Director Bruce Beresford doesn’t put a foot wrong in this movie adaptation of Madeleine St John’s best-selling novel.
This is a joyous exploration of Sydney’s and Australia’s cultural landscape in the late 1950s as the Ladies in Black discover life, love, themselves … and olives.
Magda is the cultivated “reffo” who takes unsophisticated Lisa under her wing and, with the help of a belt and some lippie, helps her blossom into a young lady. Along with her refugees friends, Magda adds a little European colour to the lives of those she meets, and beyond.
And where, might you ask, is Melbourne in this movie? It’s humourously relegated to 2nd place – although its coffee does get a mention.
5/5 stars. I’ll be watching it again.
The 3rd Drawer Down 