kiwi christians watching kiwi films - Recently Updated Pages

sleeping dogs

Jowall — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 03:22:32 CDT

Looks an interesting series of classic NZ films coming up in Wellington for the 30th anniversary of Sleeping Dogs Dominion Post article Would be great to hear from anyone who goes. I am in Wellington that weekend so will work on getting to some of it ...

Whale Rider Film Review

stevetaylor — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 23:17:55 CDT

By Juriaan Betman

Whale Rider is set in a small Maori community somewhere on the coast of New Zealand. Based upon the novel by New Zealand Maori author Witi Ihimaera the film carries us through a journey of Maori culture and traditions in the lives of ordinary people. It highlights personal and family drama through the interaction of three generations representing the past, the present and the future. It is an example of the problems that many cultures and families are facing throughout an ever changing world trying to keep the ways of the past and rituals alive. The story takes place in the world of today, but there is a thread that relates to a different world. The world of myth and legend.

Paikea, the ancestor, came to New Zealand on the back of a whale. Koro feels that it is his responsibility to keep the past alive. A deep sense of spiritualty of the Maori is shown through their respect for nature and traditions of the past. Koro’s hopes are high with the impending arrival of a new grandchild. These are quickly dashed with the arrival of twins, the male dying at birth along with the mother and the remaining baby is a girl. Given the name Paikea by her mother, Pai was supposed to be the whale rider, the salvation of the people. But she is immediately rejected by Koro because she is a girl and he has no use for her.

Pai is brought up by her Nanny and Koro in the absence of her father. Koro lays the blame for his people degeneration at Kais feet. But interestingly enough that aside he still spends a great deal of time with her. Pai always looks up to Koro with respect that is given to an elder. “Its not Koro’s fault that I’m a girl.” Kais personality is expressed through her respect for tradition and her willingness to break the boundaries try and join the boys and learn to be a chief. She loves her grandfather with all her heart, but also has the courage to speak, usually through her actions, that she is the future of the tribe.

We all are spiritual beings. This is seen in the film in the relationship between the people and their natural environment. We also all experience emotions related to challenge, hope, failure and forgiveness. It is a reminder for Christians that some of the traditions observed by different cultures can be integrated with those of Christianity. There in also lies a challenge in acknowledging some of the spiritual aspects of the culture as Christians with which we may have difficulty with. The film involves themes revolving around family, caring, sexism, change and rejection. A social issue that can be found in many contexts is the place of women in a world view dominated and controlled by men. But through her childish innocence and powerful self determination Pai makes her mark. “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;” In the Bible Jesus was rejected and humiliated. Following death came the resurrection and ascension to the throne. Pai follows a similar journey. She ascends to chiefdom following rejection and humiliation.

Sometimes to keep both past and future together requires compromise. The process of not being afraid to question, not being afraid to change and being brave and never giving up. The new learning from the old and the old learning from the new. Just as the rope is made up of smaller strands to make it strong so exists the family, being held together by its members as one force.

Whale rider is a memorable film, well worthwhile viewing. The core of the story is a serious one but there are also many lighter good hearted moments. Rated P.G. for younger viewers.

River Queen Film Review

isabelle1 — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 23:17:50 CDT

River Queen - 2005
Director: Vincent Ward
Review by: Jo Wall and Isabelle Sutton

River Queen, the latest offering from Vincent Ward, is a dark and mythical journey of one woman’s quest to recover her lost son in the midst of the Maori wars. This period in New Zealand history has little to be proud of and the film reminds us of the torturous coming together of our nation. Sarah, (played by Samantha Morton) an Irish settler living in a British garrison outpost ‘upriver’, facing loss over and over, as she tries to find something to live for.

The setting of this dark and turbulent film is war. Led by men filled with a lust for control and bloodshed, both sides are as violent as each other. Although invader versus defender, both commit atrocities, the soldiers seem little more than mercenaries unsure of who they are fighting for, or against. The war causes several characters to lose their fathers, resulting in a crisis of identity.

