No. 2, directed by Toa Fraser 2006
This film took me a little while to really get into. Having the honor of being the first New Zealand film of the festival that I got to see, I initially found it to be slow moving. Thankfully the slow opening pays off, and the foundations that are laid in the first half hour of film, play out in wonderfully surprising ways in last third.
Ruby Dee plays the role of Nana Maria, the aging matriarch of a large Fijian/Kiwi family. The film opens up with her complaining that the house is empty and lifeless. As she smokes her cigarette in contemplation she suddenly lights up and anounces to her grandchild that she wants a giant party to be held the next day. Complete with all her grandkids, drinks, and a pig.
After an intial resistance to the idea, one by one, family members come on board with the idea and with each successive family member comes another layer of familial relationships that are underscored by the idea that even the worst fight shows a vibrancy of life that Nana so desperately missed.
The film seems to leave no issue untouched ranging from your typical fueding family members, the black sheep of the family, interracial relationships, and the always unavoidable family favorites. Of course, I would also be remiss in my duties if I did not mention it also contemplates the brevity of our lives on this planet, superstition, and what really should be important.
The film does an great job of lightening the mood at just the right moments but falls prey, in my mind, to going overboard in its attempts to pull your emotional heart strings. I admit that for me personally, I immediately shut down to a film when I feel that the director is trying too hard to make you feel a certain way. To me it's like taking a two by four and hitting someone across the head while shouting, "You will feel sad now!". I felt that this was the case with the end of the film, but in the larger scheme of things it turns out to be a minor complaint of an otherwise great film.
***Three stars
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