The late, great rocker Eddie Cochran once sang “Ain’t no cure for the summertime blues”, and while one is loath to dispute the message of such a bangin’ tune we’re here to offer a possible remedy for anything that ails you during the summer months. SBS On Demand has a wide variety of movies in a wide variety of genres, hailing from all over the globe, available on its platform, so there’s something to appeal to any viewer. The brings together a curated selection of films perfect for holiday viewing, with new titles arriving across the summer. Let’s look at a few, shall we?
Aftersun
One of the most acclaimed films of recent years, Charlotte Wells’ Aftersun is disarmingly understated and subtle – it works its magic gradually and incrementally, with small details and seemingly banal interactions adding ever more texture to the film’s haunting, heartbreaking mosaic. At its best, it feels more like a memory than a movie, with Wells and invaluable collaborators Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio, playing father and daughter sharing a holiday that may well be a last goodbye between the two, never being overly demonstrative in their words and actions but letting the genuine feelings they evoke strike a resonant chord with those watching Aftersun. One might be hard-pressed to call it feel-good viewing but it is certainly feel-something viewing – there’s an emotional authenticity to it that few recent films have been able to match. To gain a greater insight into Aftersun, have a read of on it… and then watch the film for yourself.
Aftersun is streaming at SBS ON Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Aftersun
drama • 2022
drama • 2022
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person
It can be hard finding that certain someone who ticks your boxes, meets your criteria, fills in your particular blanks. Yes, even for vampires. Take Sasha, the teenage bloodsucker at the heart of the offbeat French-Canadian horror-comedy Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person – she’s been reluctant to drink human blood ever since an incident involving a birthday-party clown a decade earlier (you’ll see) and now exists in a slacker-like state of arrested development, unwilling and unable to sprout her fangs and spring forward. That is, until she meets Paul, a timid, bullied kid who’s considering ending it all and offers his veins to Sasha as an ethical alternative to the usual neck-nipping. Stylishly lurking at the intersection of Tim Burton and Jim Jarmusch, Humanist Vampire puts a sweet, supernatural spin on adolescent angst.
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person is streaming at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person
Comedy drama • fantasy • 2023
Comedy drama • fantasy • 2023
The Lunchbox
“You tend to forget things if you have no one to tell them to.” This line from Ritesh Batra’s 2013 film The Lunchbox sweetly and insightfully illustrates our need for connection, and how the relationships we form – sometimes casually, sometimes even by accident – can give us a greater understanding of ourselves, what we want and what we deserve. The film as a whole does that as well, tenderly depicting the unfulfilling existence of two people unknown to one another who somehow become integral to each other’s lives. Widowed accountant Saajan (the late, great Irrfan Khan) is adrift in life, merely counting down the days to retirement, when he mistakenly receives a home-made lunchbox delivery meant for the husband of lonely housewife Ila (Nimrat Kaur). What begins as a written apology for the error gradually evolves into a correspondence in which the two strangers can openly express their thoughts, feelings, fears and longings. “Sometimes the wrong train takes us to the right station,” says one character during The Lunchbox – what a wise and warm-hearted film this is.
The Lunchbox is streaming at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
The Lunchbox
comedy • romance • 2013
comedy • romance • 2013
Knight of Cups
For years – decades, even – American filmmaker Terrence Malick created a very large reputation out of a relatively little body of work. With two stunning films, 1973’s Badlands and 1978’s Days of Heaven, to his credit as a director, Malick decided to take a breather for 20 years before returning with the magnificent WWII drama The Thin Red Line in 1998. Seemingly making up for lost time since then, Malick has spent the 21st century crafting stylised, idiosyncratic movies that can be viewed as piercingly insightful or maddeningly cryptic…sometimes in the space of the same scene! Knight of Cups exemplifies this approach as it follows soul-sick screenwriter Rick, played by Christian Bale, through a series of vignettes exploring his relationships with his family, his contemporaries and especially the women in his life, including ex-wife Cate Blanchett and married lover Natalie Portman. Self-indulgent and oblique? Maybe a little. Thoughtful, exquisitely made and beautifully acted? Definitely.
Knight of Cups will be streaming at SBS On Demand from 3 January and also airs 8.30pm Sunday 12 January on SBS World Movies.
Sweet As
Shantae Barnes-Cowan in 'Sweet As'. Credit: Arenamedia
Sweet As will be available to stream at SBS On Demand from 23 January and also airs 8.30pm Sunday 26 January on SBS World Movies.
Seven Swords
Seven Swords. Credit: Ciwen Media
Seven Swords is streaming at SBS On Demand from 10 January.
To Die For
It was blindingly obvious from the first viewing of BMX Bandits that Nicole Kidman had it – star quality, the X factor, whatever you want to call it. And it would have been perfectly reasonable to coast (or even cruise, one might say) on that charisma and create a successful career but Kidman from early on displayed a willingness to take risks, embrace unpredictability, and use her abundant talent and presence in the service of off-kilter projects from maverick artists. At first glance, Gus Van Sant’s To Die For has the appearance of a trashy telemovie with a plot ripped from the tabloid headlines – – but this pitch-black comedy dives beneath the salacious surface to explore just how far people will go to feel special or seen. Joaquin Phoenix, Casey Affleck and Matt Dillon all provide solid support but To Die For is Kidman’s show – she’s monstrous and magnetic as a woman whose dreams of stardom have a corrosive, corrupting ripple effect on the people around her. It’s the performance that confirmed Kidman was here to stay.
To Die For is streaming at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
To Die For
Comedy drama • thriller • 1995
Comedy drama • thriller • 1995
Late Night
Before there was the much-loved, award-winning TV series Hacks, multi-hyphenate Mindy Kaling and multi-multi-hyphenate Emma Thompson came together to give us another tale of two funny women from different generations joining forces and butting heads in the pursuit of a few good gags. Written by Kaling, Late Night tells the story of Katherine (Thompson), a veteran late-night talk-show host whose career is starting to spiral downwards. Perhaps a breath of fresh air in the writers’ room in the form of Kaling’s Molly, a rookie comedian radically different from Katherine’s all-male, all-white colleagues, is just what’s needed to change the show’s fortunes. But taking on the patriarchal power structure turns out to be no laughing matter. Anyone who enjoys a glimpse behind the curtain at the machinations of showbiz, or seeing Thompson take her out for a spin, is likely to get a kick out of this one.
Late Night will be streaming at SBS On Demand from 13 December and also airs 8.30pm Saturday 28 December on SBS World Movies.
Discover more great summer viewing with SBS World Movies Summer of Movies focus, with a selection of films airing Saturday and Sunday nights until 8 February (check the for details). And find more titles streaming now, with new titles arriving across January and February, in SBS On Demand's curated .
