The Sapphires (film)

The Sapphires is a 2012 Australian musical comedy-drama film based on the 2004 stage play of the same name, which is loosely based on a true story.[4] The film is directed by Wayne Blair and written by Keith Thompson and Tony Briggs, the latter of whom wrote the play.

The Sapphires
Theatrical release poster
Directed byWayne Blair
Produced byRosemary Blight
Kylie Du Fresne
Screenplay byKeith Thompson
Tony Briggs
Based onThe Sapphires
by Tony Briggs
Starring
Music byCezary Skubiszewski
CinematographyWarwick Thornton
Edited byDany Cooper
Production
company
Distributed byHopscotch Films (Australia)
The Weinstein Company (US)
Release date
  • 19 May 2012 (2012-05-19) (Cannes)
  • 9 August 2012 (2012-08-09) (Australia)
  • 22 March 2013 (2013-03-22) (United States)
Running time
103 minutes[1]
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Budget$8–10 million[2]
Box office$20,423,628[3]

The Sapphires is about four Indigenous Australian women, Gail (Deborah Mailman), Julie (Jessica Mauboy), Kay (Shari Sebbens) and Cynthia (Miranda Tapsell), who are discovered by a talent scout (Chris O'Dowd), and form a music group named The Sapphires, travelling to Vietnam in 1968 to sing for troops during the war. Production began in 2010, with the casting of the four members of The Sapphires and filming taking place in and around Albury in Australia and Vietnam during August and September 2011.

The Sapphires made its world premiere at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival on 19 May 2012 during its out-of-competition screenings, was theatrically released in Australia on 9 August and received a limited release in the United States on 22 March 2013.

Plot

In 1968 Australia, Gail and Cynthia head into town to sing country & western songs for a talent contest but their young sister, Julie, is forbidden from going because she has a child and is too young until she bribes a fellow neighbour to take her into town. An alcoholic, Irish talent scout, Dave Lovelace, is scolded by his boss for being late despite him sleeping in his car that is near work. Despite being the best act in the contest, the girls not only do not win, but are told to leave. Dave recognizes their talent and discovers that the troops need singers for Vietnam. Soon, Dave goes to make a call and he says they have been granted a spot to audition in Melbourne. Back at their place, Gail, Cynthia and Julie's mother tells him he can take them but without Julie, until Julie's father tells him not to worry about her. Advised by their grandmother, they meet up with their cousin Kay, who had been living in Melbourne for 10 years after the government took her from her family as part of the Stolen Generations, because she was half white. She rejects the offer of joining them, but later changes her mind and meets up at their uncle's place. After days of practising their moves, they are almost ready until Julie gives Cynthia a letter from her fiancé that he is going to call it off. Despite that, they manage to audition very well and Kay comes up with the group's name, The Sapphires, after looking at Cynthia's engagement ring.

The Sapphires are a success with the crowds, but infighting among the women threatens to tear the group apart: Gail acts as the group's aggressive matriarch. Kay struggles with her multi-ethnic identity because 10 years earlier she was taken away from the family by the Government, along with thousands of other fairer-skinned Aboriginal children and sent to live in institutions where they were to be raised 'white'. Julie proves to be the group's best voice with a shot at a singing career. Dave and Gail begin a romance, but his reckless behaviour and a personal secret push Gail's patience to the limit.

When The Sapphires do another gig, Cynthia drinks with some of the men and is not allowed to go on again. Later, Dave and Gail talk a little before Dave hands her a letter, telling her to open it later and are about to kiss when they are caught in the crossfire of war; Dave disappears in the chaos and gets shot. The girls manage to escape in a helicopter. At home, Gail reads Dave's letter and realizes he wanted to propose to her, but it was her choice. The women band together and finish their tour. Dave survives and Gail is reunited with him in a Vietnam hospital. The Sapphires return to Australia and Gail and Dave announce to the family that they plan to marry. The Sapphires give a joyous performance for their friends and family in the yard of their home.

