A scene from "The Sapphires"
Sugar pie, honey bunch, this feel-good film can't help itself. Inspired by a true story and based on a stage musical, The Sapphires concerns a girl-group of indigenous Australian soul-pop singers who entertain American troops during the Vietnam War. Think Dreamgirls and The Commitments vacationing in Good Morning, Vietnam, with unambiguously defined characters and ceaseless sentimentality. With first-time director Wayne Blair relying on his soundtrack and succumbing to the temptation of sappy emotionality at every turn – up to and including the closing credits – war and racial tensions have never been rendered so sweet.
Sept. 9, 8 p.m., Winter Garden; Sept. 11, 3:45 p.m., TIFF Bell Lightbox