''Celeste'' is a 2018 Australian film directed by

Ben Hackworth Ben Hackworth (born 12 July 1977) is an Australian writer and film director. He is best known for his work on the films '' Martin Four'', ''Corroboree'' and ''Celeste''. Biography Ben was born in Brisbane, Queensland. His father is retired Colo ...

and written by Hackworth and

Bille Brown William Gerald Brown AM (11 January 195213 January 2013) professionally known as Billie Brown was an Australian stage, film and television actor and acclaimed playwright. Early life Brown was born in Biloela, Queensland and studied drama at ...

. The film stars

Radha Mitchell Radha Rani Amber Indigo Ananda Mitchell is an Australian actress. She started her career with various appearances on Australian television, including a regular role as Catherine O'Brien in the soap opera '' Neighbours'' (1996–97). Mitchell l ...

Thomas Cocquerel Thomas Michel Cocquerel (born 5 September 1989) is an Australian actor. On television, he is known for his role as Tom Raikes in Julian Fellowes' HBO Max series ''The Gilded Age (TV series), The Gilded Age'' (2022). His films include ''OtherLife' ...

Nadine Garner Nadine Lynette Garner (born 14 December 1970 in Knoxfield, Melbourne) is an Australian actress who started her career as a teen performer. Biography Garner first came to public attention in 1985, as Tamara Henderson in the Australian TV serie ...

and

Odessa Young Odessa Young (born 11 January 1998) is an Australian actress. She is known for her roles in the 2015 feature films '' Looking for Grace'' and '' The Daughter'', the latter of which earned her an AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. S ...

. The film had its international premiere at

BFI London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and shor ...

and its world premiere at

Melbourne International Film Festival The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is an annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1952 and is one of the oldest film festivals in the world following the founding of the Venice Film Fes ...

Plot

Celeste (

) was once Australia’s most beloved opera singer. She retired early for the man she loved to live on a crumbling and beautiful estate in the heart of a rainforest in tropical

North Queensland North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland that lies just south of Far North Queensland. Queensland is a massive state, larger than many countries, and its tropical northern part has been ...

. Ten years after the tragic death of her husband, Celeste is ready to make one final return to the stage. Her stepson Jack (

, still haunted by the past, arrives at her behest amidst the preparations for the performance and finds Celeste is as he remembered. She wants him to stay at the estate, but needs him to perform one last request. ''Celeste'' is set in a bohemian world of opera and showcases a stunning and unseen part of the world.

Cast

as Celeste *

as Jack *

as Grace *

as Rita * Emm Wiseman as Cindy * Aaron Davison as Stu

Reception

Critical response

Review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website,

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

gave it rating, based on reviews. Neil Young of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

'' said, "Exuding a brittle wistfulness as a retired opera star planning one last comeback, Mitchell's forty-something Celeste nevertheless manages to combine elements of Norma Desmond and Blanche DuBois to absorbing effect." Sarah Ward from ''

Screen International ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...

'' stated the film "follow in the footsteps of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s great female-led films, but always taking the time to revel in the emotional details. It’s an approach that gives the film’s characters room to grow, and its performances along with them, immersing the audience in a heady mix of loss, love, loyalty, redemption and deep-felt yet ever-shifting bonds."

Accolades

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 5705306, Celeste 2018 films Australian musical drama films 2010s English-language films