. and why.
unfolding florence doesn't entirely dispense with the traditional conventions of documentary.
akira isogawa, maggie tabberer and babette hayes are among those who offer their professional opinions in the talking head interviews, which take place against a backdrop of broadhurst's designs.
"she really wasn't a designer at all, she was a great promoter," says educator and designer peter travis.
robert lloyd-lewis's recollections of his unmotherly mother strike a powerful emotional chord.
but broadhurst inspired loyalty and admiration as well as begrudging respect.
"i think she is one of the australia's truly interesting women," says screen-printer sally fitzpatrick. "she was one of the most drivenwomen i have ever known."
unfolding florence is a rich and multi-layeredtribute to an extraordinary woman in all hersplendid complexity. the film, like its subject,is quite simply one of a kind.
unfolding florence (pg)
* * * 1/2
director: gillian armstrong
starring: judi farr, felicity price and hannah garbo
screening: dendy opera quays and newtown; verona, paddington; roseville; cremorne orpheum
farmer's daughter, shanghai showgirl, charity queen, fabric designer ... florence broadhurst's path through life was bold and unconventional.
so it's fitting that gillian armstrong's film about the flamboyant sydney identity, found murdered in her factory in 1977, is similarly lively and unpredictable.instead of a straightforward portrait, the elder stateswoman of australian film tells broadhurst's story as a primary-coloured whodunit, complete with intertitles and monty pythonesque animation.
the idiosyncratic end result has a playfulness more commonly found in a director's earlierworks - before bigger budgets and a-list stars start to dictate many of their choices.
unfolding florence reminds us that armstrong, whose 30-year career spans my brilliant career and oscar and lucinda, was at the cutting edge of the new wave of australian cinema in the 1970s with films such as high tide and starstruck.
the film gives a strong impression that the director and screenwriter katherine thomson relished the challenges required by its limited budget - as well as the creative freedom that afforded.
and that in a character like broadhurst - who was glamorous and gutsy but also self-promoting and domineering - they have found an appropriate muse.
seldom has floral wallpaper been used to such wonderful effect in a feature film - only garden state would come close. but in between screen printsand society balls, the filmmakers have also comeup with a surprisingly convincing hypothesis as towho was behind broadhurst's brutal murder,at the age of 78. and why.
unfolding florence doesn't entirely dispense with the traditional conventions of documentary.
akira isogawa, maggie tabberer and babette hayes are among those who offer their professional opinions in the talking head interviews, which take place against a backdrop of broadhurst's designs.
"she really wasn't a designer at all, she was a great promoter," says educator and designer peter travis.
robert lloyd-lewis's recollections of his unmotherly mother strike a powerful emotional chord.
but broadhurst inspired loyalty and admiration as well as begrudging respect.
"i think she is one of the australia's truly interesting women," says screen-printer sally fitzpatrick. "she was one of the most drivenwomen i have ever known."
unfolding florence is a rich and multi-layeredtribute to an extraordinary woman in all hersplendid complexity. the film, like its subject,is quite simply one of a kind.
unfolding florence (pg)
* * * 1/2
director: gillian armstrong
starring: judi farr, felicity price and hannah garbo
screening: dendy opera quays and newtown; verona, paddington; roseville; cremorne orpheum