Drama at the New Zealand International Film Festival

Drama at the New Zealand International Film Festival

With just days until the New Zealand International Film Festival kicks off in Auckland before heading around the country, it's time to cast an eye over some of the drama and local cinematic fodder on offer.

The festival kicks off with Behind the Candleabra, a Soderbergh blast of fabulousness starring Michael Douglas as Liberace - and things don't die down soon after.

But it's not just the flamboyant which will resonate with audiences during the festival run. Sometimes, the quiet powerful pieces pack an emotive punch.

The Rocket

One of those doing just that is The Rocket. This little drama won the best film prize at the Berlin International film fest this year - and just scored the audience award in Sydney. Set in Laos, it's the tale of a young boy, Ahlo, who, according to his grandmother is born under a curse. Relocated by the powers that be from their village due to a hydroelectric plant being built in the region, he and his family find themselves in a shanty refugee town. With the belief Ahlo has a curse, the family's soon outcasts and become friends with one other set of outcasts - a young girl and her James Brown loving, purple suit wearing uncle. A chance to partake in a local rocket festival (where finalists launch off their rockets into the sky for a prize) holds the key to their future...and potentially Ahlo's redemption. A small film with a massive heart, this packs a punch early on during a mountain trek and is evocative in its denouement. With a lead that's stunningly impressive, Ahlo is by turns relatable, loveable and adorable. The Rocket's right to win its acclaim and you really should make this a must see on your calendar.

Starlet, starring Dree Hemingway (daughter of Muriel) is the story of a 21 year old adult model Jane living in sun-drenched California and getting high with her pet chihuahua (the Starlet of the title) in tow. But when she heads to a garage sale, she picks up a thermos from an old lady, Stella, which she later finds is laden with almost 10k of cash. Despite initially trying to return the thermos with no success, she's reticent to reveal the cash is there - and decides the only way to make it up to Stella is to befriend her. What follows is an understated indie (and quite sexually explicit in some brief parts) and is utterly watchable as the friendship begins to blossom. Sure, dysfunction blows in thanks to Jane's waster flat-mates and a seedier side of American life but it's a breezy fresh feeling film - mainly in part to a transcendant Dree and a beautifully underplayed octagenarian turn from unknown Besedka Johnson. Starlet may drift in parts but it certainly hits the astral plains it aspires to in others.

Soul In The Sea

Soul In The Sea is a doco looking at the effect of Moko the dolphin on the people of this country - and in particular those living in Whakatane and Gisborne where the friendliest dolphin showed up back in 2007. The bottlenose blighter stole hearts and minds of most of the residents - but not those working at DoC it would appear. Sure, director Amy Taylor appears to be nothing but sympathetic to the creature with underwater shots, sun kissed sequences and harp music, but there's just something inherently lovable about Moko - and his charming effect on those around him. In particular, local Kirsty Carrington, a single mother, who rediscovers her roots and community compassion because of her association with the water bound Flipper. Shot 6 months before Moko's death, this empathetic and sympathetic piece captures the divide that the giddy addiction brought - from the locals who one person describes as having the crazies for the creature to those who staunchly defend it, all of the impact of the dolphin's time is thrown under the microscope - as is our kinship and desire to do all we can to save those creatures we deem as helpless and needing protection. There's no denying the charm and moving nature of this piece as our link to our world is explored and certainly as the camera follows Kirsty as she finds Moko's body, I've never felt so much like a moment was being intruded on. There's a charming simplicity to this doco which will entrance many who watch it - and DoC should spend some time reconsidering their public image in light of it - because it looks as if the shadow of Moko will continue to cast a pall on them three years after his untimely and suspicious death.

Gardening with Soul

Kiwi doco Gardening with Soul has a simple mantra - "You can't be bored in a garden". It's a doco featuring gardening expert and nun extraordinaire, Sister Loloya Galvin. She's the main gardener of the Home of Compassion in Island Bay in the capital. By all stretches of the imagination, she's a local legend - espousing gardening tips as well as beavering around the bushes and pottering in among the plants while inspiring others within the community to take up the gardening. But director Jess Feast has taken in more than just the magnificent gardens which Loloya tends to and landscapes she dwells in- and has woven together a story of social history in New Zealand as well as philosophical elements. Loloya worked as a nurse with sick children and also raised children with disabilities. What follows is an insight into a life gone by and a woman whose very soul has always been in the heart of her community. 90 year old Loloya has some great moments as she reminisces among the root veg, (she believes if everyone had a shed to go to, there would be no domestic violence within New Zealand) but thanks to gentle Q&As from Jess, this quietly moving spiritual reflection on a life is beautifully shot, socially fascinating and completely charming. It's a social snapshot of a New Zealand which may be in the past, but whose roots, thanks to Sister Loloya, have continued to grow and flourish long after the winds of change have blown through.

