NZIFF Review - Romeo and Juliet: A Love Song

NZIFF Review - Romeo and Juliet: A Love Song  

Rock operetta meets the trailer park in this latest ambitious retelling of the tale of Juliet and her Romeo.

Set in Verona caravan park, it's the story of Romeo and erm, Juliet and their star crossed love, a story told a million times before and which has been given a spit and polish for this Kiwi version. The music came first this time around as composers/producers Michael O’Neill and Peter van der Fluit set Shakespeare’s text to music, mixing in styles such as rap, ballad and rock.

Constantly surprising, Tim van Dammen's clearly drawn heavily from his music video directing background and the whole piece comes together with such toe-tapping gusto that it's impossible to deny. With the talent miming to other voices, the occasional misfire with the voice matching/ miming drips through, but all in all, it's an extremely enjoyable affair. Christopher Landon and Derya Parlak play the titular lovers with such aplomb that you can't help but be swept along with the story. Plus, given the fact they don't look out of place by the beach (Summer Bay Shakespeare anyone?) doesn't hinder the proceedings at all. 

The music's fabulous and ramps up the style pretty high in this take on Shakespeare's 400 year old story as the glorious re-versioning plays out. Ambitious and exciting, this Romeo and Juliet is something uniquely different; constantly surprising and always inventive, the operetta has an energy which is hard to ignore. A caravan roof doubles for a balcony and a wood just outside of the camping ground provides some truly memorable scenery as the declarations of love are unveiled.

Shakespeare's text may have been remade repeatedly - but this Kiwi view of it shows off a clever twist on the stuffy text - it's a music video rock operetta with a high dose of energy and directing gusto.



Interview with Romeo and Juliet: A Love Song director Tim van Dammen

Tell us about Romeo and Juliet: A Love Song

The film is a trash-opera adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. It is the original text but sung or rapped. Its set in a run down trailer park and Romeo and Juliet are played by a couple of NZ’s top models. I don’t think anyone will have seen anything quite like it before, at least that’s what I was going for...

What was the filming of it like?

It was great! I shot with the same crew I’ve been making music videos with for the last few years, we’re all very close so it went really well. It was like a giant film camp at the beach, we were living much like the characters in the film – even a couple of romances blossomed.

Where did you film it and was it a smooth shoot?

We shot up at Waipu Cove campground, the people up there were very accomodating so the shoot went really well. The locals invited us around to their houses for dinner, they took us shellfish gathering in the weekends and they helped us find nearby locations to film certain scenes. It was a very smooth shoot, the only small hiccup was the lead actress breaking her toe but she didn’t let it stop her.

What’s it like to be here with the film at the New Zealand International Film Festival?

It’s amazing to be able to premiere the film here in NZ and for it to screen at the Civic and at the Embassy, it’s like a dream. I used to volunteer here as an usher so now to have my film here is sort of surreal. I’d like to thank Bill Gosden and the team at the NZIFF for having me, it’s a real honour.

What’s the best reaction you’ve had to a film of yours from an audience member?

I come from and Art School background so I’m used to my work being critiqued and critised, I find it difficult to respond to complements but I do remember after the cast and crew screening a little old lady who had given some money to the project came up afterwards and thanked me, she told me that she was very proud of the film. That was both humbling and a relief. I feel a lot of pressure to do justice to the generosity of people who helped make the film possible. Other than that the best reaction I can hope for from the film is laughter at the start and tears at the end, so far its affected a lot test audiences in this manner but I guess we’ll see what happens at the premiere.

Conversely, what’s been the worst?

Indifference...

What’s next for you?

My team and I have a couple of projects on the go, one is another opera which I’m working on with some of NZ’s top musicians and the other is a story set in 1833 NZ about headhunters but as usual I’m always looking for interesting local scripts.

Q&A with Sean Baker of Starlet

Q&A with Sean Baker of Starlet

Tell us about Starlet

Starlet is my fourth feature film. It explores the unlikely cross-generational friendship between 21 year-old Jane (Dree Hemingway), and the elderly Sadie (Besedka Johnson), two women whose worlds collide in California's San Fernando Valley.

What was the filming of it like? And was it a smooth shoot?

