Some things I liked some I did not.

Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

brilliant actors, brilliant editing

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

contains spoilerThe first review in this section is such a Rant against Authority that it provokes me to write a rejoinder.This documentary will particularly interest lovers of classical music, because the film is full of it, and really good music too, edgy music from early 20th century composers (Ravel's string quartet, Vaughan Williams' Variation of a Theme of Thomas Tallis.It will particularly interest those who have an interest in how kids grow up, and acquire the discipline to achieve things that were once beyond their reach.And it will particularly interest those who are curious about how interventionist schools shape their students, and why the elite private schools of Australia, Britain and presumably other countries achieve such success in academic and artistic areas.MLC (Methodist Ladies College) is one of the elite girls' schools of Sydney, with expensive fees, a strong culture of achievement, and a policy to apply this to music. The annual school concert in the iconic Sydney Opera House = Mrs Carey's Concert = is one of the highlights of the school year, in which every student, musical or otherwise, interested or not, is obliged to take part.Chinese girls make up outsized part of the school's musical talent, and the film strikes a nice balance by focussing on two of them: one who is the school's outstanding violinist, Emily Sun, and another, Iris, who is the cool, defiant one, determined not to take part.Yes, the girls are pushed to achieve things, to play complex music that at first, and even close to concert night, seems beyond them. But they get swept up in it, push themselves, and they make it. You live it with them, and you share their excitement when the concert comes off.Reviewer 1 up above was aghast that this is achieved by a subtly authoritarian culture, where it is drummed into the girls that their music must come first in their lives. Well, whether it's football coaches or law firms or financial traders, that is how success is achieved, how promise is translated into achievement. That is why private schools are so good at what they do, and why these teenage girls, by the end of it, belong on the stage of the Sydney Opera House.

This is not another of those films like Mr Holland's Opus in which a dedicated teacher transforms the lives of their disadvantaged students through music. Rather this is a fascinating documentary that takes us inside a private girl's school in Sydney and the music department, which holds a huge showcase concert at the Sydney Opera House every two years. Mrs Carey is the formidable head of the school's music department who believes in the power of music to transform the lives of her students and nourish the soul. She insists that all 1200 students participate in the concert. She is also something of a perfectionist and a demanding taskmaster, and the rehearsals are rigorous, the preparations are demanding. However, not all of her students are eager to participate, and this generates a frisson of tension that adds to the material. A major subplot that develops almost by chance sees two girls whose attitudes are changed dramatically through their involvement. One is Emily Sun, a troubled student who is starting to go off the rails behaviour-wise, until Mrs Carey nominates her to play solo violin on a difficult concerto. The personal pain of her private life eventually shapes her brilliant performance on the night. The other is Iris, a rude, surly, rebellious and disruptive student who is reluctant to get involved. Veteran documentary filmmaker Bob Connolly (Rats In The Ranks, etc) and his new collaborator Sophie Raymond have spent the better part of a year embedding themselves in the school and filming the preparation for the concert. Granted an unprecedented level of access, Connolly and his crew are unobtrusive observers who adopt a frank, fly-on-the-wall approach. The cameras follow the students and teachers as they rehearse and plan for the concert, and uncover a journey of self-discovery filled with passion, angst and the occasional conflict. They even manage to capture some moments of self-doubt on the part of Carey as the concert draws near. Connolly shot plenty of footage over the course of three years, and there is more than enough material to turn Mrs Carey's Concert into a fascinating three part television series, culminating in the concert itself. This is Connolly's first film since Facing The Music a decade ago, and is a tremendously inspiring and uplifting film.

This is a wonderful and uplifting new documentary about the year of prep in a Sydney girls high school for a large team of girls to stage a massive orchestra concert in the famed Sydney Opera House. Mrs Carey of the title is a no nonsense music teacher whose focus and commitment allows some unsure girls to trust their talent and instincts and genuinely rise to the occasion. However not all goes to plan and there is a group of mean girls whose taste in life and music is more Paris Hilton than Mrs Carey. The film makers here have struck antagonist gold with a real life roadblock to happiness and success with this group of surly selfish teenage girls determined to passive and aggressively train wreck the show. International viewers will love this Australian reality movie which alludes to Mr HOLLANDS OPUS and the Swedish choir film AS IT IS IN HEAVEN. Even the US teen drama DRUMLINE is in the same territory... and all 4 films are worth your time. This year it is Mrs Carey's turn and the final orchestra sequence shot live in the Sydney Opera house will have you and everyone in the cinema cheering. To Sir With Love? This film is a 2011 version that becomes To Mrs Carey With Music.

A great film with which to launch the 2011 Adelaide film festival, Bob Connolly and Sophie Raymond managed to capture the struggles of a headstrong and brilliant music teacher with equally headstrong students, on a journey towards a daunting and ambitious concert at the Sydney Opera House. We follow multiple characters through 18 months of preparation and hard work, but a single failure on anyone's part will jeopardise the whole effort.This is a great film about ego, passion, learning and commitment.Bob Connolly's masterful camera work and Sophie Raymond's gorgeous sound recording bring this story to life with an impressive intimacy.