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Eagle vs Shark (Director: Taika Waititi, New Zealand, 2007): I’d had my eye on this film since it played at Sundance and when I got the chance to see it at SXSW in the storied Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in downtown Austin, I didn’t hesitate.
I’d heard the film compared to Napoleon Dynamite, but without the condescension (and some would say, cruelty). For the most part, this is true. But Eagle vs Shark also comes across as unique in its own right, mainly due to the winning performance of Loren Horsley as Lily, who seems as steadfast and good-hearted as a heroine from a medieval fable. The film also makes sparing but effective use of stop-motion animation to add just the right amount of whimsy. The remote setting of rural New Zealand and the rarely-heard accents add to the quirky feel but don’t feel contrived. Instead, it’s comforting to know that there are geeks in every corner of the earth.
I left the theatre smiling and realized that I’d been doing it for practically the entire running time of the film. This is a gentle, tender-hearted romantic comedy that still packs some big laughs.
UPDATE: Just got the word from Alliance Atlantis that the film will open in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver on June 29 (the US limited release date is June 15) and it will go wide on July 13th.
Promo clip here
Official Film Site
(8/10)
Tagged as:
newzealand,
SXSW
Rain (New Zealand/USA, 2000, Christine Jeffs, director) was a beautifully shot first feature, set at a beachfront cottage in New Zealand. Lots of melancholy, but also strangely disturbing close ups foreshadowing tragedy: soapy dishes being washed, a man cutting the lawn in his bare feet. Sort of a coming of age story, very moving. 8/10.
Japanese Devils (Japan, 2001, Minoru Matsui, director) was almost three hours long, but compelling all the way through. This documentary features the confessions of 14 Japanese soldiers, detailing their atrocities against the Chinese in the war that Japan waged for most of the thirties and forties. At times hard to listen to, it was nonetheless an exercise in bravery for these men to speak out when the overwhelming majority of soldiers did not. A deeply difficult film to get made and shown in Japan. 8/10
Tape (USA, 2001, Richard Linklater, director) was another film that dealt with the issue of confessing our sins. Ethan Hawke and Robert Sean Leonard play two old high school friends reunited in a seedy hotel room ten years later. One character coerces the other to confess to a rape he committed in high school, then informs him he has taped their conversation. It gets even more complicated when Uma Thurman, the victim, shows up. Shot in six days on digital video, the medium is used brilliantly to reinforce the seediness and claustrophobia of the setting, as well as the characters’ unstable relationships. Adapted by Stephen Belber from his play. 8/10
Tagged as:
japan,
newzealand
