PUNCH (2022) [NZIFF]

Seventeen-year-old Jim is a small-town boxing hero who carries the hopes and dreams of his father Stan on his shoulders. His growing relationship with a local boy, Whetu, forces him to confront the truth about his sexuality, and choose his own future.

New Zealand has been forever dealing with its legacy of toxic masculinity. The "she'll be right" attitude that we have adopted from our neighbours across the Tasman has become such an inherent part of Kiwi culture that its effects are long-reaching and destructive. Even our much celebrated "No. 8 wire" way of thinking shows our inability to reach out and ask for help from others. It's not just our creativity, it's our masculine way of life. Much like the All Blacks Haka, it is a show of dominance intended to instil fear in those that it is aimed at. It is not a show of our skill in the sport, it is intimidation.

Punch looks at one of the "manliest" sports that exists: boxing. The sport of literally bludgeoning another person to the ground. It's archaic, but it's celebrated. Society progresses, but we still celebrate those instinctual elements of life that to succeed you must be physically dominant. What boxing also provides, is a safety net or shelter for those in denial about their sexuality. An ingrained hatred of the LGBTQ+ community for their largely dismissive attitude towards brute force and power plays, the support of aggressive sports allows predators the ability to act in an untoward fashion but cover it up with a false facade of masculinity.

Punch is a play on power. Our lead character Jim is the boxing champ in his town (granted the only boxer), the one person who has the physical power and technical knowledge to dominate and intimidate others, but he is in a constant state of submission. Controlled and directed by his parents' own goals and ambitions, helpless to prevent his father's alcoholism, constantly (emotionally) attacked as he attempts to discover himself outside of his environment and familial pressures. His own status and masculinity provide little comfort to him. 

It is through his interactions with local boy Whetu, that Jim's eyes are opened up to the possibility of a life without forced training and diets, a life that transcends his ability to punch someone in the face. To find a path that brings him joy, and to surround himself with like-minded people who support his goals, rather than pressuring him to meet their goals. Bigotry is more aggressive in rural areas due to their isolation, but Punch attempts to highlight the contradictory nature of the aggression that the LGBTQ+ community has inflicted upon it. 

The pacing in Punch is slower and more exploratory in nature and plays with graphic content such as sexual abuse, verbal assaults, and physical violence. The colour schemes work well, with the hyper-masculine settings clouded in murkiness and a drained dirty palette, while Whetu and Jim's interactions are highlighted with crisp colours, fast movements, and an alleviating sense of nature.

Jordan Oosterhof does a great job in his portrayal of Jim, externalizing the fear of going against the norm. He wants to fit in and be accepted, despite struggling with the knowledge that his needs do not match everyone else's. Conan Hayes portrayal of Whetu is well executed. His performance holds a host of barbs to protect that softness and trusting nature that he desires with others. A softness that is eager to come forth at the slightest prompt. 

It's dark but wondrous, constricting but exploratory, Punch brings the physical and mental pain of being marginalized and isolated. A brutal but honest look at the true legacy of New Zealand.

Punch is premiering at the 2022 NZ International Film Festival

WHEN THE COWS COME HOME (2022) [NZIFF]

After a social misfit fails in life and love, he returns to the family farm, where he discovers an unexpected and bewitching affinity with cows.

When you are making that all-important decision of what you want to view when attending the New Zealand International Film Festival, it would be quite easy to overlook the documentary about a farmer who loves his cows. 104 minutes of a man in a paddock talking us through the personalities and eccentricities of his favourite bovine pets. However, what seems like an inconsequential farming documentary is actually a deep dive into mental illness, childhood trauma, and the negative effects of media.

Andrew Johnstone is our man-on-the-ground, guiding us through the discovery of a lifetime; the unexpected therapeutic effect of farming, and the kindness of cows. When the Cows Come Home weaves two narrative story arcs; the life history of Johnstone, and the evolution of his farming strategy. The latter farming strategy proves to be the stronger arc initially, Johnstone's life history hits hard at the end, merging the arcs into a singular unified vision.

