Rafiki

Your dad and my dad are rivals, is it Okay for us to be friends? This is the first question confronting Kena and Ziki in Rafiki. Their fathers are rival candidates in the upcoming election. But the initial attraction between the skateboard riding, soccer playing Kena and Ziki with her huge earrings and pink and blue dreds, moves onto kissing. Homosexuality is illegal in Kenya and the local pastor regularly preaches against it, so coming out as a lesbian is dangerous. But the two girls can't keep away from each other.

Rafiki is a simple story set in a colourful Nairobi suburb. The passion the two girls have for each other is communicated by their recklessness. The charm of the film is not only stubbornness of Kena contrasting with the flirty Ziki but also the colourful exotic setting (to non-Africans) but also the directness and emotional expressiveness of the dialogue. I was left with slight disappointment at the end at how little plot there was, a feeling of is-that-all-there-is? But remember that this is an issue film which wants to communicate is message in a positive feel-good way rather than a complex drama.

The film is adapted from a Ugandan short story and has been banned in Kenya.

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Ian's rating 3.5/5 Anne's rating 3/5

Keep the Change

How do people learn how to interact with other people? Is it by imitation and seeing what works, and gradually getting better at picking the right thing to do? Is it by applying a process of logic in every situation? Most of us do it so naturally that we forget that we had to learn how at some point in our lives. Sometimes we feel like we were born knowing this stuff. Social interaction is such an intrinsic part of being human that people who have trouble with social interactions seem so alien.

In Keep the Change, David is a young autistic man who tries very hard to seem cool with his endless supply of jokes. He is supported by his rich parents but runs foul of the law by telling a pig joke to a New York policeman. The judge orders him to join an autism support group. He is utterly contemptuous of the weirdos. But finds himself paired up with the extrovertive Sarah who tells him that she finds him "really smoking hot, and so sexy".

With a cast of non-professional autistic actors (I hope they did get paid!), Keep the Change concentrates more on how these autistic people get on with each other rather than how they interact with non-weirdos. Which probably make this a more satisfying film.

It also shows New York as an onion. A little group of autistic people within the Jewish community, which, while big enough to have its own class hierarchy, is itself is a small group within the metropolis. All these groups can conduct their lives with little contact with the millions of other New Yorkers.

The film touches on the dangers of telling people that they are better than they really are and also the dangers of being honest with people who have delusions about themselves and their abilities, but it doesn't provide a solution to either issue.

And for those of us who do find dealling with other people a bit challenging from time to time, it reminds us that we can still have a life.

Did I tell you the story about the Jew who wanted a divorce because his wife joined the Police?

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Ian's rating 3/5

In the Aisles

In the Aisles is a gentle, slow-moving love story set in an East German supermarket. It's much larger and more dimly lit than we're used to in New Zealand and fork-lifts and power jacks (which feature prominently in the story) roam the aisles along with the customers.

Christian is a new recruit, and assigned to work in beverages with Bruno, who might be twice his age. Keeping the customer-level shelves stocked is a key element of the job and so is retrieving pallets of good from the stacks above the shelves (think Pak'n'Save on steroids) and attaining competence with the departmental forklift is key.

Christian falls in love with Marian, who works in sweet goods and the romance unfolds slowly along with the minutiae of Christian's days at work. Taking fifteen (which equates to taking a break) with Bruno and sometimes with Marian provides opportunity for the narrative to develop.

 In the Aisles is about the redemptive power of work, and how powerful the support of your co-workers can be. Everyone who works at the supermarket is tolerant, slow to judge, happy to help  and kind. There's really only one character who's a figure of authority, (although presumably there's a whole layer of management from "upstairs" that we never meet) and he is a guy who believes everyone is allowed to stuff up at least once.I think I'm making the film sound unfashionably Polly-anna-ish but it doesn't come across that way. It certainly emphasizes that it's "not all about you". You can provide support to a co-worker even if you're at a low point in your own life.