Vincent Ward penned both the original story and the screenplay. The film suffers from heavy subject matter juxtaposed with stunning shots of the Whanganui river and it’s ethereal beauty. Tied together with voiceovers to explain the plot jumps, and an odd mix of Celtic, Maori and heavy orchestral music, the dialogue is hard to follow without subtitles. Temuera Morrison, the vengeful Chief Te Kai Po, has been linked with a real historical figure causing dismay at the portrayal of his actions. Keifer Sutherland is under utilised as Doyle, Sarah’s friend, though his Irish accent wavered.

All of Ward’s main characters are caught between two opposing cultures. Wiremu, (played touchingly by Cliff Curtis) is the young Maori warrior who is drawn to Sarah and crosses sides several times. Sarah also moves back and forth in her battle to find a home in this strange land. She eventually finds her half-caste son who has been ‘stolen’ by his paternal Grandfather, finding a boy who grew up to embrace his Maori heritage and someone she almost doesn’t recognise. Through the second half of the film she must rediscover him in the midst of clashing cultures, heartache and loss, she finds a man and a way of life that she struggles to find value in. Sarah and Wiremu find the others’ culture contains much to be respected, and yet things which are repugnant also. This very New Zealand struggle is ongoing today. We, the teenage half-castes, are still having trouble uniting our different heritages into one national identity.

Ward’s fascination with water shows in almost every shot. The powerful images of characters who are constantly wet and cold reinforce the lack of comfort in this land. It is not until Sarah, Boy and Wiremu forge their own family that the imagery changes to warm and homely, and we see they have found peace and comfort within a new mixed community. Water becomes a sustaining force in their lives, rather than a boundary and a threat.

The film is book ended with images of Sarah writing her life story as a spiritual replacement to confession because there is no priest in “This wilderness that even God forgot.” Journaling is a rich part of Christian tradition, and it seems that God did hear her story, as eventually she finds her place in the world.

Some of our torturous past can be embarrassing, but Christian history can leave us with similar shameful memories. The life we seek to live is a mix of our own, our culture, and our religious past to form a new community with a sense of family and belonging. Like the characters, we weave parts of several cultures to form our own identity. As in Whale Rider where Paikea and Koro mend the strands into a rope to start the boat engine, the weaving forms something unique distinct from the parts. In a fatherless generation we can benefit from adoption by whanau in forging a new way of being.

The Quiet Earth Film Review

stevetaylor — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 23:11:26 CDT

The Quiet Earth - 1985
Film Review By Nancy Wu and Jocelyn Harris

The film opens with a symbolic sunrise, suggesting a new day, a new dawn, a different kind of genesis as a new reality of isolation, and an eerie silence unfolds.

A man-manufactured mechanical malfunction in technology (Operation Flashlight) creates an extinction of all breathing life, with a few rare exceptions in an inexplicable loophole in the phenomenon.

It’s been said “The world would be a great place if it wasn’t for people”.
Yet this movie will challenge that assumption.

What would life be like if there were no people?

As ‘Zac’ awakens to a new reality of life alone, the quest for meaning and purpose in life becomes paramount and the search begins.
How does one function in a life where moral law is redundant, wealth is irrelevant, status is futile and one longs for any kind of relationship, but with seemingly no hope of finding it?

Ironically Zac had seemingly, convinced himself in his earlier life, that he did not need relationships preferring to pursue the wealth, power and prestige in the marketplace.

Perhaps within this movie of visual verbalisation of our ultimate fear – that of being alone- we find our fears realised. Within our world full of people the epidemic of loneliness pervades our culture as we continue to chase down the emptiness of power, status and wealth for fulfilment. Perhaps the message will get through that our quest for fulfilment will only be found within relationship.
-In seeking and finding God, (outside of dead statues in a deserted church building), and others; we find our purpose and ourselves.