Cast

The true story

There had been an all-female Australian Aboriginal singing group named The Sapphires in the 1960s, although originally there were three of them: Laurel Robinson (the mother of screenwriter Tony Briggs), Beverly Briggs, and Naomi Mayers. They performed at hotels, pubs, cabarets, clubs, parties, army barracks and universities around Melbourne.[5][6] When they were invited to Vietnam to perform for the troops, Briggs and Mayers declined, as they were against the war, so Robinson enlisted her sister Lois Peeler to join her.[5] In Vietnam, the duo of Robinson and Peeler performed backing vocals for a New Zealand Maori band they had performed within Melbourne.[4][7] It was this Maori band who introduced them to soul music; the character of Dave Lovelace, portrayed in the film by Chris O'Dowd, did not exist.[7] Director Wayne Blair, talking about the creation of the Lovelace character, said "That's where we went a bit Argo".[8] Tony Briggs said in an interview in The Age in 2004 "he found it liberating as a writer to expand the number of characters" as it made the dynamics of the story richer.[4]

Production

Based on Tony Briggs' 2004 play of the same name commissioned by and debuted at Melbourne Theatre Company, the film was first announced in June 2010.[6] The screenplay was co-written by Briggs and Keith Thompson. Filming primarily took place in New South Wales, at Albury, (and its surrounding towns Corowa, Howlong, Culcairn, Henty and Morven), with additional shooting taking place in Windsor, Camden, Summerhill, Newtown, and Canal Road Studios in Leichhardt, between August and September 2011.[9][10][11] The rest of the film's production was moved to Vietnam, for a limited shoot.[11]

Casting
Deborah Mailman, who played Cynthia McCrae in the original 2004 play, stars as Gail McCrae in the film.

On 2 June 2010, a press release announced that an open casting call had begun for The Sapphires, and that Goalpost Pictures Australia were searching for "four young Indigenous women, aged 16–28, to play the leading roles of the four members of [the title singing group]".[12] The audition process involved submitting an audition tape to the casting website by 31 July 2010.[12] Australian singer Casey Donovan, who had starred as Cynthia McCrae in the musical's 2010 production, auditioned for that part, but was unsuccessful, with the role instead going to newcomer Miranda Tapsell.[13] Deborah Mailman, who also starred as Cynthia in the original 2004 production of the musical, landed the role of Gail McCrae, and Jessica Mauboy joined the film, being cast as Gail's sister Julie.[14][15][16] In August 2011, the roles of all four group members were officially announced, when another newcomer, Shari Sebbens, joined the cast as Kay McCrae.[14][17] Chris O'Dowd was added to the film, playing the role of Dave, who discovers The Sapphires.[18]

Soundtrack
Main article: The Sapphires: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Mauboy performing "Ngarra Burra Ferra" at the 2013 Mbantua Festival in Alice Springs, Northern Territory with Aboriginal Australian students from Yipirinya State Primary School, of which Mauboy is the official ambassador.

The original soundtrack was released on 27 July 2012 by Sony Music.[19] It features the vocals of Jessica Mauboy, Jade MacRae, Lou Bennett, Juanita Tippens and Darren Percival, with Mauboy singing in ten of the sixteen songs.[20] An original track called "Gotcha", co-written by Mauboy, Ilan Kidron, and Louis Schoorl, was released as a single on 13 July.[21][22][23] Two weeks after its chart debut, The Sapphires soundtrack hit number one on the ARIA Album Chart and the ARIA Australian Albums Chart.

Release

The film had its world premiere on 19 May at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, at the midnight out-of-competition screening.[24] Following the premiere, the audience in attendance gave the cast and crew a ten-minute standing ovation.[25][26][27] It premiered in Australia at the Melbourne International Film Festival on 2 August, with its cinematic release on 9 August, distributed by Hopscotch Films.[28][29] Entertainment One handled distribution in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Canada, while Lusomundo, Diaphana, and Lev Films released the film in Portugal, France, and Israel, respectively.[30] The Weinstein Company bought the rights to distribute the film in the United States and other countries.[31]

Home media

The US release of the DVD attracted controversy as the result of the design for the DVD's cover. The artwork placed actor Chris O'Dowd prominently in the foreground, with the four female stars appearing in the background and coloured with a blue wash. The decision was described as both sexist and racist, with O'Dowd describing the decision as "ill-judged, insensitive and everything the film wasn't".[32][33][34][35] Anchor Bay expressed regret for any "unintentional upset caused" and said different artwork was being considered for future orders.[36]

Reception

Box office

In Australia, the film was the highest-earning Australian film on its opening weekend, grossing $2,320,000 from 275 cinemas.[2] News.com.au said it was the strongest first weekend for an Australian-made film since Tomorrow, When the War Began, which earned $3,860,000 upon its 2010 release.[37] As of 31 October 2012, the film had grossed AU$14,215,596 at the Australian box office.[38]

The film was far less successful in international markets than in its Australian release, with roughly $5 million from all international releases combined versus over $14 million in its Australian release alone.[3]

