It’s quite hard to review an animated film objectively when we are so accustomed to big-budget games and movies with high-end graphics, like Pixar Shorts.
However,Ta’i is a poignant short animated film by Mii Taokia about the wanton and targeted destruction of the abundantly resourced and beautiful pacific islands by the ‘Island Eaters’ – a system of corrupt government scientists.
The pastel-hued, blurred visuals heighten the islands’ lushness and give a sense of dreamlike beauty, juxtaposed against the more sinister imagery of their oppressors. This is all underscored by a modern lo-fi soundtrack that subtly contrasts the intimate devastation.
Even the island Gods, goaded into action, are unable to stop the destruction until they combine their powers and share them with a ‘worthy individual’.
The film’s central tenet is that a place’s most valuable but overlooked resource is its people and that sometimes, they are the only way to create real change.
Indeed, an individual taking a stand for what is right and good is all that has ever effected change, and this message feels especially resonant in today’s political climate.
To book tickets to the Maori Mini Film Festival, please visit https://www.bunjilplace.com.au/events/maoriland-film-festival
This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.
