#New Zealand Cinema

[inthedarktrees]

Kate Winslet & Melanie Lynskey

Heavenly Creatures (1994) dir. Peter Jackson

[ladamarossa]

Mr. Wrong (1984)

[celluloidrainbow]

GEORGIE GIRL (2001) dir. Annie Goldson & Peter Wells Georgina Beyer, a Maori actress turned public official, stuns the world in 1999 by becoming the first trans person to hold national office. Growing up on a small Tarankai farm, she later became a small-time celebrity on the cabaret circuit in Auckland. With charisma, humor and charm, Beyer unapologetically recounts her fascinating life story, shares how she overcame adversity and discloses the reasons she decided to run for office in a mostly all white, conservative electorate. (link in title)

[gregor-samsung]

Hunt for the Wilderpeople (Taika Waititi, 2016)

[sloshed-cinema]

The Piano (1993)

The gothic romance, it would appear, has an uncanny valley. Shipped off by her family from rainy Scotland to muddy and rainy New Zealand, Ada McGrath is forced into the arms of her arranged husband Alisdair Stewart. Finding herself in a strange land with her young daughter Flora, Ada is forced to deal with harsh terrain and unfamiliar people, all while needing to communicate through either her daughter’s fiery translation of her sign language, written notes, or rigid and firm body language. She cannot speak, expressing herself instead through her piano playing, and she is stuck between two men. Alisdair is controlling and distant, and local handyman George Baines is coarse and blunt. Both men desire her, and she wants none of them. In its unfolding, The Piano manages to fall directly into the gulf between romance which is transgressive and charged, and that which is intended to be such but just comes across as creepy. Alisdair expects that his chosen spouse perform her duties because that’s her role and generally skulks around; not much needs to be said of him for that part. He is the patriarch incarnate. But George, in his game of exchanging sexual favors for the 88 keys of the piano that he’s holding hostage in a bid to garner her favor, is no better. The relationship blossoming between them seems to be prodded along because the film desires it to go in a direction rather than it happening in an organic sense, coercive that it is. That’s not to say it’s not without wit: writer-director Jane Campion finds indulgence within this, having George finger a hole in Ada’s stocking in an obvious innuendo, and later matching the handyman going down on the landowner’s wife to said landowner peeping in while having his hand eaten out by the family dog. Cue the train entering the tunnel. But the relationship between George and Ada isn’t love borne out of shared suffering, it’s some variation on Stockholm Syndrome. Ada’s position is unenviable, and the film leans into that, but it’s hard to buy that in the grander scheme of things. It just comes off as another case when I have to walk away scratching my head and wondering why movies seem to find these dynamics so sexually interesting. This has all of the trappings of a Wuthering Heights type situation but in its execution cannot balance transgression with coercion.

But perhaps this viewing was colored by my aversion to films that feel the need to hammer in the messaging or symbolism of their narrative. This is more Nathaniel Hawthorne than Haruki Murakami. Early on, we establish that the piano is Ada’s voice in the world. Indeed, her playing is anachronistic in its lyricism and fluidity, commingling freely with composer Michael Nyman’s lyrical and flowing score. People notice and comment on this. But needing to draw attention to something which is already clear is the least of the worries of the film. Throughout, conscious parallels are drawn in the most achingly obvious manner: the church pageant features a pantomime of the Bluebeard tale, a jealous man beheading his wives with an axe. Cue Alisdair with an axe. Ada removes a key from her precious piano, intended as a gift and love-affirmation to George, but it is intercepted by the vengeful Alisdair. By chopping off Ada’s index finger, he deprives her of her pre-stated voice. All of this would be fine, but for the fact that a play within a film literally tells you an idea you’re supposed to pay attention to, and the finger-severing is commented on obliquely when a Māori worker notes that the separated key no longer has a voice. All of this would be poetic but for how sweatily intentional is the presentation of it all. When the parallels are clear by implication, it starts to feel insulting when they get pointed to time and again by characters within the film. To that end, the conclusion of the film feels a little mixed: Ada finds a new life with George, and yet comments on her soul through her piano still binding her to its watery grave. Well, which is it gonna be, Jane? Just drown your character and put this to its watery grave, as you said you wanted to do so later.

The handling of the Māori was… not great. They’re present within the world of the film, as would make sense for the time period of the story. But at no point does the film look their way and think about the effects of colonialism inflicted on these people. Instead, they are largely presented as simpletons who cannot understand theatre effects but are useful when it comes to rowing canoes or carrying cargo.

All said, the ratio of loss from piano keys to human fingers isn’t exactly equivalent. SUCK IT, METAPHOR!!!

THE RULES

SIP

Someone uses a synonym for 'silent'.

Ada starts to play piano.

Close-up of piano hammers.

BIG DRINK

Flora tells a lie.

A number of keys is named in the piano ownership bargain.

Obscene amounts of mud.

[oceanusborealis]

Uproar - Movie Review

TL;DR – An emotional punch to the face as it explores the power of finding your identity. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4.5 out of 5. Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.Disclosure – I paid to see this film Uproar Review – At the time of writing, we are in the middle of the Brisbane International Film Festival or, more affectionately, BIFF. So many films were on offer that you needed to sort…

[honeygleam]

land of the boy in boy (2010) dir. taika waititi

[ordosmarkzero]

Boy (2010)

[mariocki]

The Quiet Earth (1985)

"We might not have been responsible. God may have just blinked."

"God blinked and the whole world disappeared. A world of noisy, brawling, wonderful human beings."

[inthedarktrees]

Kate Winslet & Melanie Lynskey

Heavenly Creatures (1994) dir. Peter Jackson

[thatgeekwiththeclipons]

Happy 51st Birthday to Emmy Nominated actor, Grammy Winning musician Jemaine Clement! ^__^

[celluloidrainbow]

INTERSEXION (2012) dir. Grant Lahood Activists Mani Mitchell and Grant Lahood set out to "de-mystify" intersex, looking beyond the shame and secrecy that defines many intersex births by visiting intersex people in America, Ireland, Germany, South Africa and Australia and exploring how they navigate their way through childhood, adolescence, relationships and adulthood, when they don’t fit the binary model of a solely male and female world. Those forced to go through early surgical interventions contrast their experiences with those who grew up without. (link in title)

[gregor-samsung]

Hunt for the Wilderpeople (Taika Waititi, 2016)

[could-they-be-a-pro-wrestler]

How successful would anyone from “Colonial Combat”…

Would you like to submit a character? Click this link if you do!

[oceanusborealis]

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Alloyed and Season 1 – TV Review

TL;DR – I was captured by the joyful sincerity that permeated the whole season.          ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4.5 out of 5. Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this episode. The Rings of Power Review – When I started watching The Rings of Power, I went into it with a moment of trepidation. The Lord of the Rings holds a special place in my heart because they were the first…

[praveendaskumar]

Hi sir 😎👎👎

The Worship lord Completed today 🥰