The Nightingale: NZIFF Review

The Nightingale: NZIFF Review

Jennifer Kent's latest after The Babadook follows similar themes.

The colonial-set Australian adventure has a fire that's hard to deny, but it also features a mother and an imperiled child, much like The Babadook did.

But that's where the similarities end.

In 1825 Tasmania, Aisling Franciosi is Clare, a thief who's in debt to Sam Claflin's Hawkins. With Hawkins abusing his power, and frustrated at his inability to progress postings in the army, Clare finds herself extremely abused and compromised at his hand.

When things go devastatingly wrong, Clare is forced out on a mission of extreme revenge, and in the company only of Aborigine Billy (Baykali Ganambarr) as her tracker.

It may be sadistic in its opening act, and prone to sickening moments of colonial cruelty as it reveals a necessary and honest reality, but The Nightingale presents moments of beauty in among its brutality.

Kent once again presents a story that's beautifully shot, with landscape vistas presenting both the power and terror of the uncharted outside world. Thankfully, it helps counterbalance some of the cruelty that white men do which is sadly prevalent in this piece.

It may be a Western in its approach in terms of a revenge story, however, there are moments of horror as well as Kent balances a nightmarish element of hauntings for Clare.

Franciosi delivers a powerhouse turn as a woman on a mission; whereas it could be a one dimensional role, she imbues Clare with both fragility and fire. Equally, Ganambarr gives an angry yet understated edge to the local man whose land has been attacked, raped and his family killed. There's a definite anti-colonial message here, as the evil of the English is explored (both the Irish and Aborigine abhor the English) in subtle ways.

There's no denying there are hardships early on, but stick with The Nightingale as it's both necessary and the rewards are well worth it, as the final message of personal redemption and choice burn through.

NZIFF 2019 Q&A - Damon Gameau, director of 2040

NZIFF 2019 Q&A - Damon Gameau, director of 2040

My film is...
2040

The moment I'm most proud of is….
Condensing a 3 hour 35 minute rough cut of the film into 90 minutes.

The reason I carried on with this film when it got tough is…..
There is nothing more important than the health of our planet. And a better future for our children.

The one moment that will resonate with an audience is…….
The magical powers of seaweed

The hardest thing I had to cut from this film is…….. 
A larger part of the economy section and the ‘rules of the game’ that are blocking us from getting to a better 2040.

The thing I want people to take from this film is ……
Hope

The reason I love the NZIFF is…….
New Zealand is a much better country than Australia

What I want to see at this year's NZIFF is……
In My Blood It Runs’ by Maya Newell

The one thing I'd say to aspiring filmmakers is…..
Make sure the subject you choose for your film is a subject you really love. You will be tested making a film so a foundation of love is crucial.

In Fabric: NZIFF Review

In Fabric: NZIFF Review

Peter Strickland's latest is a bizarre fetish piece, packed with languishing imagery and also a bizarre headscratcher that's lashed with humour where its narrative lacks.

Marianne Jean Baptiste is Sheila, a recently dumped housewife whose son is running riot with a French teacher taking the mickey and whose job in front line banking service is overseen by two manager busybodies who have nothing better to do.

When she buys a red dress in the January sales, she's unaware of the Phantom Thread's demonic past and finds herself in a world she doesn't quite fathom.

In Fabric is frankly a stylised piece of utter nuttiness.

And when it embraces its absurdities, it's all the better for it.

But at its core, In Fabric mocks British society mercilessly; whether it's Sheila's constant phone voice reading out her entire phone number or the consumerist desires of those beating down the doors of a department store, Strickland's got an eye on the absurd in this utterly out there piece that revels in the perversity it presents.

While narratively it may go off the rails at certain points, it doesn't hold back from its more fetish edges and stylised insanity. The aesthetics impress much like the Duke of Burgundy did, but whereas here the deep reds and crisp colours hark back to the horror edges, the film's definitely keen to take you on a journey, even if the final destination doesn't offer the answers you may seek.

It's fair to say In Fabric is the most curious entry in this year's Film Festival, but it's also the one offering the most perverse pleasures in the cinema - in terms of laughs, it offers plenty, and in terms of genre nods and erotic weirdness, it's second to none for atmospheric oddities.

Alita: Battle Angel: Blu Ray Review

Alita: Battle Angel: Blu Ray Review

Little more than the sum of its hollow parts, Alita: Battle Angel is a spectacle bar none.

Sat with James Cameron for the best part of two decades, the CGI movie, which meshes cyberpunk with Young Adult sensibilities (not always successfully, one may add) is an interesting start to the beginning of a hopeful franchise.

Taken from the Manga source material Battle Angel Alita, Waltz is Dr Dyson Ido, a cyber-surgeon in a city several centuries in the future. Finding a cyborg with a functioning heart in the scrapyard, Ido rebuilds her in the hope that she will live again.

But when Alita (Salazar, recently seen in Bird Box) comes around, she has no memory of who or what she is. Hunted for what she represents, Alita finds her world turned upside down as she regains flashes of who she is.

It's fair to say that Alita: Battle Angel looks incredible.

The mix of the CGI realisation and the integration of technology with human edges is nothing short of flawless, and Salazar brings life to the CGI character lead, lending a heart that's needed.

Alita's wide eyes may suggest innocence and be in keeping with anime's trademarks, but it also helps the character stand out from the crowd, as she's forced to deliver some truly groan-worthy dialogue, ripped from the pages of a pulpy Young Adult novel, via some Nicholas Sparks style imagery.

Waltz adds humanity to his doctor, ensuring that the paternal relationship hits the right notes, even if it follows down the well-worn paths of any father-daughter movie.

