On the slopes of whakapapa
THE MOUNTAIN
Directed by Rachel House
With a voice that requires no megaphone and a commanding presence - especially when she's playing welfare officers hunting Wilderpeople - actor Rachel House would seem well equipped to direct films. The Mountain is the actor's first feature where she's in charge. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given her past drama coaching experience with youngsters and her omnipresence in Taika Waititi's films, it's a kid-led movie. One that could exist in the same universe as Boy and Hunt for the Wilderpeople. A kind of younger, milder, safer, sadder cousin.
Though, sorry to say, it's not quite in the same league. Even with its sweet, affecting ending, it's an uneven film with not enough story and one aimed chiefly at kids, even if it is taking on some serious stuff, like whakapapa, absent parents and cancer.
Denne historien er fra March 30 - April 5, 2024-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
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Denne historien er fra March 30 - April 5, 2024-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
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A hint of mermaids
Erin Palmisano's latest novel once again has food and romance at the heart of its well-plotted story.
Execution over innovation
Big and bold ideas are fine, but being the best beats being first.
Something's wrong with all of them
Engaging dissection of the 20th-century novel likely to send the reader in search for the book under discussion.
Cell warfare
A NZ trial using immunotherapy to beat a form of blood cancer is expanding after promising results – and it's hoped the 'gold standard' treatment will soon be widely available.
The virus that stole all the smells
In this edited extract from The Forgotten Sense, Jonas Olofsson traces the rise in anosmia as a result of Covid-19 infections.
When caring is ‘woke'
Some years ago, I sat in a small plane circling over Punta del Este in Uruguay. There was a delay and we sat in tense silence until we began our descent. Outside the tiny airport, a taxi ferried us past private Lear jets; these had been the cause of the hold-up. The driver pointed to two planes side by side. \"This one is a Trump plane.\"
Getting along swimmingly
The presenters of Endangered Species Aotearoa spend a fair bit of time on and in the water in the second season.
That clingy feeling
Our pets display the same types of attachment behaviours as we do, or so it seems.
The famous furred
A peaceful little spot in LA is the final resting place for the pets of some of Hollywood's biggest names.
Gone girl
She wandered in on Thursday morning looking very wan, and climbed into her bed. I sat on the edge and stroked her back.
