The Goddess of 1967

Clare Law was a successful blockbuster director while she was in Hong Kong, who made films like The Reincarnation of Golden Lotus. Her artistic ambition has taken her to another level of filmmaking. The Goddess of 1967 is highly experimental in style. Unlike many experimental works, however, this film does not seem pointless. On the contrary, it has a very powerful story. The story is therapeutic; it deals with abuse, incest and obsession, with an ending of recognition and reconciliation (but not the kind of phony sentimental type that is typical of Hollywood drama). This film is a work of art. Its cinematography is beautiful; its writing is humorous, despite the fact that the story is heavy. I hope the DVD will be released soon.

Directionless japanese internet thief goes to Australia to buy a Goddess (a Citroen 2CV) and meets a blind women. They travel through Australia together and flashbacks into the women's history reveal a terrifying yet simple story about her childhood, including sexual abuse and religious fanatism. While being displayed in beautiful pictures using very interesting camera technique, I experienced the movie as an overly long trip into the world of simply insane people. Too much suffering without one useful comment was too much for me. The absurd end spoiled all the sympathy I had for the movie while I watched it, leaving me with the question: "What the hell did Clara Law want to express/tell/explain with this movie?" I didn't enjoy searching for the answer at all.

Like too many arthouse movies 'The Goddess of 1967' seems to think that some excellent cinematography is enough to carry a superficial script full of stereotypical characters. It isn't. Apart from a handful of memorable visual images I can think of nothing positive to say about this movie. One again, a non-Australian shows a group of ugly Australian cliches against a background of a beautiful but harsh landscape. Personally I'm sick of this outdated, narrow view which in no way represents the diversity and richness of contemporary Australian life. To add further to the shallowness and predictability of this movie the Japanese car buff played by newcomer Rikiya Kurokawa is so poorly developed and pointless that he may as well wear a t-shirt saying "silly Asian character" and leave it at that. The inexplicably touted Rose Byrne's "fiesty blind girl with a dark past" has slightly more depth, but only just. The "odd couple" with a "culture clash" on a "quirky road trip" where they "find themselves" - c'mon! Haven't we seen this kind of lazy scenario too many times before already? This is third rate film school stuff with nothing new or original to say despite its pretensions. Give this one a miss unless you love cars as much as "Boy" does. There's no other reason to sit through this dull, mediocre arthouse bore.

In movies - road movies especially - we are looking for change in the characters, the relationships and possibly the balance between two themes. In the Goddess we see Deidre become more whole, at a physical level by wanting and experiencing tender lovemaking. And debatably in the end as her search to confront her dad/granddad is fulfilled - death and his death in particular no longer an obsession. What of the male character though? Although very well played and amusing - what journey does he really undertake? Has he learned to drive with his eyes closed? Learned to love a being without scales?

And in looking for themes that may be juxtaposed or in tension with each other - yes there is Megacity Vs Outback, there is beauty vs ugliness, black holes vs religion, responsibility for yourself vs the excuse of horrid childhood - but for me somehow they were a bit fitted in, if any one stands out - perhaps it is travelling with a purpose vs with your eyes closed, and the frightning thing of travelling with a purpose (to buy the car or kill your dad) turns out to be: What then? What do you do next? Perhaps being able to travel with your eyes closed is a better skill after all.

I went into the Cinema expecting... I don't know what. I knew it was a road trip picture with a Japanese man and Australian woman... they looked pretty enough on the poster. What I didn't expect was two very real people, scared, vulnerable and eccentric characters on a journey across Australia that becomes luminous and intoxicating.

The visual style of the film /cinematography, while gorgeous, was at first distracting... what some people would consider artsy. But as the story unfolds, the visual look of the film matches with the messy, hypnotic storyline and its characters.

A beautiful film, one with an unexpected emotional wallop.