The Day Shall Come: NZIFF Review

The Day Shall Come: NZIFF Review

Lacking the savagery of a lot of Chris Morris' earlier work, and based on "a hundred true stories", The Day Shall Come's tale of ineptitude reeks of some of the themes laid down in the brilliant Four Lions and which course through the veins of his work like Brass Eye and The Day Today.

In this latest, which heads to America, Morris tells the tale of Marchant Davis' Moses, who leads a church of six (basically, his family plus a couple of hangers-on) who are trying to build a farm in downtown.

Heading up the Star of Six, and constantly praising Black Santa, Moses is waiting for the day he and his followers are called to "overturn the accidental dominance of the white people."

But through an escalation of circumstances, Moses is thrust into the middle of an FBI office looking to make arrests of Jihadi to stand out, putting his idealism beliefs in the firing line of idiocy.

Essentially, The Day Shall Come sees Morris tackling themes he's already dealt with with his co-writers and perhaps more successfully so in Four Lions; the escalating one upmanship of those in power, the rise of idealism and the downtreading of the common man and their rights.

However what feels most disappointing about The Day Shall Come is how tame it appears to be when compared to the rest of his work.

Using his outrage more sharply, both he and co-writer Jesse Armstrong could have gone for savage barbs, instead of occasionally tame jabs. It's a major disappointment that feels under-developed and weak in parts, even if there are a couple of quotable moments which are up there with "Rubber Dinghy Rapids" from Four Lions.

The film's shot and edited in a workmanlike way, and Denis O'Hare and Anna Kendrick are simply okay in proceedings - it's with Marchant Davis the film rests. The debut actor's humanity shines through, and it's only the script that lets him down, leaving you feeling his arc's end is nowhere near as tragic or outrageous as it should have been.

Depressingly, The Day Shall Come will get lost in the pantheon of Morris' other work - it lacks the clarity and precision of the satirist that we needed for these times we live in, and consequently, it's underwhelming.

Cold Case Hjammarskjold: NZIFF Review

Cold Case Hjammarskjold: NZIFF Review

What starts off as a zany eccentric's investigation into a 58 year old cold case soon turns into one of the weirdest offerings of the New Zealand International Film Festival.

Doco maker Mads Brugger, who appeared at the festival in 2012 with The Ambassador, heads up Cold Case Hjammarskjold, his investigation into the death of United Nations Secretary General Dag Hjammarskjold.

For years, the death has been mired in a conspiracy theory that Hjammarskjold was assassinated, something which time and theories have multiplied.

It's into this wormhole that Brugger plunges, dragging his audience with him as he and fellow Scandi investigator Göran Björkdahl, see what they can find. But what they turn up swiftly shifts the film from a comic outing of degrees of madman zaniness into something which may be one of the biggest scandals of our lifetime.

That is, if it's true.

Part of Cold Case Hjammarskjold's thrill is a bit about indulging the crazy in all of us, but there's a noticeable shift when Brugger discovers something he'd never intended to - it's at this point the entire film flips and shifts on its own paradigm and makes you question what you've watched.

It may be 130 minutes long, but Cold Case Hjammarskjold hurtles along, partly due to the geniality of Brugger and the "Are you kidding me" content of what he's looking into. It's this which propels Cold Case Hjammarskjold along, because in parts, it's largely about indulging the conspiracy theorist among us all.

Not once does Brugger put his claims to anyone in some kind of authority, preferring us to draw our conclusions with only one side of the evidence submitted. It doesn't make it any the less fascinating, but it does reflect the times we live in, a kind of madcap world where one person's word is taken as gospel.

And while there are plenty of people indulging this gospel, Brugger's decision not to go elsewhere leaves a strange tinge in your throat - especially given his claims and what he apparently uncovers.

Simultaneously indulging the meta-side of investigative documentaries and also providing something that flips the genre, Cold Case Hjammarskjold is the most indefinable and singular film of the entire festival.

NZIFF 2019 Q&A with Ben Berman, director of The Amazing Johnathan Documentary

NZIFF 2019 Q&A with Ben Berman, director of The Amazing Johnathan Documentary

My film is.... The Amazing Johnathan Documentary

The moment I'm most proud of is ...
Embracing the unforeseen and unplanned. At the start I started making what I thought the film would be and then it changed and I had to lean into the problem instead of running away.

The reason I carried on with this film when it got tough is ...
I’m a pretty persistent person and I knew I couldn’t give up so just found other ways to attack the movie.

The one moment that will resonate with an audience is …
Drugs.

The hardest thing I had to cut from this film is … During the filming I kept asking Johnathan what he thought the title should be and every six months I would get a new answer. I really wanted to include that but it just didn’t work.

The thing I want people to take from this film is ...
Just question everything and everyone. It’s healthy to question what is real and what’s not.

The one thing I'd say to aspiring filmmakers is … Be persistent and don’t give up.

