The Sapphires

Plot synopsis:
In 1968 Australia, Gail and Cynthia head into town 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. After the girls lose the talent contest, even with Julie coming in, Dave gives Gail her guitar back and as Dave is about to leave, Julie hands him a piece of paper, showing 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 because she had qualified as a white person. 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 fiance 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 by government officials because her light skin made her a good candidate for assimilation into white culture. 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 behavior 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 choppers. At a 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.

Tags: flashback

Review:
An enormous relief, in a film that needed to tell a story, and not turn the experiences of the four girls, and their manager, in to a musical.'The Sapphires' tells a uniquely Australian story of four Aboriginal girls who overcame the prejudice of the 60s to find themselves sent off to Vietnam to entertain the troops, along with their charismatic, but occasionally inept, manager (Chris O'Dowd).
There's a decent ensemble cast, with exceptional performances from Deborah Mailman and Shari Sebbens.The film is uplifting, gently deals with some big issues that faced Aborigines and is entertaining to just about anyone.
I needn't have worried however as it was a fantastic film.It follows four young girls who leave their Aboriginal community in the hope of entertaining US troops in Vietnam and becoming big stars.
Tremendous chemistry between Chris O'Dowd and Deborah Mailman and the rest of the cast drew me in and up, as did the spine tinglingly good soul singing from Jessica  Mauboy.
The Sapphires is about four Aboriginal girls who get a chance at the end of the Sixties to go entertain the troops as a singing group in Vietnam.
The film is one of those sneaky ones - not brilliantly made, or brilliantly acted - but it really does entertain - and isn't that the point?Full of great soul music, some good laughs, some nods towards the Rights struggle, The Sapphires is above all big hearted and is always refreshingly straight forward about its objectives.
It is, however, a huge plus in that it does have a positive message and a wonderfully different take from the usual patronising view of Aboriginal life.If you like music movies like The Commitments you will enjoy this - we both thought it was pretty entertaining and a fun way to spend an evening..
The bad: Some of the performances seemed a bit canned, the lead singer sounded like a '90s pop star (with even some auto-tuner) and not everyone on camera was much of an actor - but it's an indie film, so I'm willing to forgive.If you enjoyed The Commitments, know you some 'Nam films, know something about Australia & the sad treatment of the Aboriginal people and you like old soul music, you'll like this movie.
I'm not denigrating those films—some are world-class—but its wonderful to skip out of a movie that shines with positivity telling a unique aboriginal story.The four girls who play The Sapphires are real gems (excuse the pun).
'THE SAPPHIRES': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five) This musical comedy-drama film is based on a 2004 stage play about four Australian Aboriginal girls who form a musical group in 1968, which performs for the troops in Vietnam, under the guidance of an alcoholic talent scout.
The film revolves around four Aboriginal women in Australia in 1968: Gail (Deborah Mailman), Julie (Jessica Mauboy), Cynthia (Miranda Tapsell) and Kay (Shari Sebbens).
Success and dreams finally come true for the girls as they also find romance.The film is very funny with most of the laughs coming from O'Dowd, who plays a great alcoholic (a lot like the one I do in real life) It's also very moving though with some pretty hard hitting drama (and even some Vietnam action).
Inspired by a true story of two sets of sisters who are also cousins they travel to war torn Vietnam to sing for the American troops.This is where the films 1960's musical charm transpires and the four singers and their agent Dave Lovelace wow the soldiers with their soul music and dancing prowess.
If you enjoy a good film loosely based on a true story, with a terrific musical score than don't miss The Sapphires.
The film focuses on four Australian singers that were recruited by a music producer to perform for American troops in Vietnam during the war.
The Sapphires is a soulful, feel-good film, which reminds me a lot of last year's surprise hit Silver Linings Playbook in that both films feature many elements that truly shouldn't work but thanks to competent screen writing and sincere, mature direction they do.
In Australia live four Aboriginal girls - Gail (Deborah Mailman) Julie (Jessica Mauboy), Kay (Shari Sebbens), and Cynthia McCrae (Miranda Tapsell) - who have the energy and drive to be very talented, respectable singers if not for the roadblocks they face.
One day, they meet Dave Lovelace (Chris O'Dowd), an alcoholic, but widely-known Irish talent scout who sees nothing but fame and good fortune for these girls.
Particularly, Mailman and Mauboy show off true acting chops here, as the drama of being a young tour-girl becomes more and more evident and stressful.O'Dowd is one of the biggest things holding the film together and preventing it from falling off into a tired story depicting the unlikely rise to fame.
Brush up on you music and Australian history or just be entertained A great cast, and brilliant acting from the Irish and Aboriginal actors.
Luckily my trepidation was unneeded as this was a great, feel good film with a marvelous soundtrack and decent performances all around from the indigenous main cast.I'm sorry if my review kind of stinks, but my writing skills are far from glamorous.
This one is a feel good movie that makes you think and it succeeds at that.Films like this prove the saying 'the shortest way between truth and the human heart is a story' and 'the shortest distance between two people is laughter.' Go and see it..
