The gems in a warzone
The Sapphires (PG, 103 mins)
Musical/Comedy/Romance/Action. Chris O'Dowd, Deborah
Mailman, Miranda Tapsell, Jessica Mauboy, Shari Sebbens, Tory
Kittles. Director: Wayne Blair.
Based on Tony Briggs's 2004 stage play, The Sapphires is a
crowd-pleasing, feel-good comedy about four sisters who discovered
their voices while entertaining troops in Vietnam.
Director Wayne Blair applies a light touch to some potentially
thorny subject matter - the enduring pain of a stolen generation of
Aboriginal children forcibly taken from their parents, the
devastation of the war on the indigenous population - but like the
sibling's songbook, his film remains upbeat.
Twenty-three year-old singer Jessica Mauboy, a runner-up on the
Australian version of The X Factor, is luminous in her big screen
debut, delivering a strong performance as well as the powerhouse
vocals.
She swings soulfully through a soundtrack that includes What A
Man, I Heard It Through The Grapevine and I Can't Help Myself
(Sugar Pie Honey Bunch).
Glorious.
Blair's film opens in 1958 with young girls running excitedly to
an Aboriginal mission, where their joyful singing is cut short by
the arrival of the authorities.
Several girls are taken away, to be assimilated into white
families.
Ten years later, booze-sodden Irish talent scout Dave (Chris
O'Dowd) discovers Gail McCrae (Deborah Mailman) and her sisters
Cynthia (Miranda Tapsell) and Julie (Jessica Mauboy) singing in a
pub talent contest.
The audience refuses to acknowledge their superb efforts and
when Dave dares to speak up in favour of the McCraes, he's shot
down in flames by the pub landlady.
Ambitious 17-year-old Julie persuades Dave to put them forward
for auditions to entertain the troops behind enemy lines.
Dave eventually agrees and stresses that he needs to make
changes to the line-up, such as promoting Julie over Gail as the
group's front woman.
"How do you feel about not singing lead?" he asks the
fiery-tempered oldest sister.
"How do you feel about being knocked out by a woman," Gail
retorts.
Dave persuades the girls to recruit their estranged cousin Kay
(Shari Sebbens) and rechristens the group as The Sapphires.
He ditches the girl's country repertoire and turns them on to
soul music, which impresses Army brass.
"We'll see you in Saigon," confirms the audition panel.
The Sapphires go down a storm overseas and man-eater Cynthia
catches the eye of soldier Robby (Tory Kittles) but dreams of
stardom are tempered by the harsh reality of the horrors of war on
both sides of the conflict.
The Sapphires sings to a similar tune as The Commitments, albeit
with sequins, swinging hips and bone-dry Antipodean humour.
Battle scenes, though brief, are well orchestrated despite
obvious budget limitations and we genuinely fear for the characters
when they are literally caught in the crossfire.
O'Dowd gleefully pickpockets many of the best lines and he
shares wonderful screen chemistry with Mailman, playing the mother
hen, who will do anything to protect her sisters from harm.
G'day Vietnam!
:: Swearing :: No Sex :: Violence :: Rating: 7/10
To find local screenings for The Sapphires, click here
07/11/12
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