This is a powerful drama about the deeply personal story of a woman learning to live alongside loss.

It isn’t always easy to be on the wavelength of the sense of humour of a particular culture. There is something about French culture and humour that is different from the rest of the world.

In some ways this presents something of an idyll of French farming, zest and enthusiasm, full of hope.

A stranger is embraced by a family of inept scam artists and becomes a catalyst for change.

For those who enjoy films in space, there is a lot to interest as well as dialogue about life and death, life and meaning to ponder on. For those who are not so attracted to space stories, this particular version will seem rather ponderous.

For an American audience, this is an opportunity to look at the people of the United States, the part-time workers who wander the land in their vans, as well as a look in detail at the land itself. And, for non-American audiences, it is also quite an eye-opener.

This is a robust version of the story.

Colourful, full of action, eccentric characters, funny dialogue, especially popular for family audiences.

The story of Dreambuilders is a story of broken families, families joining together, difficulties, clashes, memories of parents… In fact, this is rather a tough world and so it is for the children in this film.

Probably too sweet for many an audience, but probably engagingly sweet for many more. And, a bit of a change, in fact, to see a young couple so lovingly committed with a wedding ceremony as one of the most significant events of their lives.

But, for a film released in 2020, it is in the vein of Black Lives Matter. It is a condemnation of those who have preserve the racist attitudes of the past – where white supremacist violence can erupt.

This is the kind of documentary that can be described as “consciousness-raising”. But the “raising” is only part of the exercise – “consciousness-challenging” is the important factor.

This is a personal drama of two women in a relationship.

Many of us in the audience will realise that we are in a world, in a story of Australian history, with which we are not particularly familiar.

And then comes one of the greatest coincidences in contemporary films!

The action has been transferred to the US, to the state of Alabama, and the central characters are African-American, bringing in significant race issues underlying the action.

This Christmas there is a welcome return visit of the streetcat Bob and his owner James Bowen.

So, Bill and Ted go on time travelling adventures again, trying to discover the music they composed, helped by a diverse cast of historical characters.

How can personality be manipulated in the future? That is one of the key features in this bizarre exercise in science-fiction and horror.

The Trouble with Being Born is not a film for audiences who are in a hurry. Rather, it is a cinematic exercise in intellectual and emotional provocation about what it is to be human.