In the Aisles has likeable characters, excellent music and great visuals and is worthy of your viewing time, unless you're in an impatient frame of mind

Anne's rating 3.5/5

Dina

Dina is a love story. It features Dina and Scott, who both have Autism Spectrum disorder and are engaged to be married. They met at a support group for "neurologically diverse adults". They have a loving and supportive relationship but Scott has issues with physical affection. Dina is keen for their marriage to involve sex and the film is documents the period leading up to their wedding in which she attempts to make that likely.

Refreshingly (and perhaps slightly surprising for people with a condition that can inhibit communication) is how articulate Scott and Dina are. They describe their disabilities fluently and acknowledge the problem they're trying to solve.

Also refreshing is that the America that Dina and Scott inhabit isn't the one we see on most American TV programmes. They don't live in large house with a lawn and they don't drive an SUV. Dina lives in an upper storey apartment in a building on the corner of busy intersection. She and Scott travel on public transport .  Dina is on a disability benefit and Scott works at Walmart and lives with his parents in a home that wouldn't be out of place on a TV programme about hoarding. Their wedding takes place in a diner which is still open for other business.

You can't help but compare Dina to the Big Bang Theory, which has Amy and Sheldon's relationship as one of its main plot lines. They both have PhDs and work at Caltech, and Sheldon has major issues with physical intimacy. Amy wants a full-on sexual relationship, and both she and Sheldon are very articulate.

Watching the Big Bang Theory is probably more entertaining but watching Dina is (inevitably) more realistic.  The film shows the humour in Dina and Scott's situation without being patronising, or providing a fairy-tale ending.

Anne's rating 2.5/5

Tanna

Our last film of the 2016 film festival, Tanna was one of the best. It's a Romeo and Juliet style love story filmed on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu. Tanna is famous for its live volcano, Mount Yasur, and for still having some villages where the traditional lifestyle is practised. The inhabitants are self-sufficient, live in huts and  women still wear grass skirts and the men just penis sheaths.


In the village of Yakel, our Juliet is an attractive teenager named Wawa. Dain is our Romeo. Their romance is mostly in secret, although it doesn't escape the notice of Wawa's little sister Selin  Wawa is just coming of age, and is expected to marry someone of her parent's choosing, although she maintains she wats to marry someone she loves. The villagers have a long-running feud with a neighbouring tribe,the Imedin. Dain's parents were killed by Imedin many years before. In the film, Dain's grandfather (the vlllage shaman) is attacked by the Imedin because they think he made their crops fail. Dain itches for for revenge.

Since inter-tribal relations are at an all-time low and killing and violence are making everyone's life difficult, a council meeting is scheduled  Pigs are exchanged and dialogue takes place. Imagine Dain's dismay when Wawa is offered as a bride to the Imedin and they accept. The Imedin leave the meeting, to return tomorrow to collect the bride.

Unable to contemplate a separate future, Dain and Wawa escape overnight. Like Romeo and Juliet, they enjoy a brief period together while they are pursued both by Wawa's family (who eventually catch up with them) and the Imedin,. Seemingly persuaded to comply with the tribes' wishes they commit mutual suicide by eating poisonous mushrooms while camped out on Mount Yasur,

Despite the tragic ending, this film is so worth watching A convincing romance is always heart-warming and Wawa and Dain's enthusiasm for each other's company is endearing. A glimpse into a lifestyle completely different to our own is fascinating - it seems a very physical existence and the characters raced through the forest and up the volcano at the  drop of a hat, seemingly without raising a sweat. The children were a  particular pleasure to watch as they  played games in the forest and in the waterhole and they seemed happy, carefree and cute.

Selin

Selin is a delight and her parents struggle to get her to do what she's told, The scenery is lovely and was nostalgic for us since we've been to Tanna, climbed Mount Yasur and been to a kastom village. Take a break from your life and experience what it's like to be on Tanna - we recommend it.

Anne's rating 4.5/5 Ian's rating 3.5/5

Chronesthesia

The urge to support the underdog and the home product can lend a rose tint to reviewing a Wellington zero budget film. Hayden Weal worked with a small cast (taking the lead role himself) and smaller crew; and makes his audience work a little harder than most directors to follow half a dozen story threads and some time travelling. But it is worth the effort as he brings all the story threads together and binds them into a satisfactory conclusion.

