NZIFF 2019 Q&A - Paula Whetu Jones - Yellow Roses (part of Ngā Whanaunga Māori and Pasifika Shorts 2019)

NZIFF 2019 Q&A - Paula Whetu Jones - Yellow Roses (part of Ngā Whanaunga Māori and Pasifika Shorts 2019)

My film is...
An ode to the elderly, love and loss and commitment. It’s the tragedy of those living  with dementia, and caring for those suffering from the debilitating illness. 

The moment I'm most proud of is….

There is no one moment…I’m proud of all of it.

The one moment that will resonate with an audience is…….The dancing. Many of our old people ball room danced and then all of sudden…they stop.…  It's something I believe totally belongs to a certain generation.

The hardest thing I had to cut from this film is……..An amazing shot that was like the eye of God. When Hine was lying on the the bed with her husband…It was a beautiful shot but didn't serve the story.

The thing I want people to take from this film is ...... 

Ring your old people..Don’t forget them…they still long to be a part of your whanau and the community, they still long to be touched and hugged. They need to be needed. This need does not dissipate with age. 

The reason I love the NZIFF is..
It showcases people and films and gives access to films an people you would never normally see. It creates conversations and celebrates film in an all encompassing way. 

What I want to see at this year's NZIFF is……Bellbird and Capital in the 21st century 

The one thing I'd say to aspiring filmmakers is…..
Your reality matters and your voice is relevant. You and your voice matter. Keep pushing if you really believe in your story and really believe it needs to be heard. It only takes one other person to see what you see and to believe in you to start the journey. Keep looking until you find that person.

Destroyer: DVD Review

Destroyer: DVD Review

Cast: Nicole Kidman, Toby Kebbell, Tatiana Maslany, Scoot McNairy, Sebastian Stan, Bradley Whitford
Director: Karyn Kusama

As thrilling as it can be to see Nicole Kidman completely transformed in this role of Erin Bell, the intricacies of what Karyn Kusama has constructed may lead some to recall the winding narrative of True Detective.

Kidman is detective Erin Bell, who discovers at a crime scene that a body has a connection to a case from her past, and the possibility that a gang boss (Kebbell) she once believed dead is somehow back.

Setting out on a dogged trail, Bell finds the dots from her past reconnecting as the former LAPD detective gets more deeply involved.

Destroyer is a hard film to endure at times, such is its unrelenting commitment to bleakness.

And despite a transformed Kidman's tenacious grip on proceedings, she's occasionally  a hard emotional and unempathetic character to latch on to, no matter how intriguing proceedings are.

But where Destroyer triumphs is in layering a narrative that takes a little time to crack.

As the pieces on the board shift and re-align, things start to fall into place as they should, eventually rewarding you for your efforts. And it's here that Destroyer's strength seems to appear, thanks to
Kidman's gritty turn and the fact she's shuffling through past mistakes of her life.

It may be difficult to love, but it's not difficult to salute Destroyer for doing something that feels different, even if parts of the story are traditional in many ways. It could have done with some more urgency at times, but for now Destroyer shows that a combination of killer acting and material are no bad thing. 

Dumbo: DVD Review

Dumbo: DVD Review

There are two trains of thought with Disney's continued live action remakes of their cartoon catalogue.

One, that it undermines the beauty and timeless simplicity of the originals and two, that it's just a chance to remake these films for a new generation.

Case in point, Tim Burton's Dumbo meshes together some of the original 1941's simplicity and then unwisely expands it out to encompass more characters, and ultimately robbing the film of its original heart and story - that of the separation of a mother and child.

And yet, the 2019 remake of Dumbo simply soars in parts, when stripped back of the elements that would hold it down.

Farrell plays one-armed war survivor Holt Farrier, who returns to the 1919 US world of the Medici Bros circus to his children (Parker and Hobbins) unsure of what's next.

Given the role of looking after a new elephant bought by circus owner Max Medici (DeVito), Holt finds himself father to an elephant with over-sized ears. But when Dumbo's torn from his mother, and the circus is swallowed up by a rival entrepeneur (Keaton), everything changes for the Farrier family, as they seek to do what's right.

Mixing melancholy with the magical, and centring his Dumbo more as an Edward Scissorhands type, Tim Burton's reimagining of the elephant tale has as many highs as it does lows.

It doesn't help some of the characters feel flatly written and almost dully executed; everyone feels like a once over lightly rather than a fully fleshed out individual. It robs the film of the requisite emotion, and certainly the parts which should have the pull, such as Dumbo ripped from his mother, lack the edge to pull an audience in.

Equally, some of the CGI of the pachyderm being ridden in the air looks ropey at best, a big top marquee moment that's rendered in ridicule rather than digital reality. There are fumbles throughout Dumbo that stop the wonder soaring as high as it should.

