The Man Who Lost His Head

In the tradition of comedy-dramas, where the big city boy is transformed by the charm and depth of connection experienced in a small town, this movie is delightfully and deceptively clever entertainment, that emulates Local Hero (Local Hero being a film that remains the most outstanding example the genre, but that is also one of the best movies ever made).

Character driven, strongly acted, intelligently directed and well edited, there is nothing heavy handed or over done. The humour is disarming (esp that of the Ma'ori characters similar tot hat seen more recently in Boy), and the plot unfolds easily, assuming the audience's perception.

Martin Clunies, oddly, is perfectly cast as the misfit romantic hero, delivering his lines with suitable dryness. However, the standout is the Ma-ori characters of the movie: the film is grounded in its good script and the Ma'ori cast. Just lovely.

It was the fact that Doc Martin (Martin Clunes) was in this movie that made us want to see it. He is such a quirky, delightful character actor. Interesting seeing him not so stuffy & dressed up! Not an academy award movie, but well worth watching as the cinematography is beautiful and it's such a feel good movie which you don't see much of these days.

Enjoyed this movie. Love Martin Clunes and he did not disappoint.

Having moved to New Zealand from the UK a couple of decades ago, it was interesting to see what a joint production between the two countries would turn out like. I had heard great things of this and when it was repeated, I taped it to watch later. Having now settled back and enjoyed it I can recommend it whole-heartedly to people who like a good story, a happy ending and maybe just learn a little in the process. True, there were stereotypes, yes maybe it was corny and Martin Clunes is highly visibly with his doctor in Cornwall series, but it was good fun, it did show the world a little bit of NZ, and it was a very enjoyable way to pass a couple of hours. Let's be sensible about this - there's not much on TV now that's worth watching but this is. Loved the scenery, loved the people and loved the story. Good quality stuff doesn't have to be heavy and unpleasant. This is entertainment, not about saving the world and it could have been a lot, lot worse. I don't think it could have been much better.

A: No.

Martin Clunes stars in a tale of culture clash when a sophisticated urban professional meets the provincial locals. Now why does that sound familiar?

A mostly benign and enjoyable, albeit unremarkable story with a few sloppy plot holes*. The local characters of Otakataka are fun. The biggest let down of the film is perhaps Clunes, whose character Ian simply lacks character. He's just kind of there, in the way that a body occupies space but really nothing more.

* No real reason given why Ian is dissatisfied with fiancee, making him look quite shallow and callous. Leaving the price sticker on the statue in the museum was unnecessary, we the audience know what happened. Now the museum staff also knows and will soon be making a trip to NZ to prosecute Ian and recover the statue.