On Friday night, Colin and I went to see the final night of the Sydney Film Festival, a screening of “Cracker Bag” and “The Swimming Pool”

Cracker Bag is a delight, particularly with its attention to detail and it won the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or for Short Film. Cracker Bag is set in Australia in the 1970s and tells the story of a young girl who saves her pocket money to buy a formidable assortment of fireworks to let off on Cracker Night. But when the moment comes, an accident gives her an experience that changes her life. Both Colin and I – and everyone around us – thought the movie was lovely.

On the other hand, we thought the next film was total crap. Colin warned that anything with Charlotte Rampling in it is usually a wank. And he was right!

According to Rotten Tomatoes Sarah Morton (Charlotte Rampling) is a famous British mystery author. Tired of London and seeking inspiration for her new novel, she accepts an offer from her publisher John Bosload (Charles Dance) to stay at his home in Lubéron, in the South of France. It is the off-season, and Sarah finds that the beautiful country locale and unhurried pace is just the tonic for her – until late one night, when John’s indolent and insouciant French daughter Julie (Ludivine Sagnier) unexpectedly arrives. Sarah’s prim and steely English reserve is jarred by Julie’s reckless, sexually charged lifestyle. Their interactions set off an increasingly unsettling series of events, as Sarah’s creative process and a possible real-life murder begin to blend dangerously together.

Damien, however, told me, he enjoyed the movie, except for the last seven or eight minutes, when it turns into a farce. I’m less forgiving.