13th Floor/New Zealand International Film Festival Roundup
On the eve of the World premiere of Life In One Chord, The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda shares his thoughts on that and other highlights from the NZIFF.
Life In One Chord
If you’re anywhere near Dunedin tonight, you’d be wise to snap up a ticket to the World Premiere of Life In One Chord, Margaret Gordon’s documentary about Shayne Carter (Straitjacket Fits/Dimmer) based on his memoir, Dead People Have Known.
Shayne is a Dunedin native and he is as much a part of the famed “Dunedin Sound” as contemporaries such as The Bats, The Verlaines and The Chills.
For me, what makes this film intriguing is the fact that Carter, or at least his public personae, is one who is aloof, moody, complicated and very cool.
A perfect subject for a documentary…if done right.
Fortunately, director Margaret Gordon has the right stuff and delves into, not only the man’s music, but his mystic.
His story is told with archival footage, current and older interview with Shayne and just about everyone who knows him.
TV presenter Carol Hirschfeld is on board to read segments from Carter’s book that are perhaps to personal for Shayne to say out loud.
And even if you think you know all there is to know about Shayne and his music, you might want to think again. I myself, loved the revelation about Carter special relationship to Chris Knox.
Gordon has put together a solid, no-nonsense portrait of an artist and a human who deserves nothing less.
Click here to watch The 13th Floor interview with Margaret Gordon
Anchor Me – The Don McGlashan Story
The other New Zealand musical icon getting the doco-treatment is Don McGlashan. The former Muttonbird/Blam Blam Blam/Front Lawn guy is a very different person to Shayne Carter and fittingly, he get a very different film.
Director Shirley Horrocks chooses (wisely) to focus on the music, rather than the man. McGlashan himself is on-board to tell his story as are his bandmates, family and friends.
Mining the same time-period and music scene as Life In One Chord, McGlashan was more a prodigy than a punk although he and Shayne Carter’s paths crossed many times.
Horrocks tells the story with few …. and …. Her best piece of filmmaking comes when the subject of Andy comes up…that’s the Front Lawn song based of Don’s older brother. It’s a powerful moment, one that makes viewing this film worthwhile all on its own.
Of course there are plenty of other reasons….all those songs…all that talent…and all that good will. My only complaint is that the song, Anchor Me, seemed to get barely a mention in a film that bares its name.
Workmates
Moving away from music and on to theatre is another New Zealand film, Workmates.
Directed by Curtis Vowell (Fantail) and written by his partner Sophie Henderson…this could easily have been one of those, “it’s a good film for a New Zealand indie” that often comes up.
But thanks, largely in part to Sophie Henderson’s performance as Lucy, Workmates transcends its trappings and becomes one of the most charming films I’ve seen in a long while.
The premise…Lucy and Tom (Matt Whelan) are co-managers of the Crystal Ballroom, a struggling (is there any other kind) theatre ‘personified’ here by Auckland’s Basement Theatre.
Although Tom is married to Nina (Zoe Robins), he and Lucy seem to have a special bond.
The plot isn’t the most riveting and the direction is fine, but it’s the performances and the script that take this up a level, particularly that of Sophie Henderson.
I saw the World Premiere at The Civic and the love, passion and tears that came from the cast and crew, speaking at the event, reflected just how special this film turned out to be. By the end you’d have to have a heart of stone not to be touched by Workmates.
Eddington
Now, Eddington is a horse of a different colour, entirely.
Charming? No! Confounding? Yes!
Directed by Ari Aster (Beau Is Afraid/ Midsommar), Eddington is a big budget ($25m), high-profile American production starring Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal and Emma Stone.
It’s a modern-day Western set in the small town of Eddington, New Mexico just post-COVID…so mid-2020.
The script pit the town’s sheriff (Phoenix) against the mayor (Pascal) as they both run for the mayor’s job.
But post-pandemic paranoia has taken over this sleepy town and things soon turn dark…very dark. But not after some humour and some…well, I don’t know what.
After 2 hours and 48 minutes I left the cinema in a daze…not sure what I had just witnessed. Was this a keen insight on the state of The States or just a hot mess of a film? Probably a bit of both. Joaquin is…Joaquin and Emma Stone is totally wasted.
I’m not sorry I saw Eddington, but I can’t say I’d recommend it to everyone.
The NZIFF continues through September 10th with many films then heading out to cinemas for general release.
Click here for tickets and showtimes…and support your local filmmaker!
Click here to read these other 13th Floor NZIFF film Reviews:
One To One: John & Yoko and The Weed Eaters