There is an air of innocence and wholesomeness that isn't always attributed to the farming occupation. The reality of breeding and raising cows for slaughter provides that grounded reality of where our beef comes from, but the mental wear and tear that the process can cause on the farmers is not often delved into. For those who see the occupation as more than a job, for those who love seeing their bovine fellows interacting, growing, and adventuring, living their best life, it is a harrowing experience to knowingly cut those lives short in the name of making beef for the masses. 

The tenderness and love that Johnstone holds for his pets Tilly and Maggie are reminiscent of the emotions we have for our own domestic pets; each animal has their own personality, likes and dislikes. When the Cows Come Home does more for the vegan/vegetarian movement than any other documentary that I've seen, as doesn't focus on the brutal end, so much as on the lives that they live, and how their presence impacts those around them.

Calming, therapeutic, cathartic, tranquil...however you want to describe it, there is no denying the relaxing way in which Johnstone approaches farming. It all connects back to who Johnstone is as a person, his trials and tribulations, traumas, and mental illnesses. His life comes from the era before mental health was a spectrum; before it was understood what mental illnesses truly meant, or how to adapt to a prognosis. Johnstone has been through a life of conflicting victimization and rebellious anarchy. Musician. Reviewer. Farmer. In and out of the public eye, Johnstone would never say that he has been afraid to try anything, but his battles with mental illness have taught him to recognize and respond accordingly, by withdrawing to the safety of his cows.

Disarmingly charming, though occasionally narratively muddy, When the Cows Come Home is a heartwarming treat that breaks the mould of conventional documentaries. More observational and situational awareness than hard-hitting facts and investigative journalism, this is an experience to enjoy at your own pace. 

When the Cows Come Home is premiering at the 2022 NZ International Film Festival

TOP GUN: MAVERICK (2022)

 

After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy's top aviators, Pete Mitchell is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him.

36 years later, Top Gun is back in cinemas as another example of a Hollywood sequel that nobody asked for. It has been getting a little frustrating to see how little faith the film sector has in starting new intellectual properties, with sequels, reboots, and requels coming up left, right, and centre. What I wasn't expecting from Top Gun: Maverick, however, was to come out of the cinema with a smile on my face. The propaganda did its job. Because we can't forget what the original Top Gun was; a 100-minute U.S. Navy-approved recruitment ad with the same plot and stakes as your Saturday morning cartoons. Maverick somehow leans into its predecessor more but comes out better off.

Do yourself a favour. To get the full effect of Maverick, watch the original first because this new flick is jam-packed full of nostalgia and call-backs. One could almost be fooled into thinking they are watching the same film after the first few minutes with the same texts, fonts, synth scores, and collage of jets landing, taxiing, taking off, and then getting a dose of Loggins 'Danger Zone'. There is no question about what film we are here to see, and there are no intentions to steer the film in any other direction.

If we think about the original, there were two main issues (lack of plot aside); the flight choreography was often difficult to follow, and there were not enough stakes. Maverick sorts out both of these issues. Gone is the simple competition of running training sessions to see who is the best for the sake of it, now we have an impending nuclear threat that pushes the pilots far beyond their level of skill and experience. Gone are the green screens and planes on hydraulics, now we have planes actually in the air with mounted cameras showing the real effects of flight on the pilots. It's a noticeable difference and the editing from Eddie Hamilton emphasizes this further with exceptionally well-timed transitions from wide shots, to close-ups, to routes and trajectories in the control room. It all fixes that huge issue in the predecessor when nobody knew what was going on. The environment and physical geography were a complete unknown, but now it is clearly laid out; the targets, the challenges, the progress. And it is all done in a way that builds the tension and suspense.

We have got to give it to Tom Cruise. His demand for practical effects has done wonders for the Missions Impossible franchise, and it has made Top Gun: Maverick a far superior film to its predecessor. His pearly whites and incessant smiling is near-psychotic in nature but still manage to bring a sense of boyish romantic charm. Cruise takes the film seriously, and his gravitas more than makes up for the lack of experience in much of the cast.

Nostalgia abounds, Iceman returneth, Maverick is back, Goose's son is back, Maverick's ex-girlfriend who was mentioned makes an appearance, the bar creates more faux pa's, the teams are playing sports shirtless with their oiled-up abs on display, Cruise is riding his motorcycle alongside military planes, passing over the tower, and breaking all of the rules. It all calls back to the original in every possible way, and while Maverick never escapes from the shadow of its origins, it works so well regardless.