Initially the story feels like a directionless mess, rather like its slacker protagonist's life. But gradually the various story elements come together as Dan starts to take control. The supporting cast is divided into those that act like they exist to further the plot and those that act like bystanders that Dan has some how irritated. This adds a degree of realism often missing from other films.

Dan lives a quiet life. He works making coffee in a cafe and spends the rest of the day alone at home or running the streets of Wellington while listening to music on his headphones. Then one morning he wakes to find a confusing message written on the inside of his bedroom window. This leads him out of the rut his life has become and he discovers other people who are living lives that resemble his in one way or another. He sets out on a mission of sorts and he learns that messing with other people's lives has good and bad consequences.

Chronesthesia is, more or less, the idea that some people can remember the future (a sort of mental time travel).

Compared with other Wellington made films this one is well acted, tells a slightly unusual but simple story in an interesting way with (mostly) believable characters.  Wellingtonians can try to identify all the locations in this almost entirely outdoor film.  I hope to see it come back after the Film Festival as it deserves a similar audience to What We Do In the Shadows.

Ian's rating 4/5 Anne's rating 4/5

Love is Strange

I always find movies set in Manhattan a refreshing change from movies set in the rest of the US, which almost always involve people living in large fenceless two-storey  homes set well back from the leafy streets they're in, with some large shiny vehicles parked in the driveway. In Manhattan space is at a premium, so people live in apartments. That lack of space is a major driver of the narrative in Love is Strange.

The protagonists of Love is Strange are a gay couple ( Beplayed by John Lithgow and Alfred Molina) who have been together almost forty years .It's hard not to think of John Lithgow as Dick Solomon from Third Rock from the Sun and he maintains that larger than life presence in this film. As his husband,  Alfred Molina provides a low-key contrast.  Ben (John Lithgow) is retired and George teaches music at a catholic school, and has some private pupils. When he's fired from his school job they can't afford the mortgage on their apartment, so are forced to bunk down (separately) with relatives. The movie examines the effect that this has on their relationship with each other and with their relatives. It's gently humourous and an easy watch.

Anne's Rating 3/5

Giselle

Having meant to go and see the New Zealand Ballet perform Giselle when it was staged last year and somehow missing it, an opportunity to see the performance on screen instead seemed worth seizing. And the screen being the big one at the Embassy theatre made it even better. There was definitely a sense of occasion - the opening music gave me goosebumps.

The ballet has a somewhat bizarre plot which you can read about here. Suffice to say it's a rather tragic love story with the second act taking place at night which makes it very atmospheric.  Giselle is played by Gillian Murphy (a principal with American Ballet) and Qi Huan, a Chinese-born member of the New Zealand ballet, plays Albrecht. The performance is a  particularly good one and the chemistry between the two leads is  palpable.


While this is a film of a performance with a better view than you'd get if you were in the theatre, you also get some "special features" - like watching the DVD rather than going to cinema. We see Gillian and Qi rehearsing the second act pas-de-deux in the studio in plain clothes which allows you  to see that the chemistry isn't restricted to stage performances and that the dancing is just as awesome without the costumes, the scenery and the rest of the cast. We also see them separately in New York and Shanghai, and then together in the Catskill Mountains near in New York. If you thought redheads shouldn't wear red, you should see this film! Unlike many of the special features on a DVD,  the ones in this film really add to the experience of watching the film, and make you conscious of how good a job principals do of portraying a love story.

The costumes and scenery are both beautiful and atmospheric. The dancing is astounding at times- and not just by the two principals. As an experience it's thoroughly rewarding and if you don't feel like the whole film, do watch the trailer which gives you a bit of everything, including the red dress.

Anne's rating 4/5.

Much Ado About Nothing

Last year I complained that Joss Whedon had short changed Amy Acker in The Cabin in the Woods. This year he has made it up to her by giving her the role of Beatrice in his Much Ado About Nothing. She is more convincing with her jibes about love and about Benedick than he is in return. But Alexis Denisof (Wesley Wyndam-Pryce from Buffy and Angel) has the edge over her when it comes to being silly, especially the physically comedy in the hiding scene.