That girl has a seriously good singing voice and her acting was certainly a step above some of the other more stiff and unnatural performances.If you like your films very very light and sort of directionless and predictable, and you are a fan of soul music, give it a shot.
The Sapphires is a very good, funny and extremely entertaining movie that I highly recommend.A high point of the film is the performance of Chris o'Dowd as Lovelace,it is a very funny performance and also a surprisingly affectionate one.
mostly good.O'Dowd the boyfriend from "Bridesmaids" is the star of the show here, but the cast of girls does a fine job.It's a well-made film without much action(there is a little), effects, or Oscar winning performances, but the film flows nicely, has few if any odd/could-have been snipped scenes, and the voice-over detail is fantastic.
Yes, The Sapphires is wholly commercial in nature, combining a stock script with an easily digestible plot, but it grasps to an undertone of sheer fun that makes the one hundred minute runtime absolutely fly by.The period piece tells the story of four Aboriginal singers (Jessica Mauboy, Deborah Mailman, Shari Sebbens and Miranda Tapsell) and their off- centre manager (Chris O'Dowd), who travel across Vietnam performing for the military.
The music is great and yes, this 'based on a true story' film is well worth watching just to see and hear the insanely talented Jessica Mauboy (as "Julie") sing, but it's the performance of Chris O'Dowd which really holds this film together from start to finish, albeit in a sometimes rather stereotypical manner.
The Vietnam theme is a strong one but the main is the one of the girls - sisters or cousins and is a strong one.Deborah Mailman is the definite standout for the acting - as you would expect considering her past experience - but all the leads are excellenbt they all sing beautifully.It was a pleasure to watch this film and I wish all the girls the best in any future acting or singing endeavours.Funny, poignant, soul searching.
From Australia comes "The Sapphires," a charming true-life tale of four young Aborigine women who form a singing group in the late 1960s, then travel to war-torn Vietnam to entertain the troops.
But as Dave states at one point, the abrasive and often obnoxious Gail is simply the "mother bear" protecting her sister cubs.But all is not sweetness-and-light, as the girls cope with long-simmering tensions over race, personal identity and internecine relationships, as well as the dangers and tragedies that are an inevitable part of life in a war time setting.There are splendid performances by Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Shari Sebbens and Miranda Tapsell as the girls and Chris O'Dowd as their manager, and the singing is a wonder to behold.Skillfully and unobtrusively directed by Wayne Blair, "The Sapphires" is a "feel-good" movie in the best sense of that term..
The film tells the tale of four aboriginal girls in 1960's Australia who become a soul group known as the Sapphires, touring Vietnam and singing for the troops.
THE SAPPHIRES is an Australian film loosely based on the real life story of four Aboriginal women and how they got their fifteen minutes of fame.
As a comedy-musical, THE SAPPHIRES packs a lot of sass and soul despite a contrived message of triumph over tribulation.Based on a 2004 stage production by the same name and directed by indigenous Australian filmmaker Wayne Blair, the story is set against a backdrop of racial prejudice in 1960s Australia.
All this changes at a local talent show when the girls – Gail (Deborah Mailman), Julie (Jessica Mauboy), Cynthia (Miranda Tapsell) and Kay (Shari Sebbens) – catch the attention of talent scout Dave Lovelace (Chris O'Dowd), an Irish version of Simon Cowell.
Even as these subplots detract from the main story, O'Dowd's Dave can be credited for the film's unexpected humor, starting with the scene where he teaches the girls the difference between Country Music and Soul Music.
And, it is worth your time--even if the four girls in the musical group seem more like caricatures than real folks--which is odd, since the story is based on a real Aboriginal group of the same name."The Sapphires" is set during the 1960s.
This film is about four Australian aboriginal girls who goes to Vietnam to sing for the US troops."The Sapphires" tells a story of four girls wanting to achieve their dream of singing, the sad background of the barbaric social policies at that time.
It was a pleasure to write The Sapphires Movie Review.The Sapphires is a story about a group of Australian Aborigines and their experience singing in Vietnam, overcoming their own country's abusive prejudices and each other (nothing like a group of family singers — just ask the Jacksons).
Set amid the tragedy of Vietnam, it is a fabulous film.The entire thing is held together, however, not by the time in which it is set, or its story about the individual lives of its characters, but by the man who was their manager, the flawed and vulnerable Dave Lovelace (played by Chris O'Dowd, who is an actor to be held close and used wisely).
Three sisters and a cousin (Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Shari Sebbens, Miranda Tapsell) take their chances with Chris O'Dowd (Bridesmaids), who is a total crack-up as the girls' drunk Irish manager, Dave Lovelace.
However, it's a very long way from the quality or magic of the former and is even in the shadow of the latter.Wayne Blair's feature directorial debut is the story of four Aboriginal girls who sing together, bicker and wind up in Vietnam, in 1968, singing for the American troops, managed and escorted by the frequently inebriated Dave (Chris O'Dowd).
Inspired by actual events it follows four aboriginal Australian girls from a from a small prejudiced town who form a singing group in the 1960s who travel to Vietnam to preform for American troops after being trained by a good humoured talent scout.