Our budget was 250k which is a tiny budget even in the indie film world.  In an effort to make this film as slick as possible for that budget, we had to employ guerrilla tactics in order to put every dollar up on the screen.  So there was much "run and gun" and some uncomfortable moments... but for the most part, we had a nice small family that worked great together. My dog was the only diva... he demanded his own trailer.. which was my air-conditioned car. 

You have a couple of remarkable lead actresses. Could you tell us a bit how you went about casting the film?

Dree came to us through her manager Allan Mindel, who is known for discovering fresh talent.  I cast her after an hour long video chat session without even having her read for the role.  Her sensibilities, demeanor and physicality sold me.

As far as Besedka goes, I wanted to cast a star from yester year... a "starlet" from another era.  Although we came close, we were having difficulty finding someone for Sadie. We were only 3 to 4 weeks from production and we were beginning to stress.  Shih-Ching Tsou (co-director of TAKE OUT), is one of the executive producers on STARLET went to the local YMCA to work-out.  She texted me from the gym locker room that she thought she found our actress.  Shih-Ching spoke to Besedka and asked her to audition.  Besedka thought she was being scammed at first but agreed to meet.  At her audition, she expressed to us that she lived in LA for most of her life and always dreamed of acting in a film but never had the chance.

What’s the best reaction you’ve had to a film of yours from an audience member?

Good question... A woman in Mar Del Plata, Argentina came up to me after a screening. She asked me how Chris Bergoch (co-screenwwriter) and I were able to write for the role of Sadie, an octogenarian who had much loss in her life. She told me that she had gone through a similar loss and thought we captured the nuances of that character perfectly. I told her that most of the credit goes to Besedka Johnson who understood her character in and out and brought her to life.

Another time, an audience member stood up and said he worked in the California adult film industry. He complimented us by saying that this is the most accurate depiction of the  industry he had ever seen.

Conversely, what’s been the worst?

I heard through the grapevine that one prominent festival programmer felt that the film fails by not showing the long term negative consequences of sex work. To do that would have directly contradicted our attempt to depict these young people as individuals with daily routines, hopes and dreams... not just people defined by their work.

Starlet won the Special Jury Prize at the SXSW Film Festival ; what kind of impact does a reward like that have on your career?

Every prize is a step forward and one more boost to help get the film out to audiences. That particular award was a recognition of Besedka Johnson's performance. She 100% deserved it and I'm so happy for her.

What’s next for you?

One very mainstream black comedy/thriller that Chris Bergoch and I are in the midst of writing. Plus, a couple of indies in which I am currently seeking financing. So hey, if any of your readers want to make a film with me... let's talk!

By the way, we are on Facebook and twitter 

Thanks so much

NZIFF Review - A Field in England

NZIFF Review - A Field in England

Ben Wheatley returns to the New Zealand International Film Festival and puts the WTF squarely into the Incredibly Strange section of the programme.

In his latest, a black and white piece set in the Civil War in England, it's up to you to put together some of the many pieces of this puzzle as they warp out in front of your eyes.

Reece Shearsmith (The League of Gentlemen) stars as Whitehead, a coward avoiding the fighting going on just over the hedges and frustratingly out of sight (robbing us of context). Joined by 3 others, Whitehead falls in with a troop of ne'er-do-wells, who want to get to an inn just over the hill - however, their journey takes a strange turn when they stumble upon O'Neill (Michael Smiley) whose desire to use Whitehead to find something in the field threatens them all.

A Field In England is a trippy piece of civil war psychedelia, mixed in with some of Wheatley's trademark dark humour. It's also frustratingly short on answers and high on puzzles meaning every audience member will have an interpretation of what's going on exactly and while that's fun for debate afterwards, a lack of linear answers may prove a befuddlement too far.

Though it has to be said, Wheatley's style comes shining through once again - with trippy sequences after mushrooms have been digested and psychosis sets in via an electronic soundtrack, it's a visceral thrill to see it unfold even if you're not 100% sure what the hell is going on.

Reece Shearsmith provides some genuinely unsettling moments - and a combined slow mo shot of him stumbling out of a tent after a confrontation with Smiley's O'Neill may be lacking in answers as to what's just gone on following the screaming, but it's not lacking on menace and a general feeling of the disturbed. Some of Wheatley's imagery is haunting and disgusting but always memorable (not always for the best reasons.)