It's Alita's mix of familiar that stops the film from feeling truly original; from elements of Rollerball crossed with Transformers, portions of the City that Never Sleeps Spider-Man DLC, via Detroit:
Becoming Human, Ghost In the Shell elements, to a love story in among separated societies that was part of Mortal Engines, there's an incredible sense of deja vu on show here, coupled with a feeling that the story's as low stakes as it could be, with frustrating hints proffered of what could come in a future instalment.

Whether that does eventuate will be another matter entirely, and certainly in the film's back 20 minutes, the feeling of resolution is frustrated by out-of-character character behaviours that don't gel and jar the flow.

Ultimately, Alita: Battle Angel is a worthy attempt at something new and is visionary in its visual execution once again (as you'd expect from Cameron et al) - but once again, a sci-fi epic is frustratingly hamstrung by its human edges, and its lack of commitment to tone that leaves Alita floundering for a USP in an ever-crowded pantheon of franchise wannabes. 

Backtrack Boys: NZIFF Review

Backtrack Boys: NZIFF Review

More gentle amble through troubled boys' lives and less about the dogs they're paired up with, director Catherine Scott's genial Backtrack Boys heads to Australia to talk second chances and maturity.

With an unfussy and unobtrusive camera, Scott follows the lives of boys in Aussie Bernie Shakeshaft's programme aimed at turning kids around as part of his residential programme.

It's tried and tested material admittedly - for every troubled kid, there's a familiar story to follow (the commonalities in these types of yarns is never earth-shattering), but what Scott does is to centre in on three boys, and make you care for them via simplicity of execution, and intimate portrayals.

Perpetual offender and youngster Russell, aka Rusty, is the wild card, a ready to bite, ready to fight, ready to run kid who's one incident away from jail; there's Zac, the teen who's like a big brother, but whose anger underneath his soft edges could destroy him and Tyson, the kid from jail, who's trying to go straight.

It's obviously heart-warming fare, and is intensely devastating when things don't go right as they should. While some may berate Scott for never really presenting the victims' side of the offending, her maturity in holding the boys upto account via their own interactions is commendable.

It's affecting admittedly, and gentle in many ways, but Backtrack Boys continues the lines set down by last year's Celia Lashlie doco, in that social interventions and people make the difference. These are not new conclusions, and there's an underlying sadness that these stories have to be repeatedly trotted out, but with sensitively handled fare such as this, maybe ultimately, the message will get through.

NZIFF Q&A - director Lorcan Finnegan, Vivarium

NZIFF Q&A - director Lorcan Finnegan, Vivarium

My film is.... VIVARIUM, a strange twisted sci-fi nightmare about a consumerist life

The moment I'm most proud of is.... Probably getting into Cannes. It made all the problems go away

The reason I carried on with this film when it got tough is..... Because there is never any other choice unfortunately. You convince all these talented people to help make your film, so you owe it to them to make a good film. And to yourself from the past who thought it was a good idea and yourself from the future who thinks you did an alright job.

The one moment that will resonate with an audience is....... When something happens in the 3rd act that I can't tell you about.

The hardest thing I had to cut from this film is........ A sequence I spent 5 days shooting. It was very complicated and required lots of vfx to complete but ultimately didn't make the film better so I beheaded it.

The thing I want people to take from this film is ...... To watch out for creepy estate agents called Martin. 

The reason I love the NZIFF is....... Because it has all the best films and is in New Zealand!

What I want to see at this year's NZIFF is...... Long Day’s Journey into Night, Monos, Song Without a Name, In Fabric and another Poots / Eisenberg film by my friend Riley Sterns, The Art of Self Defence

The one thing I'd say to aspiring filmmakers is..... Keep the blinkers on and stay delusional enough to get your film made

2040: Film Review

2040: Film Review

Director: Damon Gameau

Idealism seeps through the veins of That Sugar Film's follow up.

Damon Gameau returns with a self-professed optimistic piece of what life could be like in 2040 that's squarely aimed at showing his 4-year-old daughter Velvet that there is hope among the doom and gloom of climate change reporting and global concerns over the planet's future.

The tone for this film is set in the opening moments as a title board reveals that carbon credits used in making this film have been offset.

It's genially put together, and should be commended for its eternal optimism, but despite Gameau deploying visual tactics such as shrinking down commentators and experts to wee tiny levels so they can be dwarfed on the screen, the film's really only interested in presenting a utopian side of the argument.

"We have everything we need right now to make it happen," Gameau intones at one point.

And as he demonstrates how farming can do its bit, how self-driving cars will provide transport peace and how energy can be shared with others, it's easy to buy into. But Gameau shies away from getting any of the critical answers why this isn't happening yet or won't in future - whether it's out of a desire to make the film so positive that it doesn't make you want to scream at politicians and their global politicking or whether it's through lack of trying, it's never really clear.

The end result is that frustrations bubble up - despite the cutesy use of kids' vox pops talking about what they want to see in 2040. Sure, it's amusing in parts, and is as hollow as a once over lightly global approach, but much like the director's predilection in That Sugar Film, it's all about shallow rushes to the head.

In truth, the narrative naivete cloys, and while it's understandable that Gameau's trying to inspire rather than put obstacles up, its occasional head in the sands' approach does nothing to dispel a nagging sense of frustration and a feeling that everyone in the film is living in Fantasyland.

Crowd-pleasing it may be; inspiring it may also be, but based on any kind of reality and giving any steps forward to making it a reality, it is not.

Don't let the politics get in the way of a good dream, eh.