Melbourne International Film Festival 2025: The Rivals of Amziah King

 

“I’m going to take it all back.”

Boisterous, bold and bluegrass-filled, The Rivals of Amziah King asserts itself as one of 2025’s best films with a richly crafted beekeeping heist revenge filled epic set in the American South with a wonderfully magnetic Matthew McConaughey opposite a scene-stealing Angelina LookingGlass in a film imbued with deep emotion and soaring energy that celebrates community, legacy and paying forward generosity in combat against greed and corruption. 

Discussion Points:

WOW! What a film! My new fav for 2025! A true privilege to see it at the international premiere at MIFF; and as only the third public audience to have ever seen the film - with the added bonus of having director Andrew Patterson in attendance! Few films feel so lively and breathed into than this. A kinetic work of creative, cultural and contemporary fusion that celebrates a part of the Deep South not always seen on screen. A beekeeping drama, fuelled by beautiful bluegrass symphonies that soar as a story of revenge, reward and redemption play out in a sprawling cinematic epic that left me absolutely enraptured. Joyously humourous, yet deeply grieved, Patterson’s sophomore feature explores a complex tapestry of emotional realities against the backdrop of a carefree but tight knit community unimmune from outside interference and exploitation. Matthew McConaughey fits the role of Amziah King like a glove, but it’s Angelina LookingGlass who absolutely electrifies the screen with her presence and confidence, as she drivenly works to accomplish the various tasks before her. What an absolutely riveting, heartfelt, electric, enigmatic and deliciously delightful feature that I will not stop raving about anytime soon!