Perhaps this is what Jesus was talking about when he discusses with a young theologian about the meaning of life as: “To love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul, and with all your mind and all your strength…. And to love your neighbour as you love yourself.” (Mark 12:28-31)

Set in the 1980’s, this movie mirrors for us an unspoken, cultural anxiety of unreined, technological advances and power gone mad.
A classic speech echoes the danger of techno-abuse.

“How easy to believe in the common good, when that belief is rewarded by status, wealth and power.. How hard it is to believe in the common good when every fibre of my being tells me that the awesome forces that I have helped to create have been put into the hands of mad men!”

That which was intended for good, can be easily corrupted and be misused causing ultimate evil. Raising the disturbing question: “Does technological progress and scientific advance today threaten to over-run ethics today?”

The theme of meaning and purpose in life is hard to avoid in this movie.
Ecclesiastes Chapter 1 echoes this quest in: “All is vanity, meaningless, futile, and fleeting…”

The search for meaning in –
Luxuries- there is no relevance.
Power- there is no relevance.
Wealth- there is no relevance.
Status- there is no relevance.
So is anything relevant?
Ultimately, love and relationship is the only meaningful quest.

As with many sci-fi movies, a penultimate disaster looms, and a remedy must be found. Acknowledging the reality and history of the problem, a reasonable course of action is undertaken. (Spoiler alert: Yes the hero takes the selfless course of action to save the world.)
Sacrificial love motivates his ultimate act of redemption, posing the question: “Does redemption always require an act of sacrifice?”

Whether one views his act of sacrifice as being an act of triumph over potential disaster, or as a fatalistic reaction to hopelessness in a suicidal collision -having lost all else, remains open for conclusion.

out of the blue film review

stevetaylor — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 22:58:52 CDT

Film Review of OUT OF THE BLUE
Written by David Brokenshire and Stephen Brown

Out of the Blue, is a movie based on the true events of the mass murders committed by David Gray in the small town-ship of Aromoana outside Dunedin on the 13 November 1990.

Out of the Blue shows us how isolated our lives are and how one event can change our lives.

Out of the Blue shows us 3 themes of what kind of world the movie depicts.
Firstly is that ordinary people doing ordinary things, people just living their lives, with everyday ups and downs. We see blended families, children playing, families biking and fishing and people having bbq’s and drinking. There was life in Aromoana, shown by the dynamic camera shots which show life and movement.
Secondly was the darkness and evilness of David Gray’s killings, shown by the static camera angles on David Gray showing his life as one of sadness.
Finally was the peacefulness of the tranquil sea, which the filmmakers tried to use as the backstop to show the beauty of the environment.

Out of the Blue shows us what we are like as people. These include that often people refused to acknowledge that bad things can happen to us and therefore we are totally unprepared for when they do happen.
The second thing is, like the Gun Shop keeper, we only try to recognise the good in people. So when a David Gray comes along we fail to see the situation early.
The final thing that “Out of the Blue” showed us as people is when bad things happen we come out of our isolated lives and reach out to our neighbors e.g. talking to our neighbors when they noticed the fire, or the lady and the gentleman talking next to the phone while one lay there shot and they just wanted to make it seem normal.

“Out of The Blue” gives us an indication of what is wrong in the world and especially what is wrong with the human condition.
The movie shows signs of broken relationships with divorce and neighbors David Gray and Gary drifting apart, having being childhood mates. The movie also shows one community failed to accept the outsider, which if people got to know David Gray as a friend, tragedy may have been avoided.

Out of the Blue shows New Zealanders that we are not exempt from people committing mass murder and it only takes a small thing for people to crack and it causes us to look into our inner self e.g. policeman vomiting after saving the girls and David Gray looking at the mirror then wiping of all the camo paint before giving himself up. What did David Gray and the policeman see?

Out of the Blue raises many questions that are applicable to this small community and the wider human race. These question’s include: What does the community do for the David Grays of this world, do we reject them before we know them or do we accept them and try to help them?, Does the good of this movie (people helping each other) outweigh the evil that existed remembering 13 people lossed their life to this tragedy? The final question has to be raised do we do enough to reach people outside our own close in lives?

