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.
It was a real pleasure to review this soulful short film by Ngā Aho Whakaari as part of the Maori Short Film Festival and not just because it’s so impressive to see filmmakers who can create something so beautiful, with such incredible production values, on a small budget.
Exploring important themes of land and belonging – environmental protection, the preservation of cultural identity and intergenerational familial relationships – we are introduced to 16-year-old Hiwa who returns home from boarding school to discover her beloved grandfather, the local ‘land legend’, is seriously ill and unable to tend to the forest he has spent his life protecting.
Whilst her younger brother Pōtiki, who has clearly inherited his grandfather’s deep affinity for the ‘whenua’ (land), is determined to follow in his Korua’s footsteps, Hiwa struggles to integrate her simple, traditional values with the ‘modern’ world she inhabits at school.
Both children wrestle with the shifting dynamics in their family, and the darkly green and lush scenery is a beautiful but ominous metaphor, reflecting both Hiwa and Pōtiki’s realisations of the importance of their new roles as the next generation of guardians for the land and their family.
This film was part warning, part love letter to land and culture. As someone who has a deep connection to land myself, it was an invitation to recognise the ways in which we are called to stand as protectors for that to which we ‘belong. ‘ It’s definitely one to watch.
If you thought running in heels was tough, imagine running in a pair of thongs…while trying to outrun border security…on a moving baggage carousel. No need to do it yourself, though, because Johnny ‘Spit’ Spitieri absolutely nails it in this fresh Aussie flick.
In this follow-up to Aussie Action/Comedy hit Getting’ Square (2003), we get to reunite with our beloved side character & ex-heroin addict, Spit (David Wenham). Last we saw of him, Spit was stuck in the middle of trying to appease a corrupt cop, a criminal kingpin, and an agent from the Criminal Investigation Commission. Leaving them (and his crippling debt) in the dark, he faked his own death and fled to Israel to…well, as the predecessors title will tell you, get square.
Picking up 20 years later as he re-enters Australia, still rocking the women’s jeans and perhaps too laid-back attitude, Spit is now off the gear and looking to restart his life. But it seems suddenly coming back to life ruffles more than a few feathers with old associates.
Where on one foot Spit seems like perhaps the most idiotic person you could ever meet, he’s seen by people on the other foot as being a criminal mastermind. So watching the game of cat-and-mouse from both extremities, particularly in moments where they are quickly intercut together, is absolutely hilarious.
As with any great comedy, the story has a lot of heart and each character is played completely seriously, which makes daggy Spit all the more entertaining. Fear stood on end any time Chicka (Gary Sweet) graced the screen, and so much joy came from the relationships Spit made with the refugees at the Immigration Detention Centre.
The whole cast of refugees, many of whom are true refugees/offspring of immigrants themselves according to Wenham, gave a depth to the film that was hugely memorable. Particularly Arlo Green (as Jihad), who played such a beautiful soul that both saw, and brought out the heart in Johnny Spit himself.
A few scenes that hung on a little too long and minor characters that didn’t feel essential (the recast of the late-great Richard Carter, a not-so bright lawyer, and the Tik Tok dancing daughters) were easily bypassed for the joy that surrounded them. Drowned out also by the striking punk/rock soundtrack that added to the grittiness and almost nostalgic feel of the film – thanks to local Australian bands such as Frenzal Rhomb and Amyl and the Sniffers.
Many people are quick to roll their eyes at the mention of a sequel, but this one feels well-earned. With a majority of the cast and key crew returning after 22 years, you could tell that it meant a lot to them and that they felt it was essential to revisit the world.
What stood out from the first instalment was that Spit injects a lot more emotion and had some real shocks that that left a lot of people feeling elated at its conclusion. And for fans of the previous film, don’t you worry, there is still a stand-out courtroom scene and plenty of close-up thong shots to get all you Quentin Tarantino sorts excited.
Spit truly got a chance to be rubbed in and become shiny, creating easily one of the best comedies Australia has produced in a while. It is worth supporting in cinemas, and thongs crossed that we get to see more home-grown comedies like this in the near future.
After making waves at the Sydney Film Festival, Ian Darling’s The Pool will be released this November. The film presents Bondi Icebergs as we know them and as we have never seen them. Darling offers a portrait of an icon of Sydney’s most famous beach and the community that surrounds it, one that is both intimate and far-reaching.
We are treated to long, smooth shots of sparkling water in sunshine, the bright turquoise of the pool and surrounding churning waves, and the slow grace of the swimmers moving through the water.
The Pool lulls you into a dream-like world with its beauty of composition, the long drone shots, the fury and destructive power of the storms, and the soft lights on the shore as the first swimmers arrive on a bracing winter morning. Yet here and again, the film changes tack, and we also see the swimmers’ activity and brightness, the flurry of movement down the pool, and the organised chaos of the Sunday races.
Yet it is through the people, the community of the Bondi Icebergs Swimming Club, that we reach the heart of the film. The club has been going for almost a hundred years, bringing people together from many and varied backgrounds over their shared love of swimming. As the film says, we are all equal when we have our swimmers on.
The Pool has a beautiful and otherworldly quality. From the very first frame, we dive into a hushed world of light, water, and colour. We see dark silhouettes stretching before a Bondi sunrise, drops of water gilded by sunlight that slowly explode against a brilliant blue sky. Yet these images would have remained almost disconnected without seeing the love and dedication of the people through the stories shared.
