Out of the Blue (2006)

Directed by Robert Sarkies

Written by Graeme Tetley and Robert Sarkies

*****

Aramoana is a statement word, now – a place name tied to tragedy in New Zealand’s public consciousness.  The events of those November days in 1990 remain the worst mass murder in our country’s history, yet at the time it was just “the pathway to the sea,” a small, sleepy township at the mouth of Otago Harbour.

Robert Sarkies’ sensitive and immensely powerful second feature film Out of the Blue takes us back to innocent, seemingly idyllic times, then drags us through the shocking ordeal.  Based on Bill O’Brien’s book, Aramoana: 22 Hours of Terror, this isn’t a complete shot-by-shot chronicle, nor is it a slick, sensationalised thriller.  Instead, by focussing on how the residents, including the gunman, react to the unthinkable, Sarkies has created a layered portrait of the everyday turned upside down under extreme pressure.

The beautiful landscape and vignettes of ordinary life in the community leave us completely unprepared for what is about to happen, even though history has already filled in the ending.  As the pressure within increasingly paranoid David Gray builds up, you still wish for anything, anyone, to reach out in time to stop him.  Detachedly taking his reponse to what he is doing into account as much as the reactions of those he is terrorising makes the film all the more upsettingly realistic: this is not clear-cut fiction, it is real life, and begs the question “what would you do?”

With incredibly poetic cinematography and extremely fine performances, Out of the Blue is able to lay out the tragic chain of events in real terms, showing people doing the best they can to cope with the situation they’re in, whether that be comforting a wounded stranger, crawling through ditches for help, creeping through smoke-filled darkness looking for a madman with a gun who’s already killed neighbours and friends, or lashing out in an attempt to keep the world from persecuting you.  Stunning, in all senses of the word.

For a similarly potent, non-moralising look at issues of mental health and gun control, see Gus Van Sant’s dream-like Elephant, an exploration of youth culture, alienation, and violence culminating in the Columbine High School massacre in the United States.

The Hopes & Dreams of Gazza Snell

Directed by Brendan Donovan

Written by Brendan Donovan and David Brechin-Smith

***

Howick teenager Mark is a champion go-karter, with pipsqueak younger brother Ed hot on his tail.  Enthusiastic dad Gazza is their coach, mechanic, bankroll and support team, and determined that Mark’s talent should get him on the track to formula one racing in Europe.

But when tragedy strikes the Snell family, their united front crumbles.  Drifting apart in a string of blame, misunderstandings, and mishandled situations, everyone has something to hide.

I still feel guilty for not supporting The Hopes & Dreams of Gazza Snell during its cinema run, but that says something in itself: watching a petrol-fuelled melodrama just did not appeal to me, even if it was local product.  When the DVD was released, my homework was set, and I was relieved to find things to enjoy.

Donovan’s debut feature was filmed in East Auckland, and as a slice of Howick life it succeeds admirably: the landmarks, stereotypes and humour are all true to form, and probably the most appealing thing about the film.  The supporting cast have some excellent material to work with, and if the subplots are a little unfocussed, it is only because the film is rich with detail and trying to say too much.

The first-time actors and real-life brothers playing the Snell boys are both fantastic, although given their extreme dissimilarity to their screen parents I was wondering if an adoption subplot would unwind.  Joel Tobeck deftly walks the fine line between hero and villain as a trusted family friend, and Robyn Malcolm gives her all as the long suffering Gail, at the end of her tether with irresponsible Gazza.

Which is where it all falls down.  As far as problems go, an unlikeable title character trumps all.  Gazza is a dreamer, an adult who needs to grow up and address what his hopes and dreams should really be – but instead of roguish and blokey, he comes across selfish, boorish, and destructive.  The antics which I assume were meant to provoke a laugh of recognition instead had me hoping Gazza would lose everything, just to serve him right.

The Hopes & Dreams of Gazza Snell has largely been an audience pleaser, to those who have made the effort to see it, and any Kiwi looking for their stories on the big screen will find something worth watching.  Donovan has a unique voice, as proven with his two Insider’s Guide television series, and although he hasn’t quite hit the mark here I will be looking out for his next film.

