Um Refúgio no Passado

See this New Zealand film - it probably won't make you laugh, it might bring you close to tears but see it anyway. This is small town New Zealand with a huge web of intrigue showing how through misunderstandings wrong conclusions with tragic consequences can occur. The breakdown of family relationships through communication problems is also highlighted, and I could relate it to my own experience where the death of a family member did not serve to bring the family closer together but broke us further apart.

But on the upside it's also about sharing dreams and goals and looking for something better than what your current setting can offer, whether that be small town Otago or middle Eastern trouble spots. There is some beautiful rugged New Zealand scenery to be enjoyed, although don't expect it on the same scale as in LOTR, it's more just the icing on the cake here.

Definitely see it if you can handle a moderate amount of swearing, violence, sex and drug use. If you're just looking for a laugh, don't see it.

Once in a while, Cathay@Orchard screens their exclusive showcase selection of films which are not part of your mainstream Hollywood offering. In My Father's Den is one such film, and it is not often that I dive head on into a film without knowing at least a bit of the background or production details.

This film is an NZ-UK production, and it sure is set in NZ alright when I saw the "Pump" brand of bottled water in one of the scenes. Can't get anymore authentic than that! However, I'm in two minds as to how to rate this film. The narrative is painfully slow (butt-numbing 2hrs 10 mins), but necessary to allow you time to think through what is going on, and the revelation of the ending, shocking yet somewhat expected.

Paul Prior is a renowned war photo-journalist who's back in NZ to attend his father's funeral. Although he missed it, being back home gave him the opportunity to touch base with his estranged brother and his wife (Lord of the Rings fan will recognize Miranda Otto here), his nephew, and hook back up with his ex-flame who's now married to somebody else.

During this time, he hooks up with one of his students, 16 year old Celia, whose outlook in life, and passion for writing, brought back memories of himself, as well as memories of his ex-flame Jackie. However, an old photograph triggers suspicion that Celia might be the child Jackie bore him, before he literally walked out on his family, and Jackie. Meanwhile, you get a feeling that Celia is beginning to develop feelings for Paul, which all the more should sound alarm bells.

But things turn for the worse when Celia goes missing, and Paul becomes the prime suspect for her disappearance. It is during the portion of the film that time is juxtaposed, which might make it a little confusing or irate the viewer. There are many characters in this film, and your mind will race as to sieve out the red herrings, and decide who's involved, and who's not.

The "den" in the title refers to a shed that Paul's father has, which is stashed with good books, and good vinyl music discs. Quite a number of good songs are played throughout, which makes the soundtrack appealing. Many pivotal events take place in this shed, being a place of refuge for Paul, to being a key element of suspense and shock to the audience when the twist is revealed.

The multi-faceted relationships between the characters form the theme of this film, and the cast put up excellent performances in bringing their roles to life. The ending, when revealed and when you think through it in its proper chronological order, is fulfilling, yet laced with a heavy dose of sadness.

So if you're in for some classic story-telling, from a plot that really takes its time to unravel, then this is recommended for you. If you'd prefer to get on with action, then you should stick to the blockbuster summer offerings.

Last night I was privileged to see one of the most emotional, sensitive and highly enjoyable films I have seen in many years. "In My Father's Den" both premiered and opened the 51st Sydney Film Festival, which is no mean feat for a New Zealand feature film.

The film is of world class standard and I predict will easily join the ranks of other noted NZ feature films such as "Once were Warriors", "The Piano" and "Whalerider".

The storytelling is sophisticated, delicate and richly layered in such a way, that it easily deserves a second viewing. The performances from the entire cast are compelling, but none so as extraordinary as the lead performances by newcomer Emily Barclay (as Celia) and Mathew MacFadyen (as Paul Prior). The scenes between these two are simply mesmerizing. A pure joy to watch. This film achieves what few films can claim to, and that is, to create characters, which you totally believe are living flesh and blood.

I predict from this point forward, many an accomplished actor will be beating a path to Writer/Director Brad McGann's door.

Mathew MacFadyen plays a war zone photographer returning to his former his home town to attend his fathers funeral. Set in a small township in a remote area of the South Island of New Zealand. The film beautifully dramatizes the world weary Prior against the next generation who look to leave the town and experience the world for themselves. Paul's very presence creates a ripple effect across the close knit community. Some positive, some negative. Old family wounds are opened, youthful loves remembered, new relationships are forged and dark truths revealed.

The film plays it's cards slowly and steadily at first, gradually drawing you deeper into it's web. Before long you are captivated and unable to prevent yourself from becoming emotionally involved. The audience around me were drawn deeply into this beautiful film and many moved to tears. Attendees included Director Phil Noyce, Actors Geoffrey Rush, Hugo Weaving, other luminaries and several thousand of Sydney's film fraternity.

This is one of those films that successfully stays with you after you leave the cinema. I can wholeheartedly recommend it to you.

Alright, I admit family dramas with long hidden secrets are my favourites, but this has to be one of the best.

I was utterly compelled by the story, I can't remember the last time I was so emotionally engrossed. I was with Paul every step of the way. I have to see it again because I was so caught up I only noticed peripherally that the music,

cinematography and design were all delivering the perfect cinematic

experience.

As for the performances, the actors just disappeared, I was watching Paul and Celia and Jax living their lives. I felt more voyeuristic than Jonathon, as if I was witnessing private moments. What a wonderful film.

A compelling story, half melodrama, half thriller, set in a quiet and fairly isolated region of New Zealand.

Two brothers meet up after a long separation and dark secrets from the past slowly unravel on a collision course with present day reality. Paul is a Pulitzer nominated war photographer who left home still quite young and is now deeply resented by sibling Andrew. Their father has died and split the Will three ways. There is further tension from Paul's ex-girlfriend Jackie, and a mysterious 16yr old, Celia. A concatenation of events draws Paul into knots of suspicion and trust, which the film juxtaposes with increasingly frequent flashbacks explaining shadowy glimpses of shame beneath façades of uprightness.

The beauty that first struck me about In My Father's Den was how it brought back to me the quietude of New Zealand, the untainted landscape where you can almost hear your own thoughts - and also the Kiwi ability to express much (for good or bad) without saying much. Having sat through a mainstream film immediately before this one, I had to do a 'gear shift' to concentrate enough to follow what was happening. This has it's own reward, and one of the reasons why art house movies have such impact – the *active* attention and listening that is required (as opposed to the spoon-fed nature of Hollywood movies) means a greater investment of one's own energy, and the result, when worthwhile, becomes internalised to a greater degree. Perhaps there should be a word such as 'internalism' to mean the opposite of 'escapism', for that is what we also do when we make the effort to understand, to achieve an active empathy, and so find qualities in a film that resonate more deeply with us than can entertainment alone.

What I found rather sad is what has happened to the film even with the present day's more relaxed attitude to censorship. The British Board of Film Censors website entry on this movie reports: "The distributor chose to remove a scene which showed consensual asphyxiation in a sexual context in order to achieve a '15'. An uncut '18' was available to the distributor." So UK law and our film censors would allow adults to see an uncut a work of artistic merit (one that was part financed by UK Lottery money) but UK financial interests (distributors with an eye to maximising ticket sales) will not.

In My Father's Den is not without faults – the intercut flashbacks towards the end come with such alarming rapidity that it is almost confusing, and some of the characterisation (like a 16yr old girl who writes world class poetry), however moving, can seem far-fetched. But overall the flaws are worth overlooking to enjoy the painting.