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Sunday 9/4/11

11:20 AM Encore Dramatic Stories
Change of Habit (1969 USA): This was the film that finally soured Elvis on movies forever. Not sure why it took The King so long to figure out most of his screen efforts sucked, but better late than never! In Change of Habit, he plays John Carpenter (!), a doctor doing good work in tha hood alongside swingin’, non-singin’ nun Sister Michelle (Mary Tyler Moore). It’s as sickeningly sweet and condescending as you can imagine, but we can thank Change of Habit for finally shaking Elvis out of his movie stupor. Barbara McNair and Ed Asner co-star, whilst madman Timothy Carey puts in a typically unhinged appearance as a supermarket manager.

Monday 9/5/11

4:00 AM Sundance
Donkey in Lahore (2008 AUS): Goth puppeteer Brian met teenage Amber whilst performing in her home town of Lahore, Pakistan. The two immediately fell for each other and resolved to wed, setting in motion an amazing six-year odyssey for them both. Brian converted to Islam and adopted the name Aamir, won over Amber's somewhat reluctant family, and then spent almost two full years simply trying to arrange the correct paperwork needed to bring his new bride home to Brisbane, Australia. In the meantime, Amber began to question her decision to marry Brian and also began to doubt his sincerity. This amazing documentary captures many of the highs and lows of their developing and maturing relationship and should be required viewing for the Islamophobe in your family. The grace and generosity displayed by Amber's family is truly remarkable and the Pakistan we see in the film bears little if any relationship to a country we are told is a hotbed of Islamic fundamentalism. By film's end, it appears that the initially distraught Amber has begun to adapt to her new life down under, whilst Brian's feelings of guilt about tearing her away from her family seem to be at least partly addressed by his own family's obvious affection for his new wife. This is a wonderful film that ends too soon and begs for a sequel.

7:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Plumber (1979 AUS): I think this may be the American television premiere of Peter Weir’s odd made-for-Aussie TV character study, but The Plumber did get a VHS release during the Golden Age of Home Video (the 1980s). Ivar Kants is the titular drain doctor, but he’s hardly a professional: hired by poor old Jill (Judy Morris) to fix her bathroom pipes, he seems to create far more problems than he solves. It’s a very strange little film with a suitably discomfiting atmosphere, and comes highly recommended.

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