Shakespeare often puts in pantomime comedy scenes with buffoon characters. Chief buffoon in Much Ado About Nothing is Nathan Fillion as Dogberry (head of the night watch) who steals all the scenes he's in. It is a pity Shakespeare made the part of Don John (the Bastard Prince) is so small because cupcake thieving Sean Maher looks perfect as the evil schemer with Riki Lindhome, showing plenty of leg, as Conrade his sulky girlfriend.

The story goes that Joss Whedon likes to host play reading evenings for his actor friends. So as a wedding anniversary gift to himself he decided to one step further and film Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing in his house, using his actor friends on the cheap. While the script is straight up Shakespeare, the setting is a Californian house party with the men in suits and the music provided by Ipods.


Initially the modern setting makes Shakespeare's language sound alien, but you quickly get used to it and find the familiar setting make it easier to understand what he was trying to say. I can see this film being used to make Much Ado About Nothing more understandable to today's school kids. Though Dogberry and his fellow watchmen seem over the top in a modern setting. There are minor changes to Shakespeare's original script, Antonio has been dropped and Conrad is now a woman.

On the other hand I don't understand the reasons for filming in black and white.

Trailer

Ian's rating 3.5/5

Romeo and Juliet: A Love Song

Like the time we went to the Wellington Premiere of How to Meet Girls from a Distance, last Friday  I felt like I was one of the few people in the cinema who had actually paid for their ticket. How to Meet Girls was at a packed out Paramount Theatre, whereas Romeo and Juliet was playing to a very empty Embassy. It seems very sad that in a city that prides itself on being a cultural capital hardly anyone turned out to watch a (local) new take on a Shakespeare play. Especially when Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing this coming Friday night is already sold out. I am worried that Romeo and Juliet: A Love Song may sink without trace, which would be a pity.

This film is a musical (Rock Opera) version  of Romeo and Juliet, set in the Waipu Cove camping ground  and immediate environs. The flavour is bogan/downmarket Outrageous Fortune - Juliet's Mother makes Cheryl West look positively classy. There are caravans, V8s, racing along the beach and lots of drinking.
The two leads are beautiful teenagers, as they should be. There are 2 separate casts - the people you see in the film are not the ones whose voices you hear in the soundtrack. I thought, listening to it, that there were only a very few singers - Lord Montague and Lord Capulet sounded like they were being sung by the same person - but I see from the credits that this was not the case. It's a pity that the voices didn't sound as unique as the actors looked.

This film was beautiful to look at and enjoyable to listen to. There's effort involved , of course - making sure you've heard what's being sung, processing Shakespeare's language, appreciating the rhymes, and the tune and having some attention left to look at the picture. And then there's maintaining the detachment to appreciate the humour - this is a comic take on the tragic love story.

I'd like to watch the movie again, but before I did that I'd like to listen to the soundtrack a couple of times I believe the soundtrack was where it all started - this musical version of one of the world's most famous plays was written well before the composers thought of getting a film made. From listening to the Q & A with the director after the film it seems that the composers have big dreams, and that the film is just the first step in their musical taking the world by storm.  And that's where I start to get worried. Who are the people who are going to be flocking to this movie? Is it too much like hard work to watch it? Can the world relate to a kiwi camping ground? Perhaps I'm over-thinking it - after all Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote a hugely successful musical based on TS Eliot poems about cats. Romeo and Juliet: a love story is way cooler.

Anne's rating 3/5

Omar

Day two of the festival took me from Saudi Arabia to the West Bank.

Omar, Tarek and Amjad live in the West Bank. Omar is a baker, and he's in love with Tarek's sister Nadja. So far, so ordinary - apart from the feats of athleticism that Omar indulges in to get over the Israeli's security wall to visit his friends. The three men organise the night time shooting of an Israeli soldier -Tarek masterminds,  Omar drives and Amjad shoots. This is where things get less ordinary -when undercover agents come after them, it's Omar that gets caught, tortured and imprisoned. To get out of prison, he undertakes to act as an informant but manages to avoid revealing that Amjad was the assassin. An incredible series of double crosses follows and when the credits roll, the jaws of entire audience were on the floor - not unlike the director's previous film Paradise Now which also takes place in the West Bank. The motivation of the main characters in Paradise Now was religious which contrasts with Omar's more political theme.