Animals: NZIFF Review

Animals: NZIFF Review

52 Tuesdays director Sophia Hyde heads to Dublin for this tale of female friendship in among the arty sector.

Holliday Grainger and Alia Shawkat are best mates, Laura and Tyler. Laura's been trying to write a book for nigh on 10 years now and has as many pages as she's spent years doing it. Tyler, a barista, spends her days waiting for the nights, disappearing into a haze of booze and friendly banter, as well as flirtatious talk at parties.

But when Laura meets Fra Fee's Jim, a talented pianist, she falls for his talent and his charms, throwing a spanner in the works of the hedonistic partnership.

Hyde's Animals has a vibrant energy to start off with, but it soon falls away, leaving Grainger to take the lead where really it should be Shawkat's character who comes into the spotlight.

There's an empowerment in place here, but in all honesty, the familiarity of the story arc prevents the film from truly transcending.

What is obvious though is the impressive performances of both Grainger and Shawkat who remain eminently watchable throughout, even if the film feels like its petering out before it's even begun.

The bottom line with Animals is that it's perfectly pleasant, but ultimately ends up being somewhat forgettable, dampening down its opening fire with fare that feels too familiar and underused to linger a long time in the after memory.

Win a double pass to see ONCE UPON A TIME.... IN HOLLYWOOD

Win a double pass to see ONCE UPON A TIME.... IN HOLLYWOOD

To celebrate the release of ONCE UPON A TIME.... IN HOLLYWOOD from visionary director Quentin Tarantino, you can win a double pass, thanks to Sony Pictures.

About ONCE UPON A TIME.... IN HOLLYWOOD

Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood visits 1969 Los Angeles, where everything is changing, as TV star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) make their way around an industry they hardly recognize anymore.   

The ninth film from the writer-director features a large ensemble cast and multiple storylines in a tribute to the final moments of Hollywood’s golden age. 

Starring Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate.

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood hits cinemas on August 15th

All you have to do is email your details and the word ONCE!

Email now to  darrensworldofentertainment@gmail.com 
Or CLICK HERE NOW  

Bacurau: NZIFF Review

Bacurau: NZIFF Review

To talk of Bacurau and to review it is fraught with danger.

Essentially, this Brazilian film starts out as one thing before transforming into something else completely in terms of narrative.

Loosely though, it's set in a small Brazilian village in the dusty regions in the country a few years from now. The film begins with a scientist Teresa (Barbara Cohen) returning home after the death of her grandmother before a clutch of bodies is discovered in a nearby home...

To say more about Bacurau is, as alluded to, to rob you of some of the surprises that directors Kleber Mendonça Filho, Juliano Dornelles had planned.

It's not that they're massive game-changing plans, in the scale of things, but part of the thrills of Bacurau is where it goes and how it goes there.

One thing that can fairly be levelled at Bacurau though is how some of the characters feel loosely sketched, and hollow in parts, and certainly there's no substantive lead as the film shifts gears and moves through.

Sure, there are some politics of poverty at play here (again, to say more is to spoil) for those looking for other levels to wallow in, but the character edges of the film are a little lacking, denying you an element to latch on to throughout.

That's no bad thing, because as Filho and Dornelles hurtle through what's going on, it's in keeping with the switching allegiances approach they appear to have.

Ultimately,  Bacurau represents the cinema of intrigue, the cinema of politics and the cinema of
crossing genres with ease as it carefully teases out its storyline.

Amazing Grace: NZIFF Review

Amazing Grace: NZIFF Review

There's one reason to see Amazing Grace - and it's simply staring quietly and unassumingly in the background at you throughout.

It seems woefully stupid to say Aretha Franklin is the reason to see the finally released documentary which captures the recording of a live album in the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church, a disused movie theatre, in Watts, Los Angeles.

But the power of the voice lives on and is captured easily in the doco from Sydney Pollack which has been stuck in legal and digital hell for some 45 years. (Bizarrely, also due to Franklin claiming there were no rights to use her image.)

However, it's the sheer power of Franklin's voice which carries Amazing Grace, and lest it simply become a concert recording, side characters give the film a bit more life.

As well as a couple of members of the choir who are either moved by the power of the church or Franklin's voice, the energy brought by an essentially live commentary given by the Reverend James Cleveland is central to the film's tactile success. Providing links to the tracks and to the proceedings, Cleveland's energy is what carries the film, given how silent Franklin is in between songs.

If anything, Pollack's Amazing Grace captures the vibe of being in the moment like nothing else.

Whether it's panning to the crowd, and capturing Mick Jagger grooving on the second night of recording, or simply capturing the everyday African American moved by the gospel sounds, the feeling of the extraordinary in the mundanity of the church is inescapable.

Technically, the film looks as good as it could, and the sounds are simultaneously stripped back and incredible.

Ultimately, Amazing Grace offers a timeless snapshot of a talent in ascendance. Placed in among the everyday setting, the meshing of the music and the people is transcendant.