There's some bleak humour here too - a confession of one of the group who's dying centres on his infidelity to his wife and brings some laughs which are unexpected; that's the thing with A Field In England, Wheatley's jumped so far out of any box you may expect after Sightseers and Kill List, that he's to be commended for the fact this film is so damn hard to classify, put in a box and properly review.

Freeze frame shots recall Civil War poses, a soundtrack taking in songs from the time and music add to the setting, and a general feeling of unease and pure dread drip from the screen as the low level plot plays out to its maddening end.

A Field In England is an utterly WTF experience at the New Zealand International Film Festival - and its perplexing nature provides the enigmatic riddle we need to puzzle over for years to come. Some of the best film is the stuff which can't be pigeonholed - and once again, Wheatley's done it; he's committed something unique and audacious to celluloid, something which defies expectations and which provides more questions than it does answers.

 

NZIFF Review - To The Wonder and Frances Ha

NZIFF Review - To The Wonder and Frances Ha

Terrence Malick returns to the New Zealand International Film Festival just a couple of years after the Tree of Life polarised so many.

This time around, rather than taking on the big mysteries of life, he's choosing to concentrate on the nature of love, in To The Wonder with a piece centreing on Ben Affleck and Olga Kurylenko's relationship and how it plays out. It starts off romantically as the duo journey to Europe on a train. With no inclination for explanation, we're thrown into the middle of their relationship and left to observe; Affleck is near mute and Kurylenko's voiceover gives us snapshots of a life, a love and a budding world of dreams. As time goes on though, the romance cools, the pair split amid a visa issue and Affleck falls back for former girlfriend played by Rachel McAdams. However, once again, that dream falters and the original duo reunite. Intertwined with their life and love is a priest played by Javier Bardem whose purpose in life is drifting away from his calling.
Once again, Malick displays a real propensity and skill for a lyrical liquid narrative, blessed with some wonderful imagery which captures the life within our grasp; but for some, the fluidity and lack of real structure may prove a stumbling block as it rambles on to its conclusion. The overall feeling of To The Wonder is more of an experience, a live picture book than a conventional film - a spiritual journey rather than a scripted pathway. An orchestral score soars early on as the trio all search for something - and while Affleck and Kurylenko's characters seem to get the most closure, Bardem's priest is a little neglected and on the outside of the film rather than being more fully embraced. To The Wonder is a film to be seen and discussed but it may not be one whose snapshots of life and love are anything more than fleeting moments of celluloid; haunting definitely but lasting, not entirely.

Frances Ha is Great Gerwig's contribution to hipsterdom. And quite frankly, it feels in places like it tries too hard to be as cool as it wants to. Gerwig is Frances, a dancer in New York, whose bohemian and drifter lifestyle means she moves from flat to flat and life to life after her soulmate Sophie (Sting's daughter) decides she wants to move out to an address she's always wanted to go to. Devastated from the split, Frances finds her life lacks focus and meaning as she moves from one address to another, always trying to get on and always seeking some form of validation from her friends and suffering from a lack of being able to move on in life. Shot in black and white and deliberately going for a certain audience, I personally found Gerwig's Frances and her ilk insufferable and annoying; that's not to say though that Gerwig isn't astoundingly good in the role; this flighty girl is quirky and therefore awkward in places. During a massive run to get cash from an ATM, Frances falls over while dashing back - for no reason other than to emphasise her awkwardness. It's these try hard moments which are peppered throughout which irritate rather than endear. Which is a real shame as there are moments of dialogue and banter which sparkle and shine with naturalness and freshness, fully encapsulating the feckless nature of youth and the nether years when we flounder between no longer being a child but not quite an adult as we make our way through the world. A Christmas jaunt home to Sacramento with family gives Frances some warmth which is lost during other dinner encounters with flatmates and friends thereof, but as a series of snapshots of life in New York, there will be those who utterly adore Frances and her quirkiness; unfortunately, I am not one of them and was left irritated by the shallowness of the film, and the annoying nature of Frances.