Keen on cars?  Try a modern Kiwi classic - Florian Habicht’s acclaimed feature length documentary Kaikohe Demolition follows colourful local characters through a year’s demolition derbies in the far north.  It’s packed with flavour, humour and car wrecks, and full of cheeky charm.

Jinx Sister

Written and directed by Athina Tsoulis

**** 1/2

Laura knows she’s jinxed.  She’s always surrounded by trouble, and people who get close to her have habit of dying.  Ten years ago she fled to America, but her glamorous new life hasn’t turned out to be the release she expected.

Rapidly unravelling and realising the only place left to run is back home, she’s soon facing her demons in the multicultural suburban blur of south Auckland.

Laura’s journey ties all the characters together, so the film stands on Sara Wiseman’s sympathetic portrayal of her.  Wiseman imbues Laura with a sense of fragility, creating a creating a character you can’t help feeling for, even as she lashes out against her friends and family.

This is that rare film in which all the characters feel like real people, rather than cardboard cut-out supporting acts.  Rachel Nash turns in a standout performance as Mairie, Laura’s long neglected sister, as does Jarod Rawiri, as Sam, ex-con with a heart of gold.  Writer/director Athina Tsoulis describes the cast as “a dream team” and the results are certainly up there on screen.

Although Jinx Sister is at times a sad story, a deft comical touch and dashes of optimism keep it from being tragic.  Tsoulis called time on dark cinema, saying: “Films where the protagonist descends into hell have lost their appeal, and I wanted an ending that… was one of hope.”

It’s a local film with a huge heart, and earned the home-grown label in the truest sense – made with virtually no budget and relying on the generosity of the small cast and crew, the filmmakers discovered their “renegade” shoot ultimately freed them in many ways.

A true blue kiwi film, JinxSister is filled with local humour and accents, and there are plenty of laughs along the way as we recognise just how well we’ve been captured on camera.  It’s an emotional ride, but it’s a very satisfying one.

This review was originally written for an online magazine, and is republished with permission.

Rain of the Children (2008)

Written and directed by Vincent Ward

*****

There are several adjectives impossible to avoid when attempting to describe Vincent Ward’s latest film.  Compelling is one, gripping another.  Perhaps most apt is haunting – this is an utterly absorbing, unforgettable and entirely New Zealand story of love, loss and survival across a tumultuous time in our history.

At the centre of the film is Puhi, a bent old woman of the Tuhoe iwi, who welcomed the then twenty one year old Ward into her remote home back in 1978.  Over the course of two years, he filmed her daily life for his award winning documentary on traditional Maori life, In Spring One Plants Alone.

Puhi died soon after he finished the documentary, but Ward never forgot the charismatic woman who called him her mokopuna mā (white grandchild.)  Sparked by his recollections of Puhi and thirty years worth of unanswered questions about her life, middle-aged Ward goes back to her home in the Uruwera ranges, aiming to uncover her story.

Blending footage from his original film, new interviews, fact finding missions and highly dramatic re-enactments in what he describes as “part folk tale, part ballad, part mystery story,” Ward creates a cinematically beautiful and at times dreamlike patchwork of fact, fiction, stories handed down and the opinions of those who remember Puhi - “the special one.”

Ward’s detective work is captivating, each answer begging another question about this singular woman.  Who was Puhi?  Why did she cling so strongly to her mentally ill adult son?  And why did she believe she was cursed?

The filmmaker behind Vigil, Map of the Human Heart and What Dreams May Come is no stranger to very human, emotional stories – but this is really something different, touted as “Vincent Ward’s most personal feature to date.”  In a tribute to Puhi and his treasured memories of her, Ward appears on camera and narrates the film, a touch which cements Rain of the Children as something very special from an already unique filmmaker.

Heartbreakingly sad, yet by turns enchanting, funny and endearing, this is a slice of a very different kind of life, leaving the audience with the conviction that there is nothing so extraordinary as the life lived by an ordinary woman.

This review was originally written for an online magazine, and is republished with permission.