Unica regola vincere

I remember trying to see this film when I was 12 or 13 but the friend who bought the tickets ending up buying tickets for The Magic Roundabout and the Blue Cat. What a disappointment at the time.

Seeing it for the first time subsequently, the optimum word is prescient. Donaldson showed scenes that were fresh and on a scale never scene in NZ cinema before. Skyhawks dropping bombs on the terrorists (Mune and Neill). "Spooky" is the word most used by those who have commented in this forum.

Having met Carl Stead last year in London, I was impressed by his philosophy regarding the films success in NZ at the time. Comprimises were made to the author's chagrin but in the end the story fulfilled its cinematic requirements. Donaldson along with Geoff Murphy were pioneers of a new revolution in film-making for New Zealand.

The first NZ film I had seen that opened up the dark under belly of an immature and isolated nation in troubled times.

The movie is dated now but the impact in context of the time it was made is undeniable.

As far as I'm aware, Sam Neill's first film - and what a start!

Starring a Kiwi, directed by a Kiwi and packed to the gunwales with Kiwi talent, this is definitely no Hollywood hyperbole extravaganza.Its sole concession to the 'star power' syndrome is the presence of Warren Oates ("Dillinger") as an armed subversive type (I didn't dare to use the dreaded 'T' word!).

The film is under the very capable guidance of the now-also-well-known Roger Donaldson, who was also responsible for another powerful home-grown effort, "Smash Palace". Impressionable youngsters like Peter Jackson may have seen this and decided their futures.

Like Jackson's LOTR trilogy, "Sleeping Dogs" is filmed on location in New Zealand. As such, the sets and scenery give a fair idea of life in provincial and metropolitan NZ in the mid-70's (but there's no stunning vistas of the majestic Southern Alps here, I'm afraid).

"Sleeping Dogs" is an adaptation of a story by New Zealand author C.K.Stead and pits an increasingly autocratic government of the near-future against a group of resistance fighters. Smith (Neill), very recently separated from a cheating wife, pretty much accidentally and quite reluctantly, gets involved with this group.

One scene in the movie was (and still is) something of a talking point here in NZ because it seemed, in hindsight, so chillingly prescient - life imitating art.

In the scene, a large group of protesters have clashed violently with unyielding, merciless, baton-wielding riot police; blood is flowing, injures are rife.

Some five years after the film had been released, in 1981, the then-internationally-banned Springbok rugby team from South Africa were allowed to tour here, despite clamorous local and global opposition.

New Zealand experienced the horrors and scarring of civil division. Wherever the Springboks played and also in the capital, Wellington, violence erupted. And it seemed to many of us at the time that the scenes that Donaldson had shot many years ago were now being replayed almost nightly on the news. Spooky.

The story of Sleeping Dogs carries a sense of tragic inevitability, where fate feels impossible to resist. The more one tries to stay away from politics, the deeper they are dragged into the heart of the struggle. The more they strive to do the right thing, the worse their situation becomes. The tragedy of Smith lies in how an ordinary man watches helplessly as his peaceful life is shattered and one by one, the people he cares about fall victim to political terror.

This movie brilliantly captures the fundamental characteristic of political terror: no one is spared.

Filmed in New Zealand, the movie showcases stunning landscapes paired with perfectly complementary music. The stark contrast between the film's aesthetic tone and its theme of political terror makes the viewing experience all the more poignant. It is a masterpiece worthy of thoughtful appreciation.

Sam Neill stars, in his 2nd feature film, as Smith, a man who leaves his family when his wife takes up with another man, and moves to an island where he is the only resident. While he's on the island, political turmoil in New Zealand worsens and a form of martial law is declared. Smith is framed as a terrorist and arrested. Facing certain execution, he escapes and goes on the run, eventually hooking up with Bullen (Ian Mune), the man who had stolen his wife. This is the first feature made in New Zealand that received international distribution, and it's readily apparent why. Neill is a magnetic screen presence, and the film has the ramshackle appeal of the best small action films of the 70's. Warren Oates even appears in a small role as a US army officer.

I was slightly confused by the content of this movie. From what I gathered, Sam Neill's character was a family man whose wife had an affair, and he was then mistaken for a guerrilla. There was plenty of guerrilla warfare on the streets who were trying to protest something. I couldn't quite gather what it was. There were plenty of shoot-em-up scenes on the streets and in the wilderness when Neil was trying to escape and clear his name. Other than that, I thought the movie was decent. The scene where he was imprisoned in a dank jail cell was harrowing and unforgettable, and I loved the part where he vomits on the guards to escape from the transport car. I sort of liked the movie and might recommend it.

** 1/2 out of ****