"Christmas"
is the debut feature from award-winning New Zealand director Gregory
King. Simply put, it is a drama of relationships in a dysfunctional
family.
New Zealand Film Festival director Bill Gosden wrote that the film
offers “provocation on a grand scale, exhibiting furtive, frenzied
moments of solitude with the inflammatory zeal of expose …"
“This singular, bleakly funny R-rated vision of Kiwi life clinches
King’s position as the most distinctive new voice in New Zealand film,
as insistent and inescapable as the Warehouse jingle.”
Christmas had its international premieres at the Locarno Film Festival
and the Edinburgh Film Festival, where its public screenings were sold
out.
The Edinburgh programme wrote: “Out of bleak material, King has
crafted a blackly comic, weirdly-touching comedy drama, at times wildly
funny, at others anguished and intimate: a warts and all look at the
horrors of suburbia, the awfulness of the holiday season and the ties
that bind…"
“As a piece of filmmaking, this is exciting – unlike anything else in
New Zealand cinema past or present.”
Reviewing the film at Locarno, Leslie Felperin wrote in Variety that
Christmas offers “a painfully realistic and blackly humorous slice
of suburban misery … a most impressive feature debut from Kiwi helmer
Gregory King."
“Nearly all the players are non-professionals, which makes the
naturalistic performances all the more impressive."
“Some of the pic’s shots look as carelessly composed as bad family
snaps, while others have a near-classical, formal neatness. Lenser
Virginia Loane breaks up the monotony of her long. Immobile takes by
frequently varying the angles, from very low to nearly overhead…"
“Luridly coloured production design is spot on, capturing the
subtropical, summertime milieu.”
Christmas was also selected for the Toronto Film Festival where it
screened in the Discovery section where Whale Rider screened last year,
though Toronto programmer Steve Gravestock observed: “This is no
Whale Rider.”
“It has been refreshing to be amongst audiences who tap into the dark
humour,” said producer Leanne Saunders. “The response from major
festivals has been overwhelming. I don’t think New Zealanders yet
appreciate the significance of the achievement of this film, especially
considering it was made for a hundredth of the budget of Whale Rider.”
The cast includes Darien Takle, Tony Waerea, David Hornblow and Helene
Pearse Otene.
Christmas was written and directed by Gregory King and produced by
Leanne Saunders for Severe Features, with assistance from the Screen
Innovation Production Fund and the New Zealand Film Commission.
Arkles Entertainment is
proud to bring this stunning film to New Zealand audiences through a
national arthouse release.
|
