nikkiwhitelady

I saw this lovingly crafted short film at the Sydney Film Festival last week - and I've been thinking about it ever since.

Based on a short story by American author Raymond Carver, "Everything Goes" is a hilarious, touching story of love and loss set amongst the bric-a-brac of a suburban yard sale.

Hugo Weaving, Abbie Cornish and Sullivan Stapleton give memorable and beautifully nuanced performances. The audience I saw it with also loved the "performance" by Hugo's dog!

A good companion film for this little gem would be Sofia Coppola's impressionistic romance "Lost in Translation".

"La Spagnola" (literally "The Spanish Woman", in Italian) is a searingly sexy black comedy from "down-under" that explores the dysfunctional relationship between the fiery and beautiful Spaniard, Lola (Lola Marceli in a star-making performance) and her sensitive and lonely daughter, Lucia (the beguiling newcomer Alice Ansara).

There is not a false note in the entire film. Under Steve Jacobs' assured direction, the faultless performances, stunning cinematography, playful musical score and songs, work their surprising and indelible magic upon us.

Anna-Maria Monticelli's achingly funny yet deceptively simple narrative rings with harsh truths about the migrant experience in 60s Australia, and propels this sublime human drama towards a touching conclusion.

"La Spagnola" is firecracker of a film and a sure-fire bet for the next "Best Foreign Film" Oscar.