Omar and Nadja are beautiful to look at and their habit of writing each other love letters to read when they're apart is completely endearing. In an environment that seems crowded and under constant  surveillance this form of communication seems intensely private.We can't help but be deeply affected by their story

Talking about his film, director Hani Abu-Assad says "At the time I was interested in love stories, particularly tragic love stories, and political thrillers, and I wanted to see if these two genres could merge ". This film is evidence that  they can, and that the merger is totally successful. . The love story is more tragic than Romeo and Juliet's, and the chase scenes would do the Bourne Conspiracy credit. As the characters hurtle through narrow alleys and vault walls, the claustrophobic nature of the West Bank is emphasized. Underlying the whole film is Israel's iron grip on the Palestinian people - it's easy to see which side has the upper hand.

The director says "my job is to let the audience in an entertaining way live in a very difficult situation" . He did his job and you will be more than entertained. Don't miss this one.

Anne's rating 5/5 Ian's rating 5/5

Moonrise Kingdom

You could classify Moonrise Kingdom as a romantic comedy but perhaps love story is a more accurate description. It certainly has story-book elements like an over-the-top narrator who is separate to the action and fancifully dressed, and a heroine who lives in a house whose rooms don't seem to have doors, like a doll-house.

Suzy and Sam

This is a love-story between twelve-year-olds. He (Sam) is a bespectacled state ward who's attending a scout summer camp on an island in New England. She (Suzy) is the slightly difficult oldest daughter of unusual parents who reside on the island in the multi-storey dollhouse. Having hatched a plan by mail (this story is set in 1965), they run away , which could alternatively be described as going camping together without permission. He brings a backpack containing sensible stuff like cookware and a tent and she brings her pet cat,   a portable record player and a suitcase containing half a dozen books.

They are pursued by the scout troop and the first time they're discovered there's a battle involving bows and arrows and scissors and they escape. The second time they're camping on the beach and the search party includes Suzy's parents, the island's only cop  and the scout master, all of whom are larger than life characters. In one of my favourite scenes, one of the adult lifts the tent and 2 young people in their underwear are revealed to the adults and an entire scout troop.

As a result of Sam's misdemeanours, his foster parents refuse to have him back which means the naughty boys home is probably the next destination for him and Suzy is taken home in disgrace. Luckily, this is not the end. The Scout troop comes to the rescue and reunites the couple and a mad-cap day ensues with a wedding, a lightning strike, a big storm, and a lady from Social Services arriving on the island. Like any good story it all turns out well in the end, but you'll have to go and watch to see how that pans out.

There's lots to like in this film. All the actors (adults and children) are great, and endearing for the most part. Suzy's parents often communicate by megaphone since they're often on different floors. Sam and Suzy don't fight. The scout master wakes up one morning to find ALL  his scouts missing. Sam and Suzy dance on the beach in their undies. It looks pretty and since all the action takes place over a couple of days it's fast-paced. And it's novel - when was the last time you saw a love story between twelve-year-olds?

Anne's rating 4/5 Ian's rating 4/5

Love Story

Love Story is a movie about making a movie. New Zealand film maker Florian Habicht won an Arts Foundation Residency to New York in 2009/10 and while he was there he decided to make a movie. He organised a couple of friends to help shoot and edit it before he had decided what it was to be and ended up making it up as he went along. When he was short of ideas he asked random New Yorkers for advice and he also consulted routinely with his Father on Skype - filming all these encounters and making them part of the movie. These encounters add charm and novelty.

The central story stars Florian himself and he's a pretty amazing character. He bears more than a passing resemblance to a flamingo, being tall and thin with a penchant for wearing pink jeans. He has a kind of sheepish openness which is moderately endearing and certainly gets impressive results in terms of contributions from the people he meets. The encounter with the woman in the cab is one of the most incredible in terms of talking round an initially hostile participant.

