The Hopes & Dreams of Gazza Snell

An exceptional story is one that captures the audience from the start."The Hopes and Dreams of Gazza Snell" breaks into full-speed action and within minutes our hearts are pounding and we are left gasping for breath. It is a classic suburban kiwi drama dealing with deep personal issues,unfulfilled dreams,marriage crisis and most importantly family love. Highlights for me were the heartfelt scenes between father and son, the humorous bill-board scene and the beautiful and clever symbolism in the shots of the boys swimming in the water tank. This film will capture your heart and leave you with something to think about for days. Congratualtions!

I think this is a great New Zealand offering. It's a small slice of suburban life which seems perfectly at ease on the big screen.

Slick film making, a tight script, great acting, and a gripping story means you'll laugh and cry as you go on a journey that is set in suburban Howick.

It's a story about ordinary lives that become extraordinary as we get caught up in their drama. A father learns a hard lesson when his youngest son is hurt in a go-karting accident and the eldest son Marc deals with some serious guilt because he believes he's responsible for the accident.

It's a classic case of a dad wanting success for his sons but for Gazza it comes at a cost. I'm not going to spoil the story and tell you too much but I am going to recommend that you get along and see it for yourselves.

Robyn Malcolm (Outrageous Fortune) and Williams McInnes (Look Both Ways)are perfectly cast. The striking Josh McKenzie who plays eldest son Marc has potential Hollywood heartthrob written all over him. Auckland Art Director Phil Ivey (In My Father's Den, Lord of the Rings)has caught the nuances of the suburban setting aptly and the race-track scenes make for seat-of-your-pants action. One scene that stands out in my mind is when Marc takes his go-kart out onto the mean streets of Howick by night. It reminded me of hooning in Mum's car (something Howickites will relate to) only much louder and faster.

If you like stories about real characters reacting to plausible life drama you'll enjoy this film. Brendan has an immediate and captivating film-making style. This may be a result of his years working as a commercial director in New York.

I hope he gets to make a lot more films about stories like this. They're real and they're about people like us. Served up with that Donovan vision makes for interesting and entertaining cinema.

While many films around are trying to be big and fantastical (and there is nothing wrong with that), this film focuses on the importance of relationships, family and love, and the most important message of all – protect and love those closest to you.

While the film kicks off introducing a man that smothers his sons with expectation and who has a seemingly endless reserve of optimism, we quickly begin to see ordinary lives come apart at the seems.

William McInnes plays the title role of Gazza Snell, and is certainly scruffier than the average leading man, but tucked in between all the hurt and the jokes, the character development and the across-the-board terrific performances show an unexpectedly sharp look at the survival instincts of a working-class family.

Robyn Malcolm performance is wonderful and unexpected as the long- suffering wife whose often panicked face shows you what a dreamer without a dream looks like.

The elder son's performance is something to be noted, and the part of the film I enjoyed most was the relationship he forms with a local Chinese girl. This relationship added a whole other element to the film and shows that there is something beautiful about a relationship that has its beginning at the crossroads of hope and despair

Though this story of Gazza, tucked behind the wheel while the rest of the family pushes, might seem like an unlikely vehicle for transformation this film really is a touching human drama, a tale about genuine faith, and one that gripped me to the very end.

Fantastic, compelling, funny, captivating movie. Congrats on an excellent script which never loses the viewer for a moment. Great acting/directing. I grew up in Howick and this film captures the essence of the East Auckland suburb... the suburban dreams, the ignorant racism, the generational clashes and the price of ego. Highlights: the swimming pool scene, the gorgeous brothers who are brothers in real life, the quirky way in which the older brother finds understanding from someone whose culture and background are so different to his, Robyn Malcolm who is so completely believable and engaging as Gazza's long-suffering wife.... Fantastically entertaining movie that stayed with me for days after. Thoroughly recommended.

A touching story that explores the effects of one man's obsession to see his kids excel in something he didn't quite achieve himself. A classic case of a father living vicariously through his sons exploits on the cart racing track.

The story races into life with an intense scene of high speed carting that will set the blood pumping in anyone in the audience with a pulse. The story enters a sobering state when one of the sons enters a coma after a dramatic crash. Gazza is forced to confront both his own priorities and those of his family as they wrestle with the prospect of their son and brother possibly not sharing their lives any longer.

The plot is well assembled, the script not at all forced or contrived. The characters are highly believable and the story also explores some of the cosmopolitan melding that is under way in modern New Zealand.

All told a great film, exhilarating with poignant moments. Highly recommended.