Um Refúgio no Passado

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.

Saw it during my vacation in New-Zealand last December. Didn't know the story at all. Haven't read the book or anything. The lady from the B&B where we were staying suggested this one. I thought the movie was amazing. The movie starts slow and if you like high speed action movies this may not be your piece of cake. If you can stand a lower pace this is absolutely one to watch.

I have actually seen it a second time because it was selected for the Rotterdam Film Festival 2005 (little bit closer to home) and I am know hoping for a regular release in the Netherlands. In my opinion this movie does not get enough attention.

This film was Brad McGann's debut feature as director, and sadly, as it turned out, his last. The screenplay by McGann uses Maurice Gee's 1972 novel as a starting point but goes off in a different direction. In the book we are aware at the outset that a girl has been found murdered and that her sympathetic teacher is under suspicion. In the film the possibility of a crime does not arise until half-way through. In the book "father" the owner of the den was a nice elderly man who had died many years previously. In the film he has just died, and turns out to have been a lot less nice. In the book Andrew the stitched up pious brother turns out to be a very dangerous person, in the film he is not much more than a fall guy. The book has Paul (Matthew MacFadyen), the principal character as an unknown schoolteacher in an outer suburban school; the film has him as a minor celebrity returning to the scenic rural home of his youth. In both stories, however, he becomes involved with one of his pupils, Celia (Emma Barclay).

Does any of this matter to the film's entertainment value? Well, the film is beautifully photographed, and wonderfully acted, yet it ultimately fails to make any sense of the events depicted. Maurice Gee on the other hand explores the dark recesses of his character's minds and his readers get to understand why things have happened the way they have. Character-based thrillers are tricky; there is a trade-off between action and insight. Here we have some interesting characters who somehow have got lost in the plot – a mistake not made in Ray Lawrence's "Lantana" for example, although "Jindabyne" ran close to the edge.

At the end of the film there is a complete stuff-up – the final scene should been the second to last scene. The director did it on purpose, according to the DVD commentary, through a reluctance to bump off his favorite character.

This film was Emma Barclay's first. She has gone on to a real triumph in "Suburban Mayhem" but you can see the talent here already. Matthew MacFadyen as Paul was doing his first feature too, though he has had considerable TV experience ("Spooks"). His English accent is a bit out of place in the land of the long lost vowel but the moodiness is right on. Miranda Otto as Andrew's distracted wife was like a sleepwalker but that was what the part requires. Colin Moy as Andrew was very impressive – his animus towards Paul was palpable even before he opened his mouth.

Maurice Gee set his novel in semi-suburban West Auckland in the late sixties and the film-makers have used present-day Central Otago, mostly in and around Alexandra, as their setting. This is fair enough, and Central Otago is a very photogenic part of NZ, but it does tend to overplay the return of the prodigal element. Again, Maurice Gee makes it clear that the semi-rural past that Paul grew up in has well and truly gone, but in the film it seems not to have changed at all.

If I were Maurice Gee I would be in two minds about this film. On the one hand the filmmakers have handled the central story – the relationship between Paul and Celia – very sensitively. On the other hand much of the careful characterization of the novel has been lost, and the "backstory" has been made incoherent. If I hadn't read the novel (which I did before and after seeing the film) I still would be complaining about the ending. But I guess most viewers won't be doing that and will still find this an evocative piece.

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.

When his father dies, Paul Prior (Matthew Macfadyen), a disillusioned and battle weary war photographer, decides to return home to New Zealand. His brother is caught off-guard by Paul's sudden re appearance after seventeen years away. Reluctantly re-visiting the dilapidated family property, he discovers his fathers old den tucked away in the equipment shed. Paul sets about clearing up and stumbles upon sixteen year-old Celia (Emily Barclay) who has been using the derelict hide-away as a private haven to write her stories and to fuel her dream of living in Europe, far away from the small town she longs to escape.

This seemingly uninteresting story-line masks a superb plot that slowly unfolds as the movie progresses. The characters are fantastic and the performances of Barclay, MacFadyen and the supporting cast is excellent. The subtle twists are very well hidden and the final explanation of the whole scenario is mind-blowing. In my opinion, this is a must see movie!