The Insatiable Moon

Something completely different from New Zealand; a cross between "One Flea Over The Cuckoo's Nest" and "Being There" although not as good as either of them but still watchable nonetheless.

Arthur(Rawiri Paratene) lives in a home for the mentally handicapped and he is convinced that he

is the second son of God. Those around him are not quite sure due to his uncanny intuitiveness. By the end of this imaginative film, the audience will also question the sanity of Arthur.

Rawiri Paratene gives a remarkable performance, one of my favorites this year along with Brendan

Gleeson in "The Guard" from Ireland.

The entire cast is very good and the story moves along, straddling the line between comedy and

drama. Writer Mark Riddell keeps us guessing to the end.

Could Arthur (Rawiri Paratene) really have been the second son of God? Most people missed the first one – and they said he was mad, too. But Arthur knew how to find the magic in the world.

Against all odds, Rosemary and Mike Riddell have inspired a passionate cast and crew to bring us an emotional, challenging and thought- provoking tale of a slice of life at the unfamiliar margins of New Zealand society. Unfamiliar … and yet we know these characters and this setting. We recognise the cafés and offices; we've met the real estate agent; we've stepped over the homeless guy in the doorway and heard the strange mutterings of the nutter down the street. This movie is grounded in familiar territory, but it asks many questions about the nature of the divine, the meaning of mental illness, and the power of community.

Paratene's is a stand out performance. He believes in himself, and we believe him too. While drawing deeply from the well of his Maori heritage, his is a universal character. Audiences everywhere will know him. Audiences everywhere will warm to this movie. Go see it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this delightful movie. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and it made me think. I came away feeling like I had a better understanding of people after seeing it. Miracles really can happen if you give them a chance. It is a real credit to the New Zealand Movie industry. A truly memorable movie and one that I consider one of New Zealand's best yet. I don't watch many movies more than once, but this is one I would happily revisit. We were very fortunate to have present at our screening, the director and her husband. It was interesting to learn the story was written 13 years ago, and even back then the author envisaged it becoming a movie one day. A movie everyone should see!

Review quote: "No I haven't watched the movie yet. The only thing I know about it is the synopsis and the "highly suspicious" reviews about it..." Etc. etc.

I'm an ex professional movie reviewer from the UK now living in the Czech Republic, "submissive_element"'s negative and highly suspicious 'review' suggesting all reviews are a bias from people who worked on the movie or were cast members is complete and utter twaddle.

If you aren't moved by this massively unexpected piece of brilliance, then you're probably dead. For the reviewer in question to say he hasn't even seen the film but suggest it is suspicious is, for my money, simply bad manners. The characters, story, social issues and tribulations contained therein conjour something completely unexpected and magical.

Example: A scene at a paedophiles funeral - with an open floor - where the deceased's friends and the mother of the molested suicide victims speak of the deceased will shock you and stun you for both its raw shock factor, humanity and yet balanced love, and this is not even close to being one of the most thought provoking, endearing scenes in the film.

It's hard to know what to make of the movie, but this isn't a low budget Kiwi flick, it's a huge movie that does more on so many levels than most of the worldwide celluloid output of the past few years. It may have a lower budget than many films, but I've seen movies with a lot more money pumped in to them that don't yield a fraction of the response it raised in me.

To not try and track it down is your loss. I hope "Submissive Element" is reading this review, and does so accordingly.

God works in funny ways. If the first son of God could turn water into wine, Arthur the self-proclaimed second son can make stony hearts beat again. This is an inspired film. A story of psychiatric patients in a boarding house that doesn't fit into a suburb with pretensions, sounds unpromising but magically they are revealed as very real people by an excellent script and stunning performances from all the leads which draw one in. To say it is moving, witty, and very funny doesn't do it justice. That it took eight years to produce, and after funding was withdrawn was produced on a very low budget may in hindsight have helped. One senses that it is the work of people who believed in it passionately, and put their hearts and genius into it. It shows.