Terms and Conditions May Apply is a slickly put together doco which takes a terrifying look at how things change when you click on the Agree section of any website - and how little you know about what's there in the small print. Sure, everyone pretty much knows that no-one fully reads all the fine print of the electronic contracts, right? But what transpires in this doco is how deep the check-box ignorance goes and how continual flip-flopping of privacy policies is occurring. Granted, you'd have to be naive to not know this, but this doco posits the theory that privacy is pretty much dead thanks to our blase way of dealing with it and our reckless disregard for what the actual implications are. Taking in a tourist whose Tweet claiming to "destroy America" was seen as a provocation in a post 9-11 world by a computer red flag system despite being a declaration to party when they got there and a comedian whose anger against the Apple store ended up with a SWAT raid on his home, the examples show how prevalent the paranoia is these days and how the nanny state may end up destroying some unintentionally. The expose may be nothing new to the tech savvy but I have a feeling some of us may be a little more reticent to just ignore the small print moving forward.

Blancanieves

Blancanieves is an incredibly brave film. Spain's Academy Award submission is a black and white film, no doubt buoyed by the widespread success of Oscar winning The Artist. Set in 1920s Spain, it's the tale of Carmen, an orphan whose mother died in child birth and whose father Antonio, a famed matador, was left crippled after a bull gored him in a fight. Marrying his former nurse, the cruel and crazed Encarna, Antonio manages to bond briefly with his newly discovered daughter before Encarna orders their demise. Narrowly escaping Carmen teams up with a group of bull-fighting dwarves before an inevitable showdown with the big bad of the day. Wonderfully reminiscent of the films of yesteryear with a transcendant and magical score, which marks this film out as a potential future live cinema event, this is a silent film the likes of which have not been seen for years. It deserves to be seen on the majesty of the big screen. Wallowing in the medium and lavishing the monochrome, it feels like a full blooded piece from 1920s Hollywood as it takes on the Snow White legend in passing; it's romantic, eye-poppingly gorgeous and a nostalgic piece which is spell-binding and perfectly crafted.

The Weight Of Elephants

The Weight of Elephants wins the award for the smallest Kiwi film with the biggest emotional punch so far. It's the story of eleven-year-old Adrian who's thrust upon his grandmother despite her already having her hands full with a depressed uncle. Adrian is a sensitive soul, a troubled individual who doesn't appear to fit in anywhere he goes. Bullied at school, he tries to strike up a friendship with another classmate, whose affections come and go like the breeze on a summer's day and who's more prone to falling in with the bullying group than sticking with his potential life long friend. An outsider, Adrian begins a burgeoning friendship with the young girls who live next door but whose appearance in the town is a mystery. With a news story bubbling away in the background of three young children who have disappeared from Invercargill without a trace, there are parallels aplenty, even if direct conclusions are never made obvious. While some of the initial child acting is a little ropey in places, Demos Murphy as Adrian is utterly outstanding. He captures the fragility of a lost soul trying to make his way in the world and not be left behind totally plausible as the silent and quiet build up comes to a shattering conclusion. Sensitive story-telling, complete with a haunting soundtrack and some heartbreaking moments, make The Weight of Elephants a really different coming of age tale. The final moments of the film produce a major shock which will see a deep intake of breath in an auditorium, but the film's resolution, while far from definitive, will be etched in your mind long after the lights have gone up.

The New Zealand International Film Festival kicks off in Auckland on July 18th - before heading around the country. For more info on all the programme, including session times and ticket details, head to their site at www.nzff.co.nz.

Read a preview of The New Zealand International Film Festival docos here

Read an interview with The New Zealand International Film Festival director Bill Gosden here.