And yet, there are moments of Burton's visual wizardry and execution which lift Dumbo up high and pull the movie into the magical Disney stratosphere.
Complete with long-time collaborator Danny Elfman, Burton's shorthand and eye for the melancholy macabre visuals are omnipresent throughout. The retro-future world of Keaton's enterpreneur sparkle with promise and flicker with menace when it all goes wrong - he's lost nothing of his eye for what can be tipped into the nightmarish as the haywire denouement plays out. (There's an irony that
Burton's take on the Dreamland world could be seen as an insidious takedown of how Walt Disney envisioned his original theme parks).

When Dumbo flies solo, and soars through the sky, it's genuinely magical (as opposed to scenes of him being ridden). There's an innocence at play here which is hard to deny, an entrancing touch which will enchant audiences much like the original did.

Dumbo's eyes are his keys to his soul, and the CGI blue eye execution, complete with fish-eye lens for his POV, bring life to the little creature in ways that will affect an audience.

Granted, there are the human moments of this big top escapade that ground the film in a duller edge and tether it when it should rise high above.

But much like a trip to the circus, which is wrapped in wonder and childish anticipation, parts of Dumbo are simply superb spectacle to savour. 

NZIFF 2019 Programmer Sandra Reid talks the 2019 New Zealand International Film Festival

NZIFF 2019 Programmer Sandra Reid talks the 2019 New Zealand International Film Festival

The 2019  New Zealand International Film Festival is one week away, and cinephiles are scrabbling to get time off, organise calendars and choose their seats.

Programmer Sandra Reid sat down to answer questions about this year's festival, life after 50, and why all of the selections are her favourite children.

Hi Sandra, how does it feel now the programme is out there, and the films are selling?
Hi Darren. On the programming side of things, the period between the programme launch and the festival getting underway is almost pervaded by a sense of relief – scheduling is a mammoth task and so it is good to have it over with (although it does continue on as NZIFF travels throughout the country). The selection has been decided, films confirmed, the programme shaped. But of course, this period can also be a little nerve-wracking at the start, when we wait to see how our audience responds to the selection.

What trends are emerging in terms of sales?
As expected, titles like APOLLO 11, AMAZING GRACE, BELLBIRD, HERBS – SONGS FOR FREEDOM, LA BELLE EPOQUE, A SEAT AT THE TABLE are selling well and we’re generally satisfied with the way ticket sales are going for the moment, although we’d always like less obvious titles to do as well as some of the big titles. 

What trends have you seen in terms of films up for consideration this year, and how was Cannes this year? 
No particular trends stood out in the films submitted for consideration, but should they exist they may escape us as we’re not necessarily on the lookout for them, of for themes or subjects. I’m thrilled by the range of subjects and experiences recounted in the films direct from Cannes this year.
There were a couple of other titles we would have liked to have seen on our line-up, but Netflix acquisition or early release date prevented this. However, overall, I think we secured a very strong selection from across Cannes’ various sections (Competition, Un Certain Regard, etc.), with several titles in prestigious slots (Opening Night, Centrepiece…).

You hit 50 last year, and had to sadly farewell Bill Gosden, what's it been like programming a festival without his direct day-to-day involvement?
It’s great that what turned out to be Bill’s final festival happened to be a 50th anniversary and one that broke our box office records. We’ve worked closely with Bill over many years and I think we have a shared vision of what NZIFF’s mission is and this provides us with a good guiding throughline. So in many ways maintaining the tradition of a diverse and rich programme came quite naturally.

There are plenty of films this year which feel like Civic events - Apollo 11, Apocalypse Now, Come To Daddy - which other "event films" should we not miss out on? 
The first two films you mention are indeed big spectacle events. While Ant Timpson’s feature directorial debut COME TO DADDY is spectacular in a more contained way – and also highly original. I enjoyed the film very much and look forward to seeing it again on the big screen and with an audience.

Bellbird

Although on a different scale, BELLBIRD, the beautiful feature debut by Hamish Bennett, will also more than fill the Civic screen. BACURAU, a terrific Brazilian film, which jointly won the coveted Jury Prize at Cannes, along with the equally terrific French street thriller LES MISERABLES, are big screen events, as is MAIDEN.

The most controversial film on your programme appears to be The Nightingale - given reception of that in Australia, how do you think it will play here?
THE NIGHTINGALE’s reception in Australia may reflect that Australians are less comfortable/used to seeing their colonial history depicted on screen in all its brutality and hence find it very confronting. I hope that our programme note makes the film’s tone and contents clear and that our audience is better primed to expect a powerful if challenging film.