What can't be looked past, is the great decision to place more emphasis on the human emotional story. Not the unnecessary love interest romance arc that has nothing to do with anything (sorry, Jennifer Connelly), but the theme of valuing human life. More propaganda of course, but it is effective at keeping us on Maverick's side at all times.

With breathtaking aerial fight choreography (or is it flight choreography?), Top Gun: Maverick is competently shot and edited, and overall is a far more agile film than it should be. The action will have you on the edge of your seat, this is well worth a watch on the biggest screen you can find.

Top Gun: Maverick is in cinemas from May 26, 2022

NIGHT RAIDERS (2021)

The year is 2043. A military occupation controls disenfranchised cities in post-war North America. Children are property of the State. A desperate Cree woman joins an underground band of vigilantes to infiltrate a State children’s academy and get her daughter back. Night Raiders is a female-driven dystopian drama about resilience, courage, and love.

To put it bluntly and succinctly, Night Raiders is a mixed bag. This dystopian flick, written in 2015 Pre-Trump and pre-COVID, manages to blur the lines of reality and speculative dramatization well. If the film had been created and released back in 2015 it would have generated a much larger impact, but in 2022, the idea of building a border wall, increased surveillance and governmental control, locking up children away from their parents, and creating a division between the wealthy and those in poverty through mandates...it all feels very familiar. 

These elements do actually work well to assist the audience to relate to, and empathize with, our protagonists. That familiarity of events, effectively questions the knowledge and awareness that this film is occurring two decades in the future. It feels like it very much could be happening now. Considering the history of Canadian Indian residential schools, is not dissimilar to Australia's Aboriginal Stolen Generation, or New Zealand's own history of Māori abuse at the hands of our government's Oranga Tamariki organization. All examples of the nation's powerful and elite taking the land and children of the Indigenous populations, in the name of "developing" or "saving" them, in acts that lead to cultural persecution, erasure, and eradication.

The film envisions lofty political and cultural commentary, and builds a convincing visual dystopia, effectively categorizing each side of the conflict by contrasting the indigenous Cree populations living in the lush bush and forestry with the powerful government that controls the dead cities, steeped in unsaturated brown and grey colour palettes. 

Director and screenwriter Danis Goulet successfully uses our sense of familiarity to quickly create a world that we recognize but has twisted elements in a fashion that creates a lot of intrigue and mystery. Goulet is sparse and selective in the information and context that they provide and it creates a world that the audience wants to know more about. To its detriment, Night Raiders is so coy with the explanations for its differences, that you leave the theatre with more questions than answers. We are faced with a number of exciting events and pathways, however, while the film progresses, the character development and context for these decisions are arbitrary and underdeveloped.

The protagonists are also underdeveloped, with extremely minimal characterization. the film hits all of the dystopian thriller plot points but struggles to integrate its indigenous elements fully into the story. With a number of characters, locations, and interactions throughout a minimal 100-minute runtime, relationships and related interactions are rushed. It is unknown whether certain characters were added late in the process, or their arcs stripped from the film in the editing process, but they are left feeling out of place and forced.

Our mother-daughter duo, Niska and Waseese (portrayed by Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and Brooklyn Letexier-Hart respectively) are the highlights of the film. Niska's visual appearance is gaunt, and her drive is unavoidable, unfortunately, no time is allowed to fully develop her emotional connections and motivations, leaving her character an empty shell that is otherwise being passively pushed from one situation into another. Waseese's development is quite well-balanced when you bear in mind that she is a child, her appearance degrading as the film progresses under her incarceration.

With intriguing visual environments and effectively executed special effects, Goulet has done wonders with world-building. It is a world that the audience wants to know more about. Great acting from Tailfeathers and Letexier-Hart can't make up for thin characterizations and a tick-box dystopian thriller structure. Still worth a watch, as a reminder of the capabilities of a powerful body that does not respect its inhabitants equally, but you can't help but feel that there is a lot of context and character development sitting on the cutting room floor in favour of a short run-tim, waiting for their chance to shine in a director's cut.

 

Night Raiders is in cinemas from March 24, 2022