NZIFF Review - The Bling Ring

NZIFF Review - The Bling Ring

The latest movie from Sofia Coppola takes a look at the vapid way our lives have become so obsessed and warped with celebrity and all within it.

And it's a shocking look at how far some will go to be a part of that lifestyle.

When Marc (Israel Broussard) moves to a new school, he falls in with Katie Chang's Rebecca on the first day. Rebecca seduces him with her lifestyle - of breaking into homes, taking what she wants and helping herself due to a self imposed sense of self-entitlement.

Soon, Marc's aiding and abetting in these crimes, fuelling Rebecca's need to be part of the celeb lifestyle. He finds her the homes of the rich and famous that she wants to be part of, and they simply head there, break in and wallow in the opulence and take mementoes home of their crimes. It's the ultimate in the Steal Their Style mentality - and it's utterly addictive for this duo.

They're joined in their escapades by Emma Watson's Nicky, her friend Sam (Taissa Farmiga) and Chloe (Claire Julian) who all become addicted to this way of life after Marc and Rebecca take them to Paris Hilton's home repeatedly.

But eventually, the greed of the young and the seduction of the crime become too much for the group and their spree starts to become noticed by the Hollywooderati and the Bling Ring is feeling the pressure.

The Bling Ring movie is apparently based on real events and on a Vanity Fair article - and is in some ways, a shocking expose of how obsessed we've become with the celebrity lifestyle, fuelled by weekly magazines of what they're wearing, daily news items on who's dating who and who's wearing what and an indictment of the want it now attitude of some who'd rather take it than earn it.

It's a hollow, shallow and superficial piece which is stylishly put together - from shots of the group taking endless selfies in the clubs, surrounded by bling, booze and money and transposed to Facebook,The Bling Ring is a horrifying look at how some have no identity except through the lives of others.

When Rebecca's finally caught and she's told that some of their victims have been spoken to by the police, her one overburning desire is to know what Lindsay said because her obsession is so deep. The attitude of these youngsters is appalling and Coppola does little to validate them or make them empathetic as the film plays out and their coked up sprees continue a plenty. So it's hard to care for them as the police close in and their lifestyles are brought to an end.

Watson and Leslie Mann are perhaps the stand outs of the film; Mann, whose mother and home schooling is based on the concept of The Secret is a blast - a blank canvas of motherhood whose daily prayer and mantra is as superficial as her smile - and whose teachings make her charges wonder what characteristics Angelina Jolie embodies; Watson is an empty and vapid teen whose statements as bland as anything and yet they show a canny sense of using buzzwords and phrases without actually saying anything profound - for example - "I'm a firm believer in karma; I wanna lead a country one day. For all I know." There's no conviction in these teens except to live vicariously through the theft of their victims.

From yellow lurid neon opening titles to a blasting punk soundtrack, Coppola's put together something which is as impressive as it is empty; an indictment of the Facebook generation who revel in empty lives to fulfill their own and who have everything going for them but don't recognise it.

The Bling Ring is visually impressive, shatteringly hollow and of the now. It's worrying that it's based on real events and it's to be hoped that Coppola's indifference to her subjects and occasional glorification of their opulence desiring lifestyle will be taken lightly - because based on the audience I was with, the majority of them were on their smartphones the moment the film was ending, perhaps perpetuating a cycle of celebrity cult worship that it's really time to break.

NZIFF Review - Cheap Thrills and Dial M for Murder

NZIFF Review - Cheap Thrills and Dial M for Murder

It seems appropriate to lump these two films into one handy review, given how they both encapsulate similar themes.

