Heart of the Stag

New Zealand film making and its affinity for troubled personal drama tempered by wild landscape and bad weather has proved to be it's creative master stroke. The Piano, Whale Rider, Vigil, Utu evoke an indigenous gloom that identify these movies as distinctly New Zealand in character. Heart of the Stag mines similar territory to lesser effect with three good performances from farmer (Terence Cooper), farmer's daughter (Mary Regan) and farm hand (Bruno Lawrence) in a triangular tale of lust on the farm. Grim skies and hostile terrain accompany the moody pacing of Cooper's incestuous menace as Lawrence and Regan find mutual solace. An accomplished New Zealand film.

This movie is excellent. Lawrence gives a superb portrayal of a ranch hand who falls for a lady involved in a forced incestuous relationship with her father. While the subject matter might be uncomfortable for some, it had to be expertly handled by everyone involved, including the actors, writers, and director- which, fortunately, it is. I recommend this one.

An Australian entry. In contemporary Australia, a shepherd finds transient work by chance at a ranch, and ends up involved with the rancher's daughter, who is being sexually abused by her father, and whose mother has been incapacitated by a stroke. That's pretty much the whole premise, and while there are moving moments, the story and script are not as compelling as you might expect. Nevertheless, the film is saved by the exceptional acting, especially by Mary Regan, who plays the abused daughter. The cinematography -- lots of scenes of the Australian countryside (or maybe it is a set, I don't know, but it's certainly beautiful), sheep shearing and wild stags -- is terrific and gorgeous. The music is also often lovely. Well worth a watch.