Australians Turn Play into Amiable Little Film

Tomorrow night the Nelson Film Society screens Cosi (1995), from Australian director Mark Joffe.

A great Australian cast including Ben Mendelsohn, Toni Collette and Rachel Griffiths elevates this slight comic fable, originally adapted from a stage play, into a breezy, amiable little film. The basic story is about a group of inmates from a mental institution, not all of whom are actually crazy, putting on a production of Mozart’s opera Cosi fan tutte.

Naturally, much more than the script is learned along the way, and if the movie suffers from anything, it is familiarity.

Cosi screens tomorrow at the State Cinema around 6pm; members only (join at the door).

The society will be taking a break until October 4 for the International Film Festival at the Suter Cinema.

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