When Kiwis get soaked to the bone in winter rain and long for the warmth of the sun, they seem to comfort themselves in two ways: 1. indulging in heaps of delicious, home-roasted hot coffee, or 2. basking in the glow of the silver screens and spotlights of a festival. Currently, we are in the thick of winter, and we need a double dose of indoor culture. So, to prevent a full on S.A.D. epidemic, the Telecom International Film and the Christchruch Arts Festivals have come to town! These two-week long events couldn't be more refreshing unless they came with sun lamps and a good mojito.With a tight wallet at present, I can't attend all of the goings-on, but there are a select few that I can
manage to fit in. All around town, there are plays, cabaret acts, music gigs, classical concerts, gallery exhibitions, and dance performances. So far, I've seen two films and attended two concerts.The first film I saw was the new New Zealand "geek-edy" Eagle vs. Shark starring Jemaine Clement (of the new HBO show Flight of the Conchords) and Loren Horsley, and directed by Taika Cohen , a.k.a. Taika Waititi (writer and director on Flight). This is a shoe-gazing, nerd epic that sometimes crosses the line from endearing to slightly upsetting. As it tracks the relationship of two socially awkward twenty-somethings--Jarrod and Lily--the film becomes a mission to his home town in which Jarrod confronts his past. He's really quite a jerk, but we're led to believe that his behavior is a result of bullying at school and his father's neglect (His older brother was a star athlete, adored and pushed by his father.) Yet, Lily follows him blindly and in the end makes him a better man.
The film is very charming and funny and has some nice themes. But, I couldn't help leaving the theater a little annoyed. Sometimes I feel uncomfortable laughing at these caricatures of social misfits. I guess that's what makes the film effective and exploitative-it gets you to enjoy and laugh at their quirks and absurdities, but in the end you may feel guilty as you begin to see them as valued people with similar struggles and experiences to your own. Anyway, the movie isn't amazing, but it's definitely good. I love these guys in Flight of the Conchords...be sure to check it out--it's a wonderful slice of kiwi-hipster pie.
The second film I saw was called Death of a President and it was a fictional account of the assassination of President Bush. The film describes the development of events surrounding his
shooting as well as the attempt to find the killer. It avoids Bush-bashing, which I think would cheapen the film, and instead offers very powerful messages in very subtle, yet potent ways. The film splices fictional interviews with real news footage to make it seem like a documentary (if there hadn't been an initial disclaimer, I might have thought it was all true).For me, and most Americans, violence has always been virtual. I experience most world events through a screen, so watching this film was just as real as standing in the guidance counselor's office in high school watching the planes crash into the twin towers. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew it was all just a movie, and I had to keep reminding myself of that, but when Bush's assassination ushered in a new age of police state measures--Patriot Act 3--and bolstered a new Syrian-focused war on terror, my heart dropped, I got a chill and began to shake in my movie theater seat. This time, I was watching a national disaster (albeit fictional) from foreign soil, looking at the U.S. from a distance through kiwi-tinted eyes. It felt like I was in that scene from the Wizard of Oz, when the Wicked Witch shows Dorothy her friends' plight through her giant crystal ball and there's nothing she can do about it. She's helpless and so far away. Yet, indeed, for better or worse, there's no place like home.
On a lighter note, I saw Lauren Mitchell, the Oval Office (my voice teacher, Sacha's band), and Solaa perform as a part of the Christchurch Arts Festival. All of these bands incorporate some soul, funk, r&b, and jazz, but Solaa (my favorite) had two MCs throwing down some rhymes and a scratch DJ as well as two percussion sections, a man on synth and keys, two vocalists (male and female), 3 guys on brass, guitar, and bass. They sampled across American hip hop, funk, soul, and African beats, borrowing from The Roots and reminding me a lot of Jurassic 5, Ozomatli, and at times Fela Kuti.The festivals still have another week or two left, so I may have a few more movies, galleries, plays, and concerts in my future.
In the spirit of Kiwi arts, I attended a harakeke (flax) weaving workshop today where I learned
to make flax flowers and a kete, a small two-cornered container. From 10-4, I sat with 11 other women from all over--Kiwis, Americans, a Scandinavian, and an Israeli--in a historic Victorian home. These giant, strong plants grow throughout the country and enter into many aspects of Maori life and material culture including vessels, skirts, cloaks, wall decoration, tools, and fishing nets. Here's a photo of my kete and some flowers I made. Over the next few weeks the green will dry out and fade to a cream color.Next week I head across the ditch to Melbourne, Australia! I'll be doing some research as well as hanging out with my friend Jenny who's coming down from Sydney where she works.
Cheers,D