In France, the film opened at #13 with just 35,786 admissions from 162 screens over its first week (25,847 over five days).[39] It was dubbed "Le Flop" by French box office website Le Box Office Pour Les Nuls.[40] In its first major English-language opening outside of Australia, the UK, the film opened at #7 and to a little under 25% of the box office it earned in its Australian opening weekend, on a roughly similar number of screens (279 vs. 233). The film exited UK cinemas after just 5 weeks in release with a final box office take of £680,643, equivalent to around AU$1m. The UK final box office takings were less than 1/14 of the film's Australian final box office takings.[41] In its United States release, where the film only appeared in the top 20 for one weekend (at #19, 5–7 April 2013), the film completed its run with just under $2.5m, and releases in Germany and the Netherlands yielded under $100,000 each.[42]

Critical response

The Sapphires received positive reviews from Cannes, dubbed as the Australian version of Dreamgirls (2006), another film based on a play about a '60s girl group.[43][44] Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 91% based on reviews from 131 critics; their average rating was calculated as 6.9/10.[45] Metacritic gives the film a "generally positive" rating of 67% based on reviews from 30 critics.[46]

Guy Lodge from Variety said Chris O'Dowd's "dorky-dirty warmth and manic performance energy... keeps the proceedings bouncy even when the script loses its own fizz."[47] Mark Adams of Screen International called O'Dowd an "increasingly charismatic screen presence" who "helps give the film an edginess, spontaneity and some real laugh-out-loud moments."[48] Eric Kohn from IndieWire gave it a C-, believing that it "belongs on Broadway more than the big screen".[49]

Henry Barnes of The Guardian gave the film three stars out of five, calling it "a sweet 'n' dumb feelgood bopper."[50] Brad Brevet of Rope of Silicon gave it a B-, summing it up as, "good music, good performances and good fun and should play well across several demographic quadrants."[51]

Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph gave the "workaday Australian comedy" three stars, calling it "uncomplicated" but praising Chris O'Dowd for elevating every scene he is in.[52] Ross Miller of Thoughts On Film gave the film three stars, saying that it "may not break any especially new ground or end up in a place you're not expecting but along the way it's a genuinely pleasant watch."[53]

Fiona Williams of SBS awarded the film three-and-a-half stars out of five, commenting that "There's much to love, lots to like... and enough roof-lifting musical numbers to make up for the dodgy bits."[54]

Academic Bruno Starrs makes the argument that the film's Aboriginal protagonists undergo a journey in which they learn the importance of choosing the protest songs of black Soul over the white coloniser's "whining" Country and Western songs. Their song choices are an assertion of Indigenous sovereignty and Starrs argues that the Aboriginal Australian 'Welcome to Country' is twice subverted to reinforce this theme, firstly in the Cummeragunja pub and secondly in war-torn Vietnam."[55]

Awards and nominations

Ceremony Category Recipient Result
45th AWGIE Awards[56] Best Feature Film (screenplay) – Adaptation Keith Thompson
Tony Briggs		 Won
Most Outstanding Script of 2012 Won
26th ARIA Music Awards[57] Best Original Soundtrack/Cast/Show Album Nominated
48th Chicago International Film Festival Gold Hugo for Best Feature Wayne Blair Nominated
35th Denver Film Festival[58] People's Choice Award for Best Narrative Feature Won
AACTA Awards[59]
(2nd)		 Best Film Rosemary Blight, Kylie du Fresne Won
Best Direction Wayne Blair Won
Best Adapted Screenplay Keith Thompson Won
Tony Briggs Won
Best Lead Actor Chris O'Dowd Won
Best Lead Actress Deborah Mailman Won
Best Supporting Actress Jessica Mauboy Won
Best Cinematography Warwick Thornton Won
Best Editing Dany Cooper Won
Best Sound Andrew Plain Won
Bry Jones Won
Pete Smith Won
Ben Osmo Won
John Simpson Won
Best Production Design Melinda Doring Won
Best Costume Design Tess Schofield Won
Best Visual Effects James Rogers Nominated
Deadly Awards 2013[60] Film of the Year Won
gollark: If people care about art as a status signal or art for some philosophical reason they might want it to be human-made.
gollark: It does seem plausible that AI art might kill off much of commissioned art/graphic design.
gollark: We can assume that the AI runs faster than humans because people will only run training for a few months at most before they get bored and stop.
gollark: Legal action was maybe also bad.
gollark: I do think the DALL-E Mini name was kind of bad.

References
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  60. Aboriginal magistrate Pat O'Shane, Archie Roach honoured at Deadly Awards, ABC News, 11 September 2013.
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