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THE WORLD'S BEST FILM

A second chance at life to follow your passion

A skilled storyteller with a director's eye for human stories, Josh Belinfante didn't make the world's best film, but he sure gave it his best try, and that is what's most important.

ROMANTIC ROAD

Falling in love with India, the Rolls Royce and each other

Maybe this film won't be your cup of tea, but one thing you can't take away from it is its power to inspire you to have your own adventure.

THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD

A rhapsodic delight on taking ownership of our own stories

It brims over with humanity, humour and heart, and reminds us of the importance of these things for a rich and satisfying life. This is an absolute gem of a film, and one of the best of the year.

FORMAN VS. FORMAN

The life of a creative rebel

Miloš Forman experienced life-changing events and was able to take advantage of them and turn them into a narrative of an individual‛s never-ending fight for freedom against institutions.

IT MUST BE HEAVEN

A lyrical and absurdist trip around the world

Filled with humour, pathos, eerie poetry and the driest slapstick, its endearing message is that people are kooky all over the world, even if some countries offer their own brands of zaniness.

LEAVING ALLEN STREET

Following residents out of institutional care and into our hearts

The beaming smiles the residents have on their faces when they finally move in is shared with its audience. They not only deserve this happiness, but through this film, they actually lead us to ours.

THE RISE OF THE SYNTHS

Neon, pulsing bass and heaps of 80s nostalgia

The charm of synth music is innocence - the fact that, at heart, synth music is still the result of nerds fiddling with keyboards in their garage.

DOGS DON'T WEAR PANTS

Dangerous BDSM and mismanaged (would-be) great characters

The premise offers promising characters, but we need to know so much more about them and their unconventional actions, and that's where the filmmakers failed to understand their own product.

WAVES

High school misery porn drowned by its aesthetic

While ambitious, it's so busy trying to be a future indie classic with its camera acrobatics and needle drops that it forgets to give any impetus to care about its supposedly profound stories.

MELBOURNE DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL 2020

The reviews

The SWITCH team have put together their favourite reviews from the Melbourne Documentary Film Festival, so check out our highlights from this year's line-up.

THE ASSISTANT

Meek and mad

A film that demands full attention from its audience to tell a frustratingly normalised story of frustrating normalised harassment. It's a quiet film brimming with power, one that is not to be missed.

DESCENT

Freediving from the depths of the human psyche to its peaks

Beautifully shot and wonderfully articulated, 'Descent' might take you to some of the lowest moments in the human psyche, but it's also a celebration of its most triumphant peaks.

WAR OF THE WORLDS

15th anniversary of Steven Spielberg's darkest nightmare

15 years on, it has not lost one ounce of its power. This speaks to its incredible craft and unwavering convictions, but also because the collapse it depicts is a nightmare that has never gone away.

WHERE'D YOU GO, BERNADETTE?

Cate Blanchett mystery isn't entirely what's on the label

While it's missing Linklater's usual loosely-structured narrative and character study, it does its job of being enjoyable background noise that thanks to its cast and somewhat engaging story.

THE KING OF STATEN ISLAND

Judd Apatow & Pete Davidson team-up is a match made in heaven

This film shines as both as semi-autobiographical film and another fantastic entry in Judd Apatow's ever-growing filmography.

BATMAN BEGINS

Celebrating fifteen years since the gritty reboot

The chain reaction of 'Batman Begins' for Hollywood studios is still being felt today. 15 years since 'Batman Begins' was first released in cinemas, the question stands - does it still hold up?

POCAHONTAS

25 years later, the colours of the wind are fading

It's not a train wreck. It's more a cinematic misstep, and as more and more time passes, we look less kindly on it. The big question is: what did Disney learn from the failure of 'Pocahontas'?

HARRIET

A flawed Harriet Tubman biopic with a phenomenal performance

It stumbles in its clichéd storytelling and focus on going for gold - but that's not to undermine the fantastic acting, groundbreaking music, and the incredible true story of Harriet Tubman's bravery.

STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the legendary sequel

'Empire' reminds us of what lies at the very heart of the 'Star Wars' saga and brings us back to the most thrilling of all the theatres of storytelling - ourselves.

SEA FEVER

Paranoia, parasitic plagues and pandemic horror

The film manages a few striking sequences - most notably, a slow-motion underwater first contact with a big glowing jellyfish and its impossibly long tendrils. It's hard to discount that kind of "ick" factor.

SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL SELECTS

The best of the festival free on SBS On Demand

Sydney Film Festival Director Nashen Moodley has selected 40 of his favourite SFF features to stream for free on SBS On Demand. Check out our reviews for the films showcased there.

THE BLUES BROTHERS

40 years on, they're still on a mission from God

It remains one of the most well-received comedies of all time, and will continue to hold strong as time goes on. Put on a suit, grab some sunglasses 'cause it's time to go on a mission from God.

RESISTANCE

Oy vey! An insult to a hero and a genius

Favouring grandiose characters, weak attempts at tension, false love interests and incomplete arcs, Marcel Mangel and Marcel Marceau deserve better.

THE HIGH NOTE

A mid-tempo comedy romp

You could do a lot worse than 'The High Note' for a light two hours when there's nothing else to watch; it's just unfortunate that its charismatic cast can't save an off-pitch script.

I STILL BELIEVE

Faith romantic drama misses every demographic

Another forgettable romantic and religious film. It has a tonne of issues from pacing to story, but it's just a boring film that is unappealing to all the demographics it tries to hit.

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