2020 was supposed to be another big year of travel for me, with a four-week Europe trip in August and September including Iceland, the top country on my bucket list of places to go. Safe to say, COVID-19 tore these plans to shreds and there’s no certainty on whether any international travel will be possible this year at all. So I thought I’d look back and blog about one of my most memorable overseas holidays, a solo car trip in New Zealand.
Watched an early Peter Jackson film, which was also a big-screen debut for very young Kate Winslet. Heavenly Creatures is based on the true story of two teenage girls in 1950s New Zealand who commit a terrible crime. You see the immediate bloody aftermath in the opening scene, so the movie then becomes a relentless, suspenseful countdown to the horrible act, while you hope against all odds that it doesn’t come to pass.
Brutal, powerful and at times hard-to-watch drama about a Maori family wrecked by the domestic violence. You get an indication of what you’re up for in the opening shot: a picture-perfect view of the New Zealand landscape set to a wistful tune that quickly reveals itself an advertising billboard near an ugly and noisy construction site. If you want the pretty, look elsewhere.
I’m not fussed to watch the latest Thor extravaganza, but its release at least reminded me to track down director Taika Waititi’s earlier film, a mockumentary about house-sharing vampires in Wellington, which he made with Flight of the Conchords’ Jemaine Clement.
yggdrasille.com 