The Sapphires (film)

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Movie
German title The Sapphires
Original title The Sapphires
Country of production Australia
original language English
Publishing year 2012
length 99 minutes
Age rating FSK 6
Rod
Director Wayne Blair
script Tony Briggs ,
Keith Thompson
production Rosemary Blight ,
Kylie Du Fresne
music Cezary Skubiszewski
camera Warwick Thornton
cut Dany Cooper
occupation

The Sapphires is an Australian musical film about three Aboriginal sisters who in 1968 together with her cousin as Soul Quartet her breakthrough as a singer in the troops support of US forces in the Vietnam War celebrate. The film is based on the Australian musical of the same name from 2004 and this in turn loosely based on the story of the real Sapphires : the mother and aunt of the screenwriter Tony Briggs were hired as background singers in Vietnam.

action

Underage Julie sneaks out of the Aboriginal reservation with her sisters Gail and Cynthia to take part in a singing competition. Although they make the best appearance of all participants, they have no chance of winning because of the racist attitudes of the white-dominated audience. But the run-down music manager and soul fan Dave Lovelace recognizes her talent and convinces her to sing soul instead of country music in the future and let him look after her. In order to successfully apply for an advertisement from the US Army seeking talent to entertain the troops, they need the cooperation of their tribal sister Kay. As a child she was separated from the tribe by the government because she was particularly white and grew up in a foster family in Melbourne. They manage to remind the estranged cousin of their origins, and together with Kay the group successfully applies.

Their first engagement takes them to Vietnam, where they celebrate triumphs after a cautious start. Success is endangered by internal quarrels and jealousies, and the war also creates critical situations. They are deprived of their military escorts and during a performance they are embroiled in a skirmish in the course of which Dave is shot.

After their Vietnam tour they return to their home village, Dave gets Gail's father's approval for the marriage and the Sapphires give a performance in their village. Finally, the estranged Kay is ritually taken back to her village by the elders of the tribe.

Reviews

“ The Sapphires , a sympathetically imperfect film, […] is not ashamed to be a new edition of the Dreamgirls . But the Sapphires have a bonus: It's not about the world-famous Supremes, but about a now largely forgotten group of Aboriginal girls in Australia. The topic thus expands from the narration of a musical career to the social situation of the Aborigines in the 1960s and 70s. "

- critic.de - the film site

“With fresh actors, a brilliantly playing Chris O'Dowd as Dave Lovelace, great soul music and quite moving moments, cinema debutant Wayne Blair did not produce a perfect, but an extremely entertaining film whose - admittedly often quite shallow - story is based on real events . "

- prisma.de

“A beguiling round of brightly colored longings and jealousies, staged with esprit. The airy, relaxed comedy is more concerned with the carefully composed soundtrack and the show features than with the historical dimensions of the original or the racism debate. "

- Lexicon of international film

Awards (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Certificate of Release for The Sapphires . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , April 2013 (PDF; test number: 138 518 K).
  2. ↑ Robin Usher: Sparkle, in any color ( Memento March 23, 2013 on WebCite ). The Age, November 15, 2004.
  3. ^ Thorsten Funke: The Sapphires. critic.de - the film page, February 21, 2013, accessed on July 27, 2013 .
  4. ↑ The Sapphires. In: prisma.de . Retrieved October 20, 2017 .
  5. ↑ The Sapphires. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed October 20, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  6. ↑ AFI | AACTA: 2013 Winners & Nominees. In: aacta.org. Australian Film Institute , accessed October 20, 2017 .