Perthians, the Ides of March is this week, which was bad news for Julius Caesar, but good news for us, as the Luna Outdoor provides our city with fine cinema under the Leederville sky. Check out this week’s program. For further details or purchasing tickets hit the link.
FACING MONSTERS (7.30PM – Monday 14 March)
Facing Monsters digs deep into the psyche of enigmatic West Australian slab wave surfer Kerby Brown, a man whose connection with the ocean runs as deep as his love for his family.
This film is far more than just a surfing story. It’s an unapologetic musing into the essence of Kerby and his family as we join them on his quest to ride a ferocious slab wave in the deep Southern Ocean that no one on the planet has surfed before. It’s a film about fear, addictions, and family bonds as we explore what drives Kerby, what anchors him and why he’s obsessed with pitting himself against one of nature’s most intimidating forces.
Directed by Bentley Dean (Contact, Tanna) and produced by Chris Veerhuis (Red Dog: True Blue, Breath) along with executive producers Frank Chidiac, Susanne Morrison and co-producer Sonya Rifici, this suspenseful, action-packed drama unravels Kerby’s inner demons whilst confronting the real-world consequences that his death-defying passion could have on his family.
Featuring stunning cinematography by Rick Rifici (Breath, Blueback), we are right there with Kerby immersed in the ferocity of the Southern Ocean and the thunder of its deadly monsters as he prepares to take on the ride of his life, We become part of Kerby’s journey into the unknown as Facing Monsters transports viewers to places and feelings never before experienced on the big screen.
BERGMAN ISLAND (7.30PM – Tuesday 15 March)
Fårö, a small island off the east coast of the Swedish mainland, is one of the meccas of cinephilia: the long-time home of legendary auteur Ingmar Bergman as well as the setting for many of his greatest films, including Through a Glass Darkly, Persona and Scenes from a Marriage. Excited by the chance to survey the familiar landmarks and draw inspiration for their own filmmaking projects, a couple decide to spend a summer living and working on the island. But, as their stay progresses, fiction begins to intrude on their carefully planned reality.
Fresh from its competition berth at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival and starring Tim Roth (The Hateful Eight, Pulp Fiction), Mia Wasikowska (Judy & Punch, Stoker) and Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread), this touching new film from French writer/director Mia Hansen-Løve both pays homage to one of cinema’s masters and serves as another instalment in her own oeuvre of exquisite, semi-autobiographical investigations into love, longing and growing up.
“Bergman Island acts as a love letter to Bergman,” says Alysha Prasad in One Room With A View, “but stands on its own as a film that focuses on the artists’ journey of storytelling itself. And if all of this isn’t enough, we get to witness Wasikowska dancing to The Winner Takes It All by Abba.”
THE BEATLES GET BACK: THE ROOFTOP CONCERT (7.30PM – Wednesday 16 March)
Acclaimed three-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson’s (The Lord of the Rings trilogy, They Shall Not Grow Old) The Beatles: Get Back is a unique cinematic experience that takes audiences back in time to The Beatles’ intimate recording sessions during a pivotal moment in music history.
The film showcases the warmth, camaraderie and creative genius that defined the legacy of the iconic foursome. Shot in January 1969 and compiled from over 60 hours of unseen footage (filmed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg) and more than 150 hours of unheard audio, all of which has been brilliantly restored, The Beatles: Get Back is the story of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr as they plan their first live show in over two years and charts the writing and rehearsing of 14 new songs, originally intended for release on an accompanying live album.
The film features – for the first time in its entirety – The Beatles’ last live performance as a group, the unforgettable rooftop concert on London’s Savile Row as well as other songs and classic compositions featured on the band’s final two albums, Abbey Road and Let It Be.
Peter Jackson said, “I’m thrilled that the rooftop concert from The Beatles: Get Back is going to be experienced …on the huge screen. It’s The Beatles’ last concert, and it’s the absolute perfect way to see and hear it.”
ANONYMOUS CLUB (7.30PM – Thursday 17 March)
The antithesis of a rock biography, ANONYMOUS CLUB paints a raw and intimate picture of enigmatic singer-songwriter, Courtney Barnett – an anti-influencer who is a powerful voice for our times, a recluse acclaimed by audiences the world over and a strong female artist in conflict with herself.
With unprecedented, intimate access to the private life of Courtney Barnett, this innovative and stylised 16mm feature documentary follows a paradoxically introverted performer and anti-influencer, who, at the height of success, is ready to walk away. Long-time collaborator Danny Cohen’s feature documentary reveals a woman who finds power in sharing her vulnerability. Recording her innermost thoughts on a Dictaphone over a period of three years, Courtney begins her slow acceptance of Danny Cohen’s camera. This unique filming process mirrors Courtney’s gradual search for purpose and emergence as an artist embracing her place in the world.
TOMMY THE MOVIE (7.30PM – Friday 18 March)
Ken Russell’s 4K digitally restored version of TOMMY will hit our screens following its world premiere in Berlin!
This classic rock opera is brought energetically to life by an outstanding cast including many stars of the rock music industry. Told through the remarkable music of The Who, this is the story of Tommy, who, when just a boy of six, witnessed the murder of his father by his mother and her lover. They command him, “You didn’t hear it, you didn’t see it, and you won’t say anything to anyone…” As a result, the traumatised boy retreats into the shadows of his mind and becomes deaf, dumb and blind.
Directed by Ken Russell and starring Ann-Margret, Oliver Reed, Roger Daltrey, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Jack Nicholson, Pete Townshend and Tina Turner
FACING MONSTERS (7.30PM – Saturday 19 March)
Details above same as Monday 14 Session
THE ROOM (7.30PM – Sunday 20 March)
Friends dress as your favourite character, wear tuxedo’s, throw bamboo spoons, bring roses, toss footballs, eat metaphoric apples and yell insulting comments about the quality of the film as well as lines from the film itself. Hosted by RTRFMs Tristan Fidler (Host of Trash Classics)
Sunday 20 March Doors open at 6.15pm., film starts at 7.30 pm (Tristan Fidler)
Grab your friends once again as Tommy Wiseau‘s disaster-piece returns to the big screen for another Luna Outdoor summer screening of the cult phenomenon that’s so bad it’s good!
The Room is basically a love triangle set in a San Francisco apartment building. But it’s filled with subplots that go nowhere, dodgy green-screen skylines, lots of un-sexy sex scenes and acting that wouldn’t pass muster on a soft-focus soapie. The Room has garnered a massive worldwide cult following (especially in Perth!) leaving audiences stunned and laughing and is beloved by comic actors such as Kristen Bell, Paul Rudd and Alec Baldwin.
Be prepared for a really wild evening. You won’t forget it, that’s for sure. A strange, bizarre and unique cinematic experience!
