A Sparkling Gem

Hello everyone, as you know I am a massive Priscilla fan I am, thus, hugely addicted to anything Australian, even to the extent when I convinced my friend that our drama assignment should focus on Australia!!! So when my friend told me that there was a new musical type film coming about that was based around a singing girl group from Australia, called The Sapphires, I got very excited. However, all this excitement appeared to be for nothing as the film was showing in around 10 Odeon's in the whole of the UK and what a surprise none of them were near me! My friend even travelled around 2hours to see the film!

So there's me thinking I'm going to have to wait to see this amazing film until it came out on DVD (which is never quite the same) until I flick through the student magazine at my uni and see that the Lincoln Film Society Cinema called The Venue (which is based at my uni) is showing the film on 23rd January!!! Well naturally I just had to go...it was the perfect coincidence!!!

So the day comes round and to tell you the truth I'm incredibly excited. When we get to the cinema we take our seats and manage to get a spot with loads of leg room right in the centre. The cinema is quite disappointingly empty but then what more do you expect when you combine a cold, snowy night with a little know film?

To give you some background the film is based on the 2004 stage play of the same name and if you're expecting you're traditional Les Mis style musical you'll be disappointed; this is more in the style of Dreamgirls! The story itself is set during the Vietnam War and follows four Aboriginal girls who are trying to make it big and end up getting a job travelling around Vietnam entertaining the American troops with their, frankly amazing singing. The story shows the difficulties the girls (and their manager, Dave) face during their trip and how they grow and develop as people due the circumstances they face. It is a beautiful little musical film and, as the title of this blog suggests, a real gem.

The music is amazing, as well, and includes songs such as 'Land of a Thousand Dances', 'I Heard it Through the Grapevine' and 'What a Man', however what really sells the show is the talent. Jessica Mauboy (Julie McCrae) had a truly stunning voice that was just a pure pleasure to sit and listen to. The other girls, Deborah Mailman (Gail McCrae), Shari Sebbens (Kay McCrae) and Miranda Tap (Cynthia McCrae), all had beautiful yet different voices which blended beautifully together to create an amazing sound.

This film is a definite must see for all musical theatre lovers, especially if you love Dreamgirls. Please go and buy this beauty when it comes out on DVD, it deserves so much more credit than it's got.

Did any of you manage to see The Sapphires, if so what did you think? Please let me know either by commenting below or tweeting me at @GreenGirlsRox.

Lots of love

Kat

Xx