The Sapphires

Back in the 1960s, four vivacious young Australian Aboriginal women—sisters Gail (Deborah Mailman), Cynthia (Miranda Tapsell), and Julie (Jessica Mauboy), along with their cousin Kay (Shari Sebbens)—launched their professional music careers singing for enthusiastic U.S. troops in Vietnam. Guided by an R&B-loving Irish musician, The Sapphires are a sizzling soul quartet, a girl group coming-of-age in a war zone while liberating themselves from the racism of mid-20th century Australian society (which didn't grant full citizenship to Aborigines until 1968). The Sapphires' story begins 10 years earlier when as the Cummeragunja Songbirds—hailing from a remote mission located near the New South Wales/Victorian border—they perform for their families. But the country-and-western harmony that the indigenous girls sang in local Outback pubs wasn't popular at the time, and the townspeople were bigots. Realizing their potential, an alcoholic Irish keyboard player, Dave Lovelace (Chris O'Dowd), signs on as their manager and turns them into Australia's answer to The Supremes. Based on a true story, this light-hearted film by Wayne Blair is a singin', swingin', sparkly, and sentimental crowd-pleaser. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a “making-of” featurette (10 min.), an interview with the original real-life girl group (6 min.), a music segment featuring costar Jessica Mauboy (6 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a bonus DVD copy of the film. Bottom line: a small but decent extras package for this solid music drama.] (S. Granger)