The Nightingale

There are films this year that appear to be the less you know, the better the experience will be - Come to Daddy, Bacurau, a new Chris Morris - what are you hoping each film will bring its audience?
With our programme notes, we try to indicate what audiences may expect in terms of plot and tone, without revealing everything about the films – after all, we want spectators to be able to each have their own experience of a film, albeit as part of an audience. Film watching, like filmmaking, is a collective experience.

In viewing the films this year, what are the moments that have stood out to you in terms of experience, and/ or film themselves?
So many moments: since learning that AMAZING GRACE was out in the world, I couldn’t wait to see it, and got to do so at the Berlin Film Festival back in February. I still get goose bumps thinking about Aretha behind a piano, singing so divinely, with an amazing band and choir. I’ll be going to see it again. Likewise, PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE. I’m looking forward to seeing this marvellous film again outside of the overheated atmosphere of Cannes.  It was wonderful to revisit Agnès Varda’s films to select a few as part of our homage to this grande dame of world cinema. I’m really thrilled with the films in the MUSIC AND DANCE section.

The calibre of guests heading this way is also very strong this year - which do you think audiences will respond most to?
Hard to know, given that the films by the international guests are all extremely different, ranging from documentaries about teens seeking online social media fame in the United States to the experience of 10-year-old Dujuan, an Aboriginal boy, and from dystopian horror to a feminist re-working of the Punch and Judy story. Hence, I can only imagine that appeal will depend on what spectators are seeking from the experience of each film.

What's the one film you want to see a venue packed out for?
Oh, all the films on the programme!

What do you make of the animation section - which should we be looking out for?
I can’t comment in depth on the ANIMATION NOW! programme, which is curated by Malcolm Turner, although I have seen a few of the films – I like short, abstract animation very much and I am a fan of Rosto, the late, great Dutch animator/artist/musician. But Malcolm is an expert in the field, and his passion for short-form animation informs all his programmes, so they are all bound to be fascinating. I have seen RUBEN BRANDT, COLLECTOR and was dazzled by it. DILILI IN PARIS also looks like it’s gorgeous.

If you had to pick an unmissable Kiwi film, which would it be and why?
I dislike singling out titles over others – which is anathema to our goal. However, for the sake of this question, I’d say BELLBIRD (but this is in no way a reflection on the quality of the other Kiwi films). Hamish Bennett’s debut film is the only dramatic feature on the Aotearoa line-up and therefore special indeed. Hamish’s short Ross & Beth scooped all the awards at New Zealand’s Best Short Competition in 2014 and his feature debut is a great achievement. I also think Bea Joblin’s debut BIRTHS, DEATHS and MARRIAGES deserves a mention. It’s smart, sassy and funny and Bea has done a great job marshalling a large cast.

Bacurau

If you had to pick an unmissable international film, which would it be and why?
That’s too hard a question to answer. You could randomly turn to any page of the programme and I’d be able to point out a film. I love the opening film LA BELLE EPOQUE. Not forgetting BACURAU, MAIDEN… I could just go through the titles in alphabetical order.

In Fabric

What's the one film you feel will surprise everyone, and the one film everyone should drop everything to see - and why?
I’m extremely fond of IN FABRIC, which is beautifully crafted while being totally out there. It made me laugh out loud. I accept that it wouldn’t be to everyone’s taste, but I think it’s worth venturing to. BEANPOLE is also incredibly striking and accomplished. ANGELO…

Just finally, which film will you luxuriate in (either first time or again), and why is this a film that you'll have your phone turned off for?
I have my phone turned off at all screenings – and hope that spectators who come to NZIFF know the drill! I’ve never seen KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS, so I’m really looking forward to seeing the beautiful restored version of one the greatest of screen comedies. I’m very interested in seeing Coppola’s version of his masterpiece: APOCALYPSE NOW: FINAL CUT. Forty years on, I’m sure the film is as powerful as ever.
 And then there’s Ari Aster’s MIDSOMMAR, a late confirmation that we’ve just announced. Now, I am totally looking forward to that!

Midsommar

Crawl: Movie Review

Crawl: Movie Review

Cast: Kaya Scodelario, Barry Pepper, Crocodiles, a cute yapping dog
Director: Alexandre Aja

Sometimes, a film just simply does what it says on the tin.

Such it is with Crawl, an unabashed 87 minute B-movie creature feature that wastes no time simply setting up its premise, and then getting on with it.

Scodelario is a stoic and steely Haley, a swimming champion (fortuitous in later moments) whose fall from grace has coincided with her parents' splitting up. When a massive hurricane hits Florida, where she lives, she races to find her father (Pepper, grizzled and in a thankless role) as the flood waters begin to rise.

But trapped in their old house, the pair soon finds the biggest problem isn't the rising water - more what lies within in the form of gators, ready to snap...

