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Men In Black 3

It’s not a sequel that needed to be made, but thanks to the charm of its leads and a tone that harks back to the wit and humour of the original, it’s a pretty enjoyable trip.

Bel Ami

The excellent female support cast saves this patchy effort, which is let down by its leading man and a flat screenplay.

The Dictator

A disappointing, often repulsive and mean-spirited mess of a film with seemingly only one real criterion on its agenda: to shock and offend.

The Woman In Black

Packed with atmosphere, this old-fashioned but deftly told ghost story delivers ample chills and thrills.

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Dancing With Dictators (Film)

by Dov Kornits | December 07, 2011 16:07 | Edited December 08, 2011 14:42

With its complex political context made accessible, this is a gripping, eye-opening and ultimately essential doco for anyone who gives a damn about freedom of the press.

The South-East Asian country of Burma, or as it is now officially known, Myanmar, is amongst the world's biggest offenders of media freedom. With a population of almost 60 million, governed by military rule, it is extremely difficult to speak your mind, for fear of being jailed, let alone publish a newspaper. But that's exactly what Australian maverick publisher Ross Dunkley has been doing for a number of years, managing to avoid getting into too much trouble, until the country's first election in 20 years approaches in 2008, and all hell breaks loose.

 

This tense and informative documentary was shot in secret, which adds to the tension at the heart of the story. We spend the first half of the film finding out about Dunkley and how his newspaper The Myanmar Times manages to skirt the authorities, the extent of censorship required, and the response of his staff. There are great characters in Dunkley's newsroom but none are as fascinating as the man himself, who would make a great subject for a narrative feature film. A real Aussie character, an old-school newspaper man who likes a smoke and a drink, his job comes first, and his family, well, they're now living back in Western Australia. In the second half of the film, as the election looms, danger is sensed all around, with the doco crew and many of The Myanmar Times staff thrown out of the country, and Dunkley arrested.

 

For many (like this reviewer), Asian and despotic political situations are difficult to understand, but through Dunkley and the approach taken by the filmmakers here, the Burma situation is easily navigable. It's dire stuff, and someone needs to step in, which is what Dunkley tries to do, as well as set up his own empire. Dancing With Dictators is riveting and illuminating. It's filmmaking that matters, and needs to be seen.