Worlds fastest Indian Film Review

stevetaylor — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 20:18:07 CDT

The World’s Fastest Indian

On the 13th of October, 2005, Invercargill rolled out their red carpet for the world premiere of “The World’s Fastest Indian.” The movie is based on the true story of local man, Burt Munro, whose love of speed is expressed in a dream of testing his classic 1920 Indian motorcycle on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA.

The movie starts with Burt making home-grown pistons in a concrete block shed in Invercargill and follows his journey through United States customs, to the speed-flats of Utah. Overcoming numerous obstacles, Burt sets a new land speed record. He would return to Bonneville nine times and his 1967 world record remains unbroken to this day.

The movie follows a somewhat predictable plot; good guy overcoming adversity through ingenuity. Yet the movie is brought to life in the character of Burt Munro (splendidly acted by Anthony Hopkins), the obstacles he overcomes and the larger than life characters he meets along the way. I confess to a tear in my eye as Burt rings Invercargill (collect of course) to announce his triumph.

“The World’s Fastest Indian” has a universal appeal as it explores the meaning of life. Facing old age and health problems, Burt wants to live for his dreams. “You love more in five minutes flat out than most people live in a life time,” he announces to his bank manager. The movie details an almost sacred experience as Burt arrives at his Holy Grail, the speed-flats of Utah. As Burt recites a list of previous
world speed champions, we hear a liturgy of the saints and catch a glimpse of the religiosity of those who live for the God of Speed. It provides a fascinating insight into a Kiwi indigenous spirituality, in which speed enhances the pursuit of the divine.

“The World’s Fastest Indian” is a uniquely Kiwi story. You know you are looking at a New Zealand movie when you see an original concrete block shed perched on a quarter acre in Invercargill and witness the acting debut of Tim Shadbolt. So what do we as Kiwi’s see when we look at ourselves in the cinematic mirror?

Burt Munro is a battler, stoic in the face of pain, who can perform miracles with no. 8 wire and a soldering iron. What he lacks in social graces he makes up for through his willingness to accept people at face value. In the cinematic mirror we catch a glimpse of the stereotypical Kiwi amalgam of Barry Crump and Man Alone.

So what might take the Kiwi viewer by surprise? Well, a discerning friend of mine noted that this was a feel good movie. Gone are the dark, foreboding images that haunt so much of New Zealand film. Instead we celebrate the success of down-under triumph. Does “The World’s Fastest Indian” showcase a maturing Kiwi film industry? Does it showcase a nation moving toward celebrating the narratives of our tall poppies?

Rev Dr Steve Taylor is Senior Pastor at Opawa Baptist Church and Lecturer in Gospel and Film at Bible College of New Zealand. He is the author of The Out of Bounds Church?(Zondervan, 2005) and writes regularly at www.emergentkiwi.org.nz. This film review is adapted from one originally written for New Zealand, Methodist Touchstone, November 2005 and reprinted online with their permission.)

Home

stevetaylor — Tue, 29 May 2007 21:08:55 CDT

Hi. This is a website run by Kiwi's who like film. What that means is that we watch Kiwi film and ask each other questions about the films we watch, questions like: In these films; "Where are we? Who are we? What is wrong? Is there a remedy? What time is it?"

Officially this is a project run out of a class called "Gospel and Film" as part of Bible College of New Zealand. The class runs every 2 years in Christchurch. Learning outcomes include
1. Demonstrate an appreciation of the key understandings and skills needed for reading and interpreting film,
2. Identify, analyse and respond in an informed and appropriately critical way to the spiritual and theological issues raised by selected contemporary film,
3. Elaborate some of the key characteristics of contemporary New Zealand culture as portrayed in New Zealand films and reflect on these from a Christian perspective,
4.. Identify ways in which film may be utilized as a point of engagement for the gospel within contemporary society.

So rather than just talk, we decided to do, by building a website and talking not just to ourselves, but to the world wide web.