BELLBIRD
****
Director: Hamish Bennett
Screenwriter: Hamish Bennett
Principal cast:
Marshall Napier
Annie Whittle
Cohen Holloway
Rachel House
Stephen Tamarapa
Kahukura Retimana
Country: New Zealand
Classification: M
Runtime: 96 mins.
Australian release date: 2 July 2020
Set in the rural expanse of Maungakaramea on the northern end of New Zealand’s North Island, Hamish Bennett’s directorial feature debut, Bellbird, is a treat. Akin to the ‘Made in NZ’ films of Taiki Waititi, like Hunt For The Wilderpeople and Boy, Bennett’s script contains the dry-as-dust humour that makes films from the Land of the Long White Cloud so unique. As Bennett, a director of Māori descent, explains, “You don’t see many outward displays of affection or emotion with these people, but this can’t be mistaken for not caring. It’s very much the opposite. The love, the loyalty, the reliance - it can all be found in the little moments, buried under the layers of cheeky banter and cow shit.” And he should know - he was raised in the Northland area where the film was shot and is intimately connected to the community there.
Ross (Marshall Napier) and Beth (Annie Whittle) are an elderly couple running a dairy farm together. They have a fairly monosyllabic relationship, although it is one of mutual love and respect. Ross, particularly, treats words like gold and he doesn’t spend them unless he absolutely has to! When Beth dies suddenly, he is bereft and unable to share his grief. His adult son, Bruce (Cohen Holloway), works at the local re-cycling centre - aka rubbish tip - but Ross wants him to chuck it in and help him work the farm. Bruce, however, is not keen on the idea and tries to juggle both positions, cycling from one to the other. His boss, Connie (Rachel House), is aware of his father’s wishes but also needs Bruce to keep her business afloat. For a while, Ross takes on Marley (Kahukura Retimana) to help him, a young Māori boy whose single mother is desperate to get him out of the house. The lad brings with him not just a sense of humour but also enthusiasm for the work, but he’s not really embraced by Ross because the old man wants Bruce to take over the reins of the dairy. We realise from the father and son’s slightly fractured, non-communicative relationship that Beth was the voice for both the men and the glue that kept the family together. Gradually, over the course of a year, the few people that know the pair come to understand the difficulties they are facing and, in their quiet, understated way, rally around the help.
A recurrent theme running through the recent slate of films on show is grief and its consequences (e.g. A White, White Day and soon-to-be-released The King Of Staten Island). It is tempting to consider that these movies are somehow prescient at this time when the world is experiencing an unprecedented pandemic and thousands are dying but, of course, that is not the case. The fact that Beth’s death was sudden adds to the confusion and unexpected loss that Ross is trying to come to terms with. He is not only lonely, but feels alone, too reticent to recognise that his neighbours are willing to support him. Bennett’s characters are all quite distinct but collectively they offer a sense of hope and humanity. This is a community which looks out for one another and its various rough-hewn personalities deliver, at times, laugh-out-loud observations. Bennett says that, “The land [around Maungakaramea] has a unique, rough beauty, and the characters in the film are both a reflection and a product of this world.” His delightful script, together with Grant McKinnon’s exquisite cinematography and Jason Pingelly’s sharp editing, make Bellbird one of the better films currently on release and a thoroughly enjoyable viewing experience.
Screenwriter: Hamish Bennett
Principal cast:
Marshall Napier
Annie Whittle
Cohen Holloway
Rachel House
Stephen Tamarapa
Kahukura Retimana
Country: New Zealand
Classification: M
Runtime: 96 mins.
Australian release date: 2 July 2020
Set in the rural expanse of Maungakaramea on the northern end of New Zealand’s North Island, Hamish Bennett’s directorial feature debut, Bellbird, is a treat. Akin to the ‘Made in NZ’ films of Taiki Waititi, like Hunt For The Wilderpeople and Boy, Bennett’s script contains the dry-as-dust humour that makes films from the Land of the Long White Cloud so unique. As Bennett, a director of Māori descent, explains, “You don’t see many outward displays of affection or emotion with these people, but this can’t be mistaken for not caring. It’s very much the opposite. The love, the loyalty, the reliance - it can all be found in the little moments, buried under the layers of cheeky banter and cow shit.” And he should know - he was raised in the Northland area where the film was shot and is intimately connected to the community there.
Ross (Marshall Napier) and Beth (Annie Whittle) are an elderly couple running a dairy farm together. They have a fairly monosyllabic relationship, although it is one of mutual love and respect. Ross, particularly, treats words like gold and he doesn’t spend them unless he absolutely has to! When Beth dies suddenly, he is bereft and unable to share his grief. His adult son, Bruce (Cohen Holloway), works at the local re-cycling centre - aka rubbish tip - but Ross wants him to chuck it in and help him work the farm. Bruce, however, is not keen on the idea and tries to juggle both positions, cycling from one to the other. His boss, Connie (Rachel House), is aware of his father’s wishes but also needs Bruce to keep her business afloat. For a while, Ross takes on Marley (Kahukura Retimana) to help him, a young Māori boy whose single mother is desperate to get him out of the house. The lad brings with him not just a sense of humour but also enthusiasm for the work, but he’s not really embraced by Ross because the old man wants Bruce to take over the reins of the dairy. We realise from the father and son’s slightly fractured, non-communicative relationship that Beth was the voice for both the men and the glue that kept the family together. Gradually, over the course of a year, the few people that know the pair come to understand the difficulties they are facing and, in their quiet, understated way, rally around the help.
A recurrent theme running through the recent slate of films on show is grief and its consequences (e.g. A White, White Day and soon-to-be-released The King Of Staten Island). It is tempting to consider that these movies are somehow prescient at this time when the world is experiencing an unprecedented pandemic and thousands are dying but, of course, that is not the case. The fact that Beth’s death was sudden adds to the confusion and unexpected loss that Ross is trying to come to terms with. He is not only lonely, but feels alone, too reticent to recognise that his neighbours are willing to support him. Bennett’s characters are all quite distinct but collectively they offer a sense of hope and humanity. This is a community which looks out for one another and its various rough-hewn personalities deliver, at times, laugh-out-loud observations. Bennett says that, “The land [around Maungakaramea] has a unique, rough beauty, and the characters in the film are both a reflection and a product of this world.” His delightful script, together with Grant McKinnon’s exquisite cinematography and Jason Pingelly’s sharp editing, make Bellbird one of the better films currently on release and a thoroughly enjoyable viewing experience.