In Evan Katz's grubby Cheap Thrills, it's Compliance's Pat Healy who's forced to debase himself for money to make ends meet. When Healy's Craig awakes one day, it's all a spiral to hell as debt catches up with him - a young baby, a nice wife and a good home all placed in jeopardy by the fact he can't pay the bills. An eviction notice and a downsizing later and Craig's in a bar, nursing a beer and some sorrows. Then he bumps into Vince, an old school friend not seen for 5 years and it starts to escalate into a simmering pot boiler of have-nots. When the duo meet Colin and Violet, (Sara Paxton and David Koechner) who have cash to splash on a series of silly dares, everything goes to hell in a handcart as social mores and moral depths are plumbed to see how far they'd go for cash. $50 to be the first to down a shot, $500 to hit a bouncer first - all seem like simple moments of what would you do mentality, but that's only the beginning. As the two old school friends begin to face off each other in a desperate game for one upmanship and money in the pocket.
Katz has a way of keeping the thrills going in the film as it spirals towards its inevitable nasty end - sure, you can see what's coming as Vince and Craig debase themselves for cash - and there's a degree of wondering what would you do for that amount of money if it came down to it. But the taut direction as the resentments boil over and the level of tension rises means you're never short of an engagement with this grubby lo-fi film. As a morality tale, it's a fascinating one - a tale of haves and have-nots facing off in an epic social battle. Healy makes his descent believable and a shock at the end packs a real punch - Katz is an expert at making you flip between sympathy and horror for Craig and you may be shocked at how you swing as the film plays out. Cheap Thrills may be lo-fi cinema in some ways, vulgar and depraved, but it's a sure sign that an indie can kick some punch and may make you question exactly how far you'd go if circumstance conspired against you. And to be honest, you may not like the answer to that....

Meanwhile, Hitchcock's Dial M For Murder 3D is all about money as well when it comes down to it. Grace Kelly's ice-cool blonde is the centre of a murder plot when her husband Ray Milland plots to despatch her for cash. But as ever, the best laid plans of mice and men falls apart when one of the details of his plot doesn't conform to the circumstance and a pair of scissors proves the downfall. Add into that, a tautly wound investigation by some truly caricature like police and you're into the world of Hitchcock once again. The 3D's put to effective use here - from the opening titles which leap off the screen to Kelly's initially dazzling red dress, it verges on potentially being gimmicky. But when everything starts to be set in one room, Hitchcock's eye for the technology comes to the fore as the claustrophobia grows and the set comes vividly to life. Sure, some of the dialogue is a bit cornball by today's standards (witness the inspector's declaration that "My Blood was up") and some moments produce more laughs than perhaps were intended, but Dial M for Murder is a cool breezy drink in a festival of cinematic goodness.

NZIFF Review - The Selfish Giant

NZIFF Review - The Selfish Giant

There's electricity in the air in Brit film The Selfish Giant.

From filmmaker Clio Barnard who came to our attention with the Arbor, is this latest tale, based loosely on the Oscar Wilde short story of the same name.

Focussing on the sweet, yet dysfunctional, friendship of two 13-year-old boys, Swifty and Arbor (both young actors delivering stunning performances), it's the story of their lives in the grim up-north British world of council estates, continual debt and scrabbling to make ends meet.

The pair first form a friendship after being excluded from school; forced to stay away, they end up feeling entranced by the world of Kitten, a scrap dealer, whose den of inequity holds the promise of money which so eludes the duo and their families.

It's Arbor who leads the way into a world of collecting junk and trying his luck, with Swifty more interested in the horses that Kitten owns - and particularly the ones which he races on the streets in yet another example of how gypsy culture's become so prevalent within the UK.

But Arbor's a live wire in more ways than one - and when he sees there's money to be made from stealing and melting down wire, he throws the duo on a collision course with tragedy as the inevitable ante is upped and Arbor searches for a big pay off.

The sensitive gentle giant Swifty, with his love of horses, makes a perfect foil to Arbor's ADHD pill taking troublemaker. But at the end of the day, this is a story of friendship and of a relationship torn asunder either by petty jealousy when Arbor discovers Kitten favours Swifty for the racing or tragedy when the final big steal comes around with an audience inducing shock. It's sensitively told, and devastatingly painful as the final scenes play out.

It's here the young actor playing Arbor comes to the fore - his final scenes hanging around the streets are raw with pain and emotion and recall some of the behaviour of the Greeks in mourning.

Make no mistake, while this grit Brit hit is a tale of woe, it's got a vein of humour running throughout which is impossible to deny and black humour which is as hilarious as it is heartfelt. The council estates bring the miserabilism but film-maker Barnard keeps it on the right side of dry humour rather than dour depression.

You'd have to have no heart to be moved by The Selfish Giant; its two young leads are spectacular and its cinematography is stunning to view - sure, there's electricity in the air in this film - and it crackles with cinematic aplomb and storytelling genius. Highly recommended.