A Cinematic Life is a wonderful look at how Australian films have matured and evolved over the last few decades hosted by respected movie critic, David Stratton. It's also a tribute to the story of David's life.
David's love of film began has a child and he has a review and notes on every movie he has ever seen. Later we hear about him running the Sydney Film Festival and writing movie reviews for Variety Magazine. David discusses movies over lunch with Margaret Pomeranz, his co-host form The Movie Show - an amazing 28-year partnership.
David's passion for films shines through and his dry humour comes across as he mocks the fact he was the subject of surveillance by ASIO. They kept a file on him during the time he used to visit Russia for their film festival.
The best part of the documentary is reminiscing over David's favourite Australian films. He visits some of the famous locations where they were shot, most notably Hanging Rock. He covers different genres and topics, like multiculturalism, sexuality, violence, and Indigenous films. I must admit, I haven't seen all the films mentioned every though I'm a huge movie fan.
The documentary has an enviable lineup of stars including Eric Bana, Bryon Brown, Russell Crowe, Judy Davis, Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving, Sam Neil, George Miller, Gillian Armstrong and Geoffrey Rush.
A Cinematic Life is a captivating documentary which I highly recommended for movie buffs and Australian filmgoers, no matter if you were on Team David or Team Margaret.
