Mt. Zion

I'm a sucker for movies from New Zealand, which has produced some great Maori movies over the years, from the brutal Once Were Warriors and the bloodletting colonial-western Utu, to the delightful Boy and the spiritual Whale Rider.

Alas, this one falls well short of its peers. Its portrayal of rural life in the 70s has charm but it strives a little too hard for cuteness, falling into sentimentality and idealization of poor but honest Maori family life. The story fails to fulfill any promise, pacing and direction have problems, but the acting really lets this movie down. The dialog can be unintelligible with accents from a later era it seems, and even Stan Walker's wonderful singing detracts from the movie's authenticity, with Walker's neo-soul style out of sync with the times. Temuera Morrison alone is left to carry the acting, but often has little to do except glare for the camera's gaze. The cinematography is a standout, though Pukekohe is idealized, like the times, as a perpetually sunny rural haven (it was either overcast or raining both times I visited!).

Despite its shortcomings, Mt Zion holds interest for the outsider as a social document of Maori life and marae ritual, even though the movie seems to be made primarily for a Maori audience. There's enough charm to keep you engaged, and Bob Marley's digitized cameo is a curious highlight.

I really quite enjoyed it - being English it was a nice thing to hear the Maori language spoken in a movie - in context too, as it would have been used more back then than it is now. Did they really say 'bro that much back then though???

Stan Walker's not a great actor, but better than I thought he would be. Voice is great though! The other kiwi actors are good, better than Stan and everyone copes with a pretty poor script at times. Tem Morrison is a little underused.

The band mostly look like they can play the instruments too, which is refreshing - as it adds to the reality. Musically you'll be tapping feet, if not swaying to the beats.

Overall it's not going to win awards but the pace is just about acceptable and handling of the musical numbers is pretty good. The look captures the 70's era well, with the fantastic motor cars of the time being quintessentially NZ and adding colour and style.

Heading to the theater's, I intended on seeing Django Unchained, though to my dismay it was sold out and I had to settle for Mt. Zion. I was pleasantly surprised by this Kiwi film and what went on in Pukekohe in the 70's.

The cinematography of this film is great. Lots of warm colours in the potato fields, along with great on-stage scenes.

The acting was mixed with some excellent surprises (Stan Walker) and some mediocrity lower in the cast. Stan Walker was probably the best part of this movie, with the pop-star making his acting debut. His acting was genuine and his singing was incredible.

At times the Maori accent is hard to understand (even for a New Zealander), though it makes the narrative more believable in the scheme of things.

Apart from a quite somber mood in a lot of the movie (with all the set backs incurred by Turei), this is a nice little film that does New Zealand proud. With more humour this film could have been better, though it was still a well worth substitute on my movie going experience!