Film Review: Driveways (NZIFF 2020)
How well do we really know our family? The sibling we haven’t spent much time with in adulthood but who we think of as being the same person we knew as a child, how do we reconcile realising we don’t know much about them at all? Driveways opens to single mum Kathy (Hong Chau) and […]
Film Review: Tench (NZIFF 2020)
A controversial movie in that this is a sensitive portrait of a young man, Johnathan, who is physically attracted to pre-pubescent girls, and the battle he endures to keep this at bay, when a lonely ten-year-old girl moves in next door to him with her solo mum. Director: Patrice Toye Starring: Tijmen Govaerts, Julia Brown, […]
Film Review: Fritzi – A Revolutionary Tale (NZIFF 2020)
Set in East Germany in the summer of 1989, Fritzi is an animated family movie about twelve-year-old East German Fritzi, who says goodbye to best friend Sophie who is leaving for a holiday in Hungary. When Sophie does not return, or call, Fritzi begins a quest to find out where her friend is. In the […]
Film Review: The County (NZIFF 2020)
“It’s the Co-op that keeps the community alive, you should know that,” states one farmer to another as they square off under the umbrella of a harsh Icelandic sky. The County tells the story of one woman’s audacity to take on the powerful who hold the means of her financial survival in their ledgers, camouflaged […]
Film Review: State Funeral (NZIFF 2020)
An epic Iliad cinema experience at the passing of the most influential person of the twentieth century, Josph Stalin. All the glory but none of the horror. Director: Sergei Loznitza
Movie Review: This Town
This Town is the latest film by New Zealand writer and director David White, an absurdist mockumentary comedy set in a fictional small NZ town. It has Robyn Malcolm as Pam, an ex-cop, belting out potential evidence on her trusty dot matrix from her garage office. Director: David White Cast: David White, Robyn Malcolm, Rima Te Wiata
Film Review: Hong Kong Moments (NZIFF 2020)
Hong Kong Moments attempts to capture the mood of the city and the forces at play leading up to the large-scale demonstrations against the notorious Extradition Bill in 2019. Director Zhou Bing attempts and all-sides examination of the ongoing conflict – through the eyes of seven Hong Kong citizens. Director: Zhou Bing
Film Review: Identifying Features (NZIFF 2020)
The story of missing teens and adults in Mexico, has been festering for years, as they disappear somewhere along the way, trying to cross the border to the promised land of the USA. In Identifying Features, a mother whose teenage son is missing after boarding a bus to a border town, undertakes a trip into […]
Film Review: 1982 (NZIFF 2020)
Director Oualid Mouness weaves a well-crafted story with 1982, drawing excellent performances from its young cast. Set on the outskirts of Beirut, their lives and the surrounding countryside seem so peaceful and predictable. But as civil war erupts in the world around them, adolescence further topples their world with perils of its own. Director: Oualid […]
Mika X’s “GURL” wins Audience Choice for Ngā Whanaunga Māori Pasifika Shorts (NZIFF 2020)
Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival has announced the winners of the Audience Choice awards for New Zealand’s Best and Ngā Whanaunga Māori Pasifika Shorts. The award winners were announced during the Live Online Closing Event. The winner of the Ngā Whanaunga CineMāori Audience Award is Gurl. Director Mika X receives the $1,000 cash […]
Film Review: Girl on the Bridge (NZIFF 2020)
“They’re your friends, they’re your family, they’re your colleagues, they’re your neighbours,” states Jazz Thornton, referring to those suffering to a point in which they have given up on life. The Girl on the Bridge, a NZ documentary directed by Leanne Pooley, follows Jazz as she puts together a web series inspired by the story […]
Film Review: Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band (NZIFF 2020)
Well, they might have once been brothers, but they ended up as warriors. Anyone who knows the basic details of the history of The Band, knows that a film about them, based on one bandmember’s book, is going to wind up being somewhat one-sided. In this case, it’s Robbie Robertson’s singular take on things. Director: […]
Movie Review: Relic (NZIFF 2020)
Relic is often as infuriating as it is terrifying, with exquisite set pieces and visuals flattened by inconsistency and an original, horrifying story left hanging in the land of potential through a weak, forgettable script.
13th Floor Interview: Keegan Allen Star of Follow Me
One post-Covid film that is generating a heap of attention is the horror/thriller Follow Me. Actor Keegan Allen (Pretty Little Liars) plays vlogger/influencer, Cole Turner, who is keen on taking his antics to the edge. He and his crew head to Moscow to see what they can drum up for their Escape Real Life vlog […]
Film Review: Corpus Christi (NZIFF)
Based on a true story, Corpus Christi is a Dostoyevskian tale of redemption filmed in a bleak realist style, at a careful pace but with a well-crafted build-up of suspense and anxiety as the movie progresses. Director: Jan Komasa Writer: Mateusz Pacewicz Starring: Bartosz Bielenia
Film Review: Paradise Drifters (NZIFF)
Paradise Drifters is a study of the physical and psychological impacts of homelessness on youth. Written and directed by Mees Peijnenburg, this Dutch film follows three such young adults as they cross paths.
Film Review: Vivos (NZIFF)
A mother looks out into the cornfields surrounding her home, the image of both strength and vulnerability, talking about the horrific grief that comes with losing a son during a student prank – without knowing what happened to him. Ai Weiwei, a contemporary artist and activist, directs Vivos, a visually stunning examination of how a […]
Film Review: Dinner in America (NZIFF)
A punk rock comedy drama, Dinner in America‘s cassettes, tape decks, combat boots and bomber jackets, drop us somewhere in the late 80s, with a couple of misfits, struggling to find their place in the world.
Film Review: Britt-Marie Was Here
Britt-Marie Was Here (Swedish: Britt-Marie var här) is a charming, pleasant Swedish drama film based on Fredrik Backman‘s 2014 novel of the same name, filled with moving and authentic performances throughout its 98-minute runtime. Dir: Tuva Novotny Starring: Pernilla August, Peter Haber, Anders Mossling, Malin Levanon, Vera Vitali, Olle Sarri
Film Review: The Truth (NZIFF)
The Truth seems to be a subject of some concern this Film Festival. After all, we’ve had the True History of The Kelly Gang, which wasn’t. And now, The Truth, is the story of a veteran actress (played by the incandescent Catherine Deneuve) who has just published her memoir, which is more fiction than fact.