When I volunteered to write this review, all I knew was that someone had made a film about the notorious Florence Foster Jenkins starring Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant. The film had to be worth seeing. Nothing quite prepared me for how truly, brilliantly, awful Meryl Streep would be in the role. It takes an absolute genius to be so consistently woeful and still manage to maintain sympathy in the audience.

Jenkins (Streep) was a tone-deaf soprano in New York in the early 20th century with delusions of adequacy. She funded her own concerts. Her husband/manager (Grant) struggled to exclude independent music lovers, especially critics. There are excruciating, frightful recordings now available via YouTube.

The filmmakers have managed to build some genuine drama into the story by making it about the conflicts of loyalty Jenkins engendered by being so awful: should her accompanist risk his potential career by appearing with her at Carnegie Hall? Would he ever play Carnegie Hall without her? Her husband is seemingly committed, for better or for worse, as are her legions of loyal fans among New York’s ‘ruling class’. The latter present perhaps the greatest enigma: why did they stick with her when she was so appalling? They can’t all have been tone deaf.

This film is a must-see, if nothing else for the virtuoso performances by Streep, Grant and Simon Helberg as Jenkins’s very highly-strung accompanist Cosme McMoon (his actual stage name for 60 years).

This charming documentary about an outback Australian children’s choir will touch anyone with memories of an inspirational and dedicated teacher. Think films like To Sir, With Love, Good Will Hunting, Dead Poets Society and similar – except this one is real life. You will understand why it won the audience award for Best Documentary at the Sydney Film Festival in 2015 – unmistakeable Australian accents, beautiful scenery and a funny, heartwarming snapshot of children growing up in the country.

Choral director Michelle Leonard says that every child deserves a chance to learn music, and that every child needs someone to believe in them. We follow Michelle (and her team) as they travel through many towns in western New South Wales where footy is king and music education is as rare as rain. Michelle tells these kids, “Life is full of possibility. Go, go take it.” Her little choir is making a big difference in these kids’ lives.

The G (General) rating indicates that Wide Open Sky is suitable for all ages, but as this screening will finish at around 11 pm you may have to find another way to show it to your children (and grandchildren). I would hope that this will be shown in schools and homes all around the country. Definitely suitable for anyone who was once six years old, too.