You won't be disappointed!

Wow! Such a good movie.

To me, this movie is perfection.

Absolutely Brilliant!

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. There are, annoyingly, a remarkable number of goofs that bring you "out" of the immersive experience that film watching should be (the impact of which I guess will depend on your age and knowledge of Australian history). I'd recommend watching this film when it plays on free-to-air TV (record it on your PVR and FF through the ad breaks). It's certainly low on language, violence and sexualised content so suitable for watching with young teens. Older viewers will enjoy the music and IT Crowd fans will enjoy seeing O'Dowd in this major film role; without him as the cohesive male lead, the film would be relegated to just another fair-to-middling Australian film, quickly forgotten. Except for Mauboy's standout voice.

It saddens me that in the year 2016 we are still having racism issues in this country.This film starts in 1958 but is most set the year I myself was born, 1968. Yes. I'm old.The music is fantastic - hell it was the late 60's. 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. The stolen children bit was - and to this day - still confronting. Watch this after Rabbit Prrof Fence to see the true strength of Aboriginal women - then and even now.

The Sapphires was a pleasant surprise. The film's story line has me waiting for a sequel if the producers are gutsy enough to believe they have a devoted audience which I attest to being one of a loyal fan base. There are five (5) main characters in the film all who have terrific voices. If I had to pick the two main stars they would be Jessica Mauboy who plays the part of Julie the youngest of a three (3) singing sisters act, and Chris O'Dowd their beer slugging, down on his luck manager and booking agent. Chris O'Dowd plays Dave Lovelace, agent at large. Dave Lovelace's first encounter with the singing trio takes place at an Australian bar where the black singing trio lose out to a white singer with no talent due to prejudice. Dave agrees to manage the three sisters and their white skinned cousin Kay, played by Shari Sebbens. Gail, the mother hen big sister played superbly by Australian born actress Deborah Mailman, continues to bang heads with their manager Dave Lovelace, in her effort to watch over her two younger sisters, and white cousins' well being. Gradually we see Dave and Gail letting down their brick wall and constant arguments to having mutual respect for one another, and eventually falling madly in love with each other. It was a good script writer who pieced this true story of events together in a 103 minute movie. 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. I was so impressed with the songs and stage presence of the Sapphires that I would love to see a movie sequel made. There is one particular scene in the film when Dave Lovelace is coaching the girls on how to sing with real soul that Dave's own singing prowess tells the audience that he should be on stage with the girls as well. If you enjoy a good film loosely based on a true story, with a terrific musical score than don't miss The Sapphires. I intend to buy the CD as well it was that good!I gave The Sapphires an 8 out of 10.

The problem with being a movie critic (here or anywhere) is the need to find common ground. If you are writing to a crowd conditioned to believe that every new Hollywood product is better than the last, or an "action" film MUST (simply must!) be great because it has whats-his-name is it, then frankly it is time to turn in the old keyboard for a toaster oven. I say this because I notice that, on IMDb, positive reviews get a positive reader response and negative reviews generally don't. In Psych 101, they call this "cognitive dissonance" and has to do with human nature -- many review readers prefer to read the reviews AFTER seeing the film, to seek agreement, rather than BEFORE, to seek wisdom. OK, sorry for the diatribe. To make it up to you, I will say that this film is a high-9. The script, the production values, the performances, are a joy. In fact, in my view, that is the key to the film. Joy. The secret to the 1960s (for those of you who were not there) is that for a short time it seemed (not making this up) like the forces of Light and Dark in the universe were struggling, and Light was about to win. In fact it did not turn out that way -- look at where we are today, look at the last half dozen presidents, look at the Japan disaster. But -- the point -- this wonderful film is not only superb entertainment on its own, but somehow succeeds in capturing the essence of the era. Hope and Joy. Even in the one "scary" scene (bullets flying, one of the main characters gets hit) we have fast segue to a love letter being read aloud, and that takes away the sting immediately. I defy anyone to watch this film and not feel better afterwards than they felt before. BTW, Chris O'Dowd and Deborah Mailman steal all their scenes together, which is hard to do, considering how solid the ensemble cast is. Loved it. You will too.