A good-time, 60's musical drama set in the unlikely locations of rural Australia and the U.S. Army bases of Vietnam as we follow the on-the-road adventures of four young Aboriginal cousins who form a close-harmony girl-group but who get frozen out at local talent shows due to white prejudice.
Various romantic entanglements follow, not unnaturally as the girls hit their hormonal stride as well as other highs and lows as they end their dramatic tour-of-duty and return back home for the predictable but still welcome happy ending for pretty much everyone.Drawing on the shared racism by black Americans fighting for their country while back home the civil rights movement is in full swing with the less well-known racism experienced by the Aborigine community at the hands of the majority white "gubba" population, the film attempts and largely succeeds in improbably mixing this in with the more showbizzy musical backdrop as the girls knock out highly creditable versions of the great soul numbers of the day from the Motown, Stax and Atlantic labels.Somehow then this unlikely mix of "M.A.S.H." crossed with "The Commitments" works, largely down to the commitment (sorry) of its cast.
Certainly not a perfect film by any means, but it is a generally entertaining film with lots of laughs, a great soundtrack and a excellent performance from the always awesome Deb Mailman.The film tackles some serious issues in Australian history with the stolen generation, but I was happy to see that it wasn't to heavily touched on, some aboriginal themed movies really are heavy handed with it and it can sometimes be a little too much, but in The Sapphires it is just the right amount, Australians will understand it straight away and anyone elsewhere seeing it it will probably spark their interest in the subject, from then on we see 4 sassy gals from the outback entertain the socks off the audience.
The scenes shot outside Australia are very well done, and they don't look like they've been done on the cheap either which is good, that's another thing about Australian movies, most of them are very low budget, but with this movie you never get that impression.The cast is pretty good, obviously most of the acting is done by Deb Mailman, who in my opinion is probably one of Australia's best actresses, and Chris O'Dowd who is perfectly hilarious in every scene, also worth mentioning is Shari Sebbens who I found to be a bit of a scene stealer, she had me near tears a few times, she has a very sweet face and I think and hope we see a lot more of her, and Miranda Tapsell is laugh out loud funny as the tart of the group.
The only criticism I have is that there are so many clichés, people overseas already think Aussies are jumping around on kangaroos, we don't need more Australian clichés in films but oh well, some of them are funny and non Aussies will probably get a good laugh from them.At the end of the day The Sapphires does just what it sets out to do, entertain.
The Sapphires is adapted from a 2005 play by Tony Briggs, who wrote the screenplay with Keith Thompson, it is based on the real-life odyssey of Briggs's mother and three aunts from an outback Aboriginal mission to Vietnam, barely a year after a referendum gave citizenship rights to indigenous Australians.Directed by actor, theatre director and first-time filmmaker, Wayne Blair, it is an upbeat charmer with excellent performances, impressive production values and a terrific clutch of 60s soul hits.
His self-deprecating Oirish sense of humour (the character as originally written was English) is infectious and he makes for a delightfully amusing contrast to Mailman's irascible Gail.Given the huge popularity of television talent shows like Australian Idol (Mauboy was one of its finalists in 2006), and The Voice amongst younger people, The Sapphires with its seamless road to fame (Vietcong mortars aside) should resonate with starry-eyed youngsters, whilst older audiences will appreciate the trip back to the days when pop music really did have soul.
Bring them back together during the Vietnam War to tour military outposts with their special brand of American soul music, add in a Irish ex-pat manager that likes his whiskey but loves and understands his little troupe of Dream Girls and you have a film worth seeing.
The story was great and based on a true story of a group of aboriginal girls who went to Vietnam to sing for the troops.
Set in 1968 and starring Chris O'Dowd (of Bridesmaids fame) as washed up, constantly drunk musician and would-be talent manager Dave Lovelace, who stumbles upon the discovery of his life when he meets a group of young aboriginal girls determined to break through at the music scene.
It was 1968, and this unknown group of Australian Aborigine girls wanted their share of fame, and hit upon the chance to entertain troops in Viet Nam. It also struck a personal chord because in 1968 I was in graduate school, and was being drafted to the Army, and I remember that period very well.The story presented in this movie "The Sapphires" is mostly fictional, with fictional characters, but heavily "inspired" by the real Sapphires.
I honestly would never thought a Boyle man like Chris O'Dowd can sing brilliantly and be involved on a Australian musical film.
The story is about a girl group which includes Gail (Deborah Mailman), Cynthia (Miranda Tapsell), Julie (Jessica Mauboy) and Kay (Shari Sebbens) who sing in and Australia singing competition but when they fail to win.
They then meet Dave (Chris O'Dowd) who decides to work with the girls as they want to go to sing for the troops in Vietnam.
When the group get to their destination they try to fight for fame through their singing.The music of this film is a great mix of soul songs of the time that the women sing and make their own.
If this all seems a bit like a soap opera, it is.Nonetheless, the main thing 'The Sapphires' has going for it, is the wonderful Motown music, mainly sung by Jessica Mauboy, a former Australian Idol finalist, who plays Julia and backed up by the three other actors, playing the three sisters.'The Sapphires' is a feel good film, definitely worth at least one look.