Florian spots a striking woman (Masha) on the subway who is carrying a piece of cake and he decides she should star in his movie which will be a love story. So he tracks her down and persuades her to participate. She's as tall and thin as he is, and has a beautiful face. The way they look together is one of the many ways this film appeals visually.

Their love story takes place on the streets of New York and in Florian's tiny apartment. At different times both Florian and Masha appear in his gray and black stripy long johns which is pretty unforgettable, but not as unforgettable as Masha eating breakfast cereal out of the dent in Florian's sternum.

Love story is quirky, original and entertaining. The key to absolutely loving it would be to be completely entranced with Florian and to be convinced that Masha was completely entranced. At the other end of the scale, there's a distinct possibility you could find Florian and his happy-go-lucky approach totally irritating and so as a result you'd probably hate the movie.

I'm between the the two extremes. I can't help but admire someone who has the guts to put their personality, their physique and their film project out on such public display. It helps that he's not hopelessly arrogant. A minor gripe is that the love story itself seems a little contrived. But there's a big bouquet for it looking like it was a lot of fun.

Anne's rating 3.5/5

Romantics Anonymous

At last! The planets align (or at least our film schedules do) and Ian and I manage to go to the same movie at the same time. Romantics Anonymous (think alcoholics anonymous for people with emotional and/or romantic issues which hinder them functioning well in society) is a love story between two such individuals, Angelique and Jean-Rene.

Angelique is generally nervous and has a tendency to faint when under scrutiny, particularly when she's praised. Jean-Rene is pathologically terrified of women and attempts to cover this up by being brusque. Angelique applies for a job at Jean-Rene's hand-made chocolate factory - she thinks its a chocolate-maker's job (since that's what she does) but in fact the job is for a sales rep. When you see how short the interview is, you can grasp how this misunderstanding gets perpetuated.

Anyhow, spurred on by his shrink, Jean-Rene asks Angelique out for dinner. Their date borders on the excruciating to watch, but is very funny. Undeterred by the disaster, Angelique continues to turn up to work trying to sell not-very-good chocolate to local businesses.

She brings the company back from the brink of financial ruin by suggesting and helping create a new line of chocolates and of course she and Jean-Rene manage to get it together eventually, united by a love of good chocolate and recognising in the other a soul as peculiar as their own. The fact that you're pretty sure there will be a happy ending doesn't detract at all from this film.

If you're looking for a charming, short (80 minutes), escapist and funny film to brighten your day, then Romantics anonymous is a good choice.

Anne's rating 4/5 Ian's rating 4/5

Weekend

Weekend is a gay romance which takes place over the course of three days. Russell, a quiet and tidy swimming pool life guard meets Glen, who is off to the USA to study, in a gay bar. Despite Russell thinking Glen is out of his league, they end up having sex at Russell's flat.

In the morning, over cups of coffee in bed, Glen indulges his habit of interviewing the person he's just had sex with about how it went and what they were thinking, recording the conversation on a small dictaphone. He confesses to sharing the recordings with his female flatmate. And so Russell and Glen get to know each other better.

Watching this process is really the guts of the movie, and it's done with some charm. It turns out Russell likes to keep a record of sexual encounters too - he has a diary on his computer, and he reads it to Glen. They talk about coming out, about Russell being a foster child, about public displays of affection and their attitudes to goodbyes. There's drinking, drug taking and more sex, but, crucially, more talking. So, when 4 o'clock on Sunday afternoon arrives and Glen has to catch a train as the first stage of traveling to the USA, Russell achieves a personal breakthrough by publicly kissing him goodbye at the station and we feel a potentially great relationship has been formed.

Visually, I found the grainy appearance of this film quite annoying. Perhaps it was supposed to underline the slightly gritty nature of the environment - Russell's flat is in an ugly high rise block in Nottingham. Whatever its purpose, eventually I forgot about it. In contrast, the two leads were visually appealing and the dialogue was great. I don't think this is a film to set the world alight, but it was absorbing and well-acted. I liked how what started as a one-night stand blossomed into something more meaningful and fulfilling, even it was doomed by circumstance not to last.

Anne's rating 3/5.