"The Sapphires" - Film Review

“The Sapphires” - Film Review

Based largely on a true story, “The Sapphires” follows four young and talented Australian Aboriginal girls from a remote location on the island continent where they learn about love, friendship, family, music and a war next door.

The movie starts in 1968 when they are discovered at a less than welcoming talent contest by a man from Melbourne named Dave who is a perpetual good natured talent scout with a kind heart who agrees to be their manager on the condition  they change their musical taste from Country Western to Soul music. Their hard work pays off resulting in Dave booking the four women to their first true gig giving them their first taste of independence, stardom, money and acceptance as they travel throughout Vietnam during the war to sing and entertain the American troops.

“The Sapphires” has its clichés, its conventional dramatic moments and its somewhat predictable funny lines. And, its direction is played out with a straight, safe and by the book no real risk story telling style. Still in spite of these minor flaws the movie made me smile, mostly from the revisiting of some great R & B classic music done very well in the movie, the effervescent talent of the principle five actors in the story and ultimately watching all of them in the story achieving their dreams against truly trying circumstances.

3 - Stars