Cardo
María is about to turn 30, and doesn’t see much in her life to be proud of. Starting as a successful teen model, she’s now stuck in self-destruction mode, partying and drug-taking to cope with her dissatisfaction. Ana Rujas, who plays María, also co-created this visceral, raw and loving depiction of a young woman pulling herself through to the other end of a crisis.
A Beginner’s Guide To Grief
Creator and writer Anna Lindner stars as Harriet in this short-form Australian drama (each of the six episodes is 10–15 minutes long) in which Harry’s parents die within a week of each other. Their terminal illness diagnoses came when she was studying and partying at art school in New York. Back home, she takes care of them and then must navigate the waves of pain and grief when they go. Then there’s the matter of the next stage of her life. There are a lot of laughs as well as tears in this gem of a show.
Perfect Life
When María’s partner leaves her on the cusp of a major commitment, it sends the young woman, who has relied on a heavily mapped out life plan, on a rampage of shocked pain mixed with reckless glee. She runs to her painter sister Esther’s place and takes drugs for the first time, then sleeps with the gardener at her best friend Cristina’s home during a kid’s birthday party, opening a whole new path in life for the blind-sided María (played by Leticia Dolera, who also created the show). The three central women (Celia Freijeiro and Aixa Villagrán along with Dolera) make this Spanish comedy/drama addictive.
Sorry For Your Loss
When we meet Leigh (Elizabeth Olsen), it’s three months since her husband Matt (Mamoudou Athie) died, and she’s angry and hurting badly, as is Matt’s brother Danny (Jovan Adepo). Her pain is straining her already spiky relationships with her sister Jules (Kelly Marie Tran), mother Amy (Janet McTeer) and Danny. Rather than ‘get over it’, this series recognises that grief must be made room for. Season 2 begins a year on, and one of Matt’s dreams is about to come true posthumously, and Leigh is feeling less stuck in her pain.
Tracks
Based on the best-selling memoir by Robyn Davidson, this 2013 film adaptation follows Robyn’s tracks across Australia when she decides in 1978 to walk with a team of camels and her beloved dog from the Red Centre all the 2,700km to Western Australia. Mia Wasikowska stars as Robyn, and Adam Driver as the NatGeo photographer sent out to capture her epic journey.
Tracks is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
Strange Birds
Vivienne (Lolita Chammah) has left her small town to broaden her horizons in Paris, but is feeling wobbly settling in. Her flatmate’s voracious and audible sex life isn’t helping, but she takes solace in writing and reading in a favoured café. There, the world-weary cynic Georges (Jean Sorel) notices her, and soon she is living in a tiny apartment in exchange for running the bookshop downstairs that he’s lost all motivation for. The pair, who differ in age considerably, nevertheless recognise a kindred spirit in the other, making a sweet mark on each other’s lives when neither knew they needed it. Short, as features go (at 71 minutes), Strange Birds is a delicate yet contemplative film.
Strange Birds (in French with English subtitles) is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
The Outsiders
Let Stevie Wonder’s ‘Stay Gold’ wash over you as you press play on this powerful and raw adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s novel, a worn copy of which might’ve been in your high school backpack. Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio and C. Thomas Powell as ‘Greasers’ Dallas, Johnny and Ponyboy, are at the centre of the battle with the rich kids aka ‘The Socs’. When things turn fatal one night, the unfolding drama stays in one’s soul forever in this coming-of-age story that’s as emotional as ever, four decades on from when it debuted in 1983. Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Diane Lane and Tom Cruise form an impressive supporting cast.
The Outsiders is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
The Festival
As a distraction from heartbreak, Shane (Hammed Animashaun) convinces his best mate Nick (Joe Thomas), whose beloved girlfriend Caitlin (Hannah Tointon) dumped him on graduation day to his complete surprise, to join him at an epic three-day music festival. Of the thousands of attendees, what are the chances Nick and Caitlin will bump into each other? Well, of course they will. Ensue challenges for young Nick, manifested in many a physical comedy mishap. For an idea of the style of comedy, The Festival is from the creators of The Inbetweeners.
The Festival is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
Better Days
High school student Chen Nian is driven to enlist the help of petty criminal Xiao Bei for protection against constant bullying, which led a classmate to suicide. As well as the interrogatory nature of some of the students, Chen Nian is also preparing for two days of exams that will determine her direction in life; she’s feeling pressure from every which way. Coming from an impoverished family, she is doing this not only for herself, but for them. Figuring out who she is, and what she’s made of, is entwined with a budding romance with Xiao Bei, unexpected and tender.
Better Days (Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles) is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