There's very little to say about Crawl, other than it pits Haley, the former Apex predator in the pool, against the real life watery ways of the Florida marshes and flooded levees.

And it's, simply put, fine in places, stretched in others as it revels in its human vs immutable forces of nature edges.

Mixing Jaws and any other creature features is fine, but forcing the audience to believe their characters can display as much strength as they need to when they've been chomped is a bridge too far, and while the film's flaws don't divert they do distract from what's going on.

Keeping the watery shots to a minimum, and using the most of the space afforded to him, Aja mounts a reasonable case for tension, and delivers a few kills that will satiate some of the gorehounds in the audience. But a lack of a fuller cast makes Crawl's weaker moments stand out more as the walls close in.

It helps that Scodelario is watchable enough and has enough grit and compunction to keep the audience along for the ride, even when the script and the silliness starts to wobble.

It's not exactly a croc of a movie, but Crawl is a solid, if unspectacular, creature film that could have been shorter and as a result more taut. As it is, it's fine enough fare, and a weird counterpiece to Blake Lively's The Shallows.

NZIFF 2019 Q&A - Ant Timpson, Come To Daddy

NZIFF 2019 Q&A - Ant Timpson, Come To Daddy

My film is.... Come To Daddy

The moment I'm most proud of is ....
Ending up with something extremely close to the original vision for the film  

The reason I carried on with this film when it got tough is ....
Because films get finished with you or without you. So it’s usually better to hang in there even when the flames are climbing  higher 

The one moment that will resonate with an audience is....... 
When the alienated cyclops drives the stolen tank straight into the oil tanker and saves the whales! 

The hardest thing I had to cut from this film is........ 
That incredible cyclops sequence  

The thing I want people to take from this film is ......
Their wallets and phones  nothing worse than forgetting those after a good film  

The reason I love the NZIFF is.......
You get to travel to distant lands and galaxies without getting off your bum  

What I want to see at this year's NZIFF is......
Something that affects me that I have to tell everyone I know to go see it  

The one thing I'd say to aspiring filmmakers is..... 
If you’re a just aspiring then you’re not doing it right don’t aspire  PERSPIRE!

The Lion King: Movie Review

The Lion King: Movie Review

Vocal cast: Donald Glover, Beyonce, Billy Eichner, Seth Rogen, James Earl Jones, Chiwetel Eijofor
Director: Jon Favreau

The new version of The Lion King is visually phenomenal.

Imagine the Planet Earth team had been tasked with creating a photorealistic version of the Disney classic and ensuring your nostalgia rush was catered for as well, and you can encapsulate the goosebump moments of the Circle of Life as the sun rises above the plains.

It's an astounding feat that showcases what Favreau began with The Jungle Book and has once again raised the bar in terms of what visuals can offer - especially on the biggest screen available.

And yet the 2019 reimagining of The Lion King does little to tamper with the original's formula, other than dressing up the CGI and presenting the story as is.

Unfortunately as well, the emotion is somewhat lacking once the visual dazzle of the opening starts to fade, and you realise this is a spectacle above all else - whereas the original Lion King had heart, heart-stopping moments and heartbreak in spades.

It's partly due to the impassive nature of the lions' faces, from the cubs through to the leaders via the insidious Scar - the lions themselves can do little to emote, reminding you the cartoon faces of the original were so expressive, so OTT in places and so helpful at searing the whole thing into your heart.

Consequently, iconic lines and story beats feel simply like they're read aloud at a cast reading, and lack the effects the original had. Scar, while looking slumped and emaciated compared to Mufasa, lacks the cartoon villainy that made Jeremy Irons' delivery so delicious. The hyenas fare better, their dead eyes and sneers helping bring the menace and darker edges vividly to life.

And there are odd moments when the creatures don't actually seem to interact with their surroundings too, as if placed on top rather than in environments. Gravel doesn't move under their feet in the Elephants' graveyard, and there's a rather curious relationship with grass.

These sound like minor niggles - and in fairness, they are; but given how superlative Favreau's crafted his FX team to deliver, it's the small things which stand out in Disney's latest revamp of their cartoon catalogue.

Thankfully, Timon and Pumbaa (Eichner and Rogen respectively) add much to proceedings and serve to enliven events after you begin to feel the scales falling away from your digitally-impressed eyes.

The problem is ultimately that the 2019 version of The Lion King, while overstuffed with animals, is never its own beast - there's hardly a moment within that doesn't remind you of the original.

It's not enough to be a fatal flaw for the Lion King, and certainly in terms of spectacle, the film overdelivers in a wonderful way; but is it likely to be as timeless as the original's more basic edges?

That seems distinctly unlikely, and while audiences will adore this version in the way Disney wants, you'd be hard pressed to say it's anything more than nostalgia that helps you feel the love tonight.