A Chick at the 2013 Atlanta Film Festival Pt. 2

#atlff  #TheSapphires

So the second film I took on at the Atlanta Film Festival was a flick from Australia called The Sapphires.  "Inspired by true events," The Sapphires tells the story of four Aboriginal women who form a singing group in the 1960s and travel to Vietnam to perform the U.S. troops fighting during the war.  Think Australia's version of The Supremes.  The only recognizable actor in the film is Irishman Chris O'Dowd (The IT Crowd, Bridesmaids) who plays the the girls' manager and arbiter of American soul music.  While predictable and a bit hokey, I enjoyed the music and was pleasantly entertained.  The film did touch on some serious subjects such as the Australian government's longtime policy of taking light-skinned Aboriginal children from their families to train them as domestics, struggles with racial identity, and the intensity of being in a war zone.  But, for the most part, the film was a warmhearted and easy-going indulgence.  Not bad for a Sunday matinee.

The 2013 Atlanta Film Festival continues through Sunday, March 24, 2013.