The Sapphires (Blu-ray + DVD) (2013)

THE SAPPHIRES may be a bit rough, production-wise, yet it is a movie that is almost impossible not to like.

Inspired by a true story, the Australian-made film tells of four young Aboriginal women (sisters and cousins) who, in 1968, form a signing group, then travel to Vietnam, along with their white Irish R&B musician/manager, to entertain the troops. As the girls journey through the war zone, they deal with long-standing family disputes, racism and also find romance.

Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Shari Sebbens and Miranda Tapsell are irresistible as the singing quartet, while Chris O'Dowd is a delight as the down-on-his luck former ship cruise entertainment director, who becomes their manager.

Well directed on a relatively modest budget by Wayne Bair, THE SAPPHIRES moves along at a nice clip and is enhanced by many enjoyable music sequences, its humor and also some heart wrenching moments of war.

Incidentally, the movie's co-writer and associate producer, Tony Briggs, is the son of Laurel Robinson, a member of the real-life The Sapphires group. Briggs also wrote the stage play from which the film was adapted, and in one of three featurettes on the DVD from Anchor Bay Entertainment, he interviews his mother and the other three members of the singing group.

© Michael B. Druxman

This "gem" of a film is a treasure that's been buried under shallow box-office movies.

"The Sapphires" is not a glitzy Hollywood romp romanticizing the late 1960s. Neither is it a raw shock-value film of the Vietnam crisis. What it is is a gritty story about the conflicts of race issues, betrayal, family conflict, and the loss of innocence. And while the film doesn't shy away from the themes of exploitation, sexuality and confusion, it also doesn't saturate the screen with images to meant to overwhelm the viewer.

The based-on-life story of four sister/cousins (Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Shari Sebbens, Miranda Tapsell) who boldly belly-up to the auditions for entertainers for the Vietnam Troops is inspiring. The fights between the girls are fast, furious and leave you breathless. The manager (Chris O'Dawd) pushes back with worthwhile pressure. The family dynamics are complicated and real.

The story stays focussed on the issue of the girls and their struggles. The effects are subtle and lend to the story, not overtaking the visuals. The most refreshing part? The actors are not glammed up; they are diamonds-in-the-rough and it's the rough that makes them great. They don't look or sound like Barbie Commercials.

But wait! What about the music? If it's a film about a girl-band...

You won't be disappointed by the cast's ability to belt their pipes worthy of the big-screen. There are 16 songs from the era, including (but not limited to) "I Heard It Through The Grapevine," "What A Man," "Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch," "Soul Man," "Today I Started Loving You Again," and "In the Sweet Bye and Bye."

Going to add this film to my home collection. And I am picky with what goes into my home collection.

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Shame on America for how this film has been processed for release in your country. Just look at the cover for the DVD: the four Aboriginal women that the film is chiefly about have been photoshopped to look White; and they are also made a mere decorative backdrop to the White supporting male actor. The Aboriginals' names are not even listed on the front cover! This in a film which deals with racism!

Likewise the descriptor on this webpage does not state that the women are Australian and Aboriginal. Its as if the black Australians do not exist.

Proud of its culture, Australia is trying to promote Black talent overseas. But the American DVD distributor has inflicted the taint of Jim Crow on Aboriginals.

Read Best Reviews of The Sapphires (Blu-ray + DVD) (2013) Here

THE SAPPHIRES is a delightful, charming good time at the movies. It contains plenty of serious moments, but only enough to tug your heart-strings a little. It dabbles in lofty issues such as racism and war...but it really has its mind set on entertaining.

We meet a group of very talented aborigine women who have entered a local talent contest. They have modest goals and unusual choices for music. While their voices are lovely, the decision to sing American country-western doesn't quite jibe. Because these are women of color, they are pretty much pre-ordained NOT to win the contest...but lucky for them, the piano player is a charming drunk who sees more promise there. He convinces them to let him manager their act, convinces them to sing R&B, redubs them The Sapphires and actually books them a long-term gig...performing for the troops in Vietnam!

Off they go...their first trip out of the country and it's to war-torn Southeast Asia. Talk about your fish out of water story! Many adventures...some humorous, some romantic and some terrifying ...ensue, and a great time is had by the entire audience. The music is phenomenal and really the centerpiece of the film. It's all familiar, but these girls put their own spin on each piece. We get to see them mature as performers.

There are plenty of sub-plots...including some really interesting and moving material around the Australian government's policy of finding light-skinned aborigines and removing them from their families to be placed with white, usually urban and middle-class, families. One of The Sapphires fell into this category...and she comes into conflict with her friends. It made we want to go out and re-watch RABBIT PROOF FENCE, which was all about this terrible policy.

The music is the star, but close on its heels is the terrific cast. Chris O'Dowd (BRIDESMAIDS) is the only readily recognizable star, and he brings considerable hang-dog Irish charm to his role as the manager. Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Shari Sebbens & Miranda Tapsell are all just delightful as the four Sapphires.

THE SAPPHIRES (based on a true story...watch through the end credits to see photos of the "real" women) won't change the world or win major awards. But it is a true crowd-pleaser in the best sense of the word. It takes us on an emotional journey, where we care about the outcome and have toe-tapping good time on the way. It's one of the year's best surprises.

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Aboriginal "Dreamgirls" go to Vietnam . Great musical performances and soundtrack

I missed the chance to see this film at last year's Philadelphia Film Festival but I heard good things about it and I'm glad that it's on home video.

If you've read my other DVD reviews on Amazon you know that I'm not a big fan of "spoilers" in reviews. It take the fun out of many movies. That'll be the case here as well since there are moments in this film that you should discover for yourself. One comes just before the final credits and I won't reveal it here.

If I was to describe this film to someone, it would be something like" The `Dreamgirls' ( but more Sister Sledge than the Supremes in style go to Vietnam". Yep, that's it. The Australian Film follows three aboriginal (black) sisters and their cousins as they embark on a singing career in the late 1960s by lanfing a gig playing US military bases in Vietnam. You can already guess some of the plot twists but, as I said, others sneak up. It's not a perfect film, by any means but there is sooooooo much music on the soundtrack and performed by the actresses that those performances alone make it worth seeing. It's also cultural history lesson as I knew very little about modern day aboriginals before the watching the film and I learned a lot.

The 99-minutes goes by very quickly and the Blu-ray image and sound were great. Some of the scenes in Vietnam filmed on location there have a fogginess on the screen but that is intened (as you will learn in one of the three bonus features. The three are a nin-minute "making of" featurette with the producers, actors and creative crew, a 6 minute one interviewing the four women whose real life story the film was based on and a 6-minute featurette on the songs performed with commentary by actress Jessica Mauboy, who has an amazing voice.

If you liked "Dreamgirls" or love the soul music of the 60s and 70s I can certainly recommend this film. Probably only worth 4 ½ stars but for the music I'm giving it a FIVE.

I hope you found this review both informative and helpful.

Steve Ramm

"Anything Phonographic"

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