No. 2

This is a great film portraying human interaction and how families interact.

However, for a film that is supposed to portray a Fijian family, what a pity there was only one Fijian (the Priest) in the cast. The others were mainly a reasonably talented group of Maori and other South Pacific Island actors.

Why could the producers not have found Fijian actors to make the film more authentic?

That the film was produced more or less on our own doorstep (and we had not even heard of it before it was seen in "Shorts") and showed our own well-known and familiar locality added additional colour and interest to our viewing. But of course, a film is always "local" to those who live where it is filmed.

I was at the premier of this film out in the open air on Auckland's harbor...NZ's Prime Minister was there as she is a great supporter of the arts...I might add unannounced at first. This film can all remind us of someone(s) in our family and is a "feel good" in the end. Way to go NZ and I hope this film does a great showing worldwide...and no I am not from NZ...Canada! The way this country(NZ) has evolved into a great wealth of artistic talent speaks volume for its people and its isolation geographically. Must say I am most impressed with this film...was't sure what to expect and was pleasantly surprised...GO SEE IT!

A different culture than mine, this was an eye-opener. Tradition counts, feelings do, death is a departing and part and parcel of everything. And so everything turns into a big celebration and tying together feast including pig, trees, foreigners, music and naturally mishaps and power struggles. Features the epic "Bathe In The River", a very moving song by amazing New Zealand musician Hollie Smith and the Mt Raskill local people choir. This film forms an important link in New Zealand film lineage as it is one that portrays a very important happening in an 'island' family living in Auckland's 'wild' west suburbs. We get to experience a largely different and unknown culture right in the middle of a 'normal' suburb. This is Auckland, the city with the world's largest Polynesian population.

I went to school in Mt. Roskill, where the film is set; I drive through the suburb everyday to and from work; and my mother is from Polynesia. On several levels I could relate to this film and was proud to see Auckland, and it's Polynesian culture, represented in such an accurate and endearing way.

No. 2 centers around Nana Maria (a great performance by Ruby Dee), who wants her grandchildren to organize a feast for her at which she will name her heir, who will take over the house when she dies. Tense relationships both amongst and between generations are slowly and subtly introduced, and over the course of the day the family struggles to negotiate their Fijian culture within the New Zealand context.

The acting was superb (although notably, I think a minority of the actors were actually Fijian), the story subtle but beautiful, and Auckland was represented very accurately and stunningly. A feel-good film that makes you want to get in contact with your long lost cousins and reminisce about days gone by.

Great characters, great acting, and an enjoyable film.

I've seen recent reviews of lacking a firm storyline - however I beg to differ. I really liked this film because it was so simplistic to understand, but yet portraying strong themes of a foreign/traditional family living in New Zealand. Additionally, the family as depicted in the film can be seen as being dysfunctional, this factor can reinforce our understanding of the film if one has been exposed to such kind of a family. Anyhow, I must praise the performances of the actors/actresses and in particular Ruby Dee - for instance, when I first viewed the film I though the Dee was a Fijian actress! It came to great shock when I discovered that she was in fact American! In conclusion, I would like to say that I very much enjoyed this little film, it is funny, touching and passionate. If anyone has the chance to watch this film, then DO IT! It isn't to be missed! Out