Celeste (2018 film)
Celeste is a 2018 Australian film directed by Ben Hackworth and written by Hackworth and Bille Brown. The film stars Radha Mitchell, Thomas Cocquerel, Nadine Garner and Odessa Young. The film had its international premiere at BFI London Film Festival and World premiere at Melbourne International Film Festival. Plot. Celeste (Radha Mitchell) was once Australia’s most beloved opera singer. She retired early for the man she loved to live on a crumbling and beautiful estate in the heart of a rainforest in Tropical North Queensland. Ten years after the tragic death of her husband, Celeste is  ready to make one final return to the stage. Her stepson Jack (Thomas Cocquerel), still haunted by the past, arrives at her behest amidst the preparations for the performance and finds Celeste is as he remembered. She wants him to stay at the estate, but needs him to perform one last request. "Celeste" is set in a bohemian world of opera and showcases a stunning and unseen part of the world. Reception. Critical response. Review aggregator website, Rotten Tomatoes gave it rating, based on reviews. Neil Young of "The Hollywood Reporter" said, "Exuding a brittle wistfulness as a retired opera  star planning one last comeback, Mitchell's fortysomething Celeste nevertheless manages to combine elements of Norma Desmond and Blanche DuBois to absorbing effect." Sarah Ward from "Screen International" stated the film "follow in the footsteps of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s great female-led films, but always taking the time to revel in the emotional details. It’s an approach that gives the film’s characters room to grow, and its performances along with them, immersing the audience in a heady mix of loss, love, loyalty, redemption and deep-felt yet ever-shifting bonds."