‘IT'S GOT AWKWARD PEOPLE MOPING ABOUT LANDSCAPES'

Kiwi allblack

Miles Fielder goes to the dark side with Taika Waititi, the new Australasian low budget film comedy prince

hen .\'e\\ /.ealand \tantl up enmie. aelnr.

painter and phntnerapher 'l'aika \Vaititi lnnk a

\hnt at \KI'IIlllL‘ and direetin}: a mn\ie he had no idea it \\t‘lliti he nnmmatetl lnr the (hand .lur} l’ri/e at the piexliginux Sundanee l'ilm l-exlixal and heenme the l'neux nl~ a l‘ltitilll}: war that \\Utliti end in a \ale tn premier :\lllL‘l'l\‘tlll tlixliihutnr .\lirama\. pre\inu\|_\ hnme ln ()uenlin 'I'arantinn. Rnhert Rntlrigue/ and Kenn Smith. l’erhap\ \xnrkxhnpping hix dehut at lx’nhert Redlnrtl‘x Sundanee l.ah nn the haek nl~ an ()xear nnminalinn l'nr hix \hnrt Iiin (an. ()m' M's/ll \hnuld ha\ e alerted (‘nhen tn the hig thingx in \tnre l'nr

hix miernrhudgel rnmantie enmed) ahnut a pair nt'

geekx. litre/e ix Slitu'lt. It didn't. and \n the _\nung_' ’l‘er \\ hanau .i .-\panui tlexeendent lindx himxell' pleaxanll) \tirpriwd and nnt a little an\inu\ ahnut the film'x tnrtunex.

'l \\a\ ner\nu\ ahnut the \\a_\ the lilm \xnuld he \tlltl h} penple nnt reall} getting; the film. .ittxt naming; ln make mnne) nlt’ til it.' \a_\\ \Vaitili. 'Ynu dnn't \xanl In lnxe )nur nriginal \ixinn thrnugh marketing. .\lirama\ xx ere prett} gnntl ahnut it. hut it'\ hard tn market a film like thix. Ynu ean market it nn the haek nl‘ annther film. hut that\ dangernux heeanxe _\nu ereate e\peetalinn h} haxing penple thinking tlte_\'re gning tn we the ne\t Mum/mu llinunillt- \xhen it\ aetualh prett} different.

In laet. [cue/e \\ .S‘lnu‘k hearx nnl} a \uperl‘ieial rewmhlanee tn the .I\meriean geek enmed} lalw nnminated l‘nr the (irand .lur} l’ri/e at Suntlaneei. \Vaitili‘x tihn i\ mnre rnmantie. and \xhile it'x limit} it\ a|\n quite dark. |I\ nriginx lie in a eharaeter ereated linr theatre h} ('nhen'x partner. the \\ellingtnn-haxed enmie

aetnr Inren llnrxle). "l'he eharaeter. l.I|_\. reminded me nl (ielxnmina lrnm l.u Strut/(if \a}\ \Vailiti. making an une\peeled thnugh nnt tnmarrantetl rel'eienee tn the l’ellini elaxxie. "l‘hexe innneent. enmpaxxinnale. npen eharaeterx that dnn't \peak mueh. Lauren and I talked ahnut \xhat kind nl' unrld |.i|_\ \xnuld inhahit. and what kind nl' git} \he \xnuld he interexted in. We eame up hill] .larrnd |.lemaine ('Iementl. \xhn ix prelt} eeeentrie

a Int like her hill the enmplete nppmite in Ill\ eneret and direetinn and threu that eharaeter at Ill} In \ee \xhat \xnuld happen. The \ltll‘} \\L‘lll lrnm there.

‘I dnn‘t knnu it it\ a rnmaneef he enntmuex. 'h‘x ent rnmanee in it. It\ gnl \nme enmie elementx. lt'x .l|\tl gnt \tllllL' ilepl‘exxing mnment. Ilix gnt a\\k\\aril penple mnping ahntit landxeapex Ynu either get it and )nu like it. nr _\nu tlnn'l. I’d unit} it exer)nne \lartetl liking; lill\ lilm. I'd leel I \xax inn mainxtream. that I'd \nld nut'

litre/c \‘\ X/ltll‘k l\ tllvl til\llllf_‘llt\ileti it} ll\ \enxe ill lmrnnur: deatlpan. earth}. with a dark edge. "l'here'x definitel} a .\'e\\ /.ea|and \enxe nl humnur.‘ \;l_\\ (‘nhen. ‘hut there'x nnthing tn enmpare it In heeauxe \en /.ealand rarel} makex k'tllllL'tIlL'\. We make darker tilmx ahnul man and hix emirnnment. :\ll nl nur art ix dark. ik‘etlth‘ nl' \\ here \ke enme lrnm. ’I‘ht\ ixnlated little natinn tilled \xilh penple \xhn ilnn‘t reall} knnu \xhn the} are are \\ e a enlnn} nr nur nun natinn‘.’ hk \ueh a beautiful enunlr}. hut _\nu feel trapped.

‘f'inr a \xltile.' \Vaititi laughx \xith a grimaee. '\\ e had the illgitcfl l'tllL‘ Hl- ICL‘I] \tllclth‘ ill the \\tlliiti..

Eagle vs Shark, GFT, Glasgow and selected release from Fri 17 Aug.

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THE BEST FILM & DVD RELEASES

=i= The Bourne Ultimatum The final adaptation of Robert Ludlum's Bourne trilogy brings things to an exhilarating close. wrth amneSiac Beurne (Matt Damon) putting together the final pieces of pu//Ie. Once again director Paul ()reengrass reinterprets the action thriller with rare intensity and seriousness. See revrew. page 20. General release from I r/ I 7 Aug.

=E= Eagle vs Shark Fashionably stilted and awkward romantic comedy about dead end robbers in search of connection. lhis; debut feature. written and directed by and starring New Zealand short filmmaker laika Waititi is darker than most See interview. left. Of 7, Glasgow,- Cameo, Edinburgh fro/n Fri 77 Aug.

>l< The Walker Woody Harrelson stars as a high society chaperone who becomes embrorled in s andal in Paul Schrader's excellent exrstenlial character drama. Selected release.

>l< Longing Intense, mature and powerful German adultery drama. GFT, Glasgow. Mon 20 8 Tue 2 I Aug.

>l< The Servant Very welcome screening of Joseph Losey's brilliant. unforgettable class power struggle drama starring Dirk Bogarde and James Fox at the top of their form. This is a Monorail Film Club presentation and will be introduced by Franz Ferdinand‘s Alex Kapranos. GFF Glasgow on Sun 79 Aug. 96 Mutual Appreciation Andrew Bujalski's instant ‘mumblecore' classic indie comedy available on DVD for the first time. See review. page 21. Out Mon 20 Aug (Vital).

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