The World of Movies: Cinema of Unease
Written by Rachael Crawley
The World of Movies is a series that explores global cinema, drawing on films from many countries, industries and eras. This week, we take a look at New Zealand’s cinematic emergence.
Cinema of Unease.
May contain spoilers.
Content warning - this movie is a documentary containing clips from other films, which may include controversial or violent topics.
Out of all the countries in the world, and the many, many movies that have been produced, it may surprise you that my favourite national cinema is that of New Zealand. Despite its small population of about five million people, it has consistently produced a stellar slate of movies, introduced the world to some of film’s best auteurs, and taken enormous risks – both by pushing the envelope with content, and in stunning technological innovation. Without New Zealand, cinema would be a poorer medium.
Though this column has bounced around to over fifteen countries, we have somehow missed the entire region of Oceania. Considering my fondness for New Zealand movies, I decided the only thing to do was to look at – well, all of them. Fortunately, an excellent (yet controversial) documentary is here to help.
Around the mid-1990s, the British Film Institute began a series called Century of Cinema, a collection of documentaries about global movie history. As a marker, they used 1895, the date of the first Lumière brothers screening. These were no simple clip shows – they involved a truly staggering list of talent from around the world. (As far as I can tell, though, they never did make a movie about Canada, much to my disappointment.) The list of actors and filmmakers who worked on this project could easily be read as a history of cinema itself.
Cinema of Unease: A Personal Journey by Sam Neill (Sam Neill/Judy Rymer, 1995) is less concerned with chronology than with thematic origin and impact. What does New Zealand’s filmography say about this country? Why had it changed so rapidly in the previous decades? How did it develop such a dark and introspective cinematic flavour?
Cinema of Unease.
The documentary is as personal as it is societal, combining Neill’s recollections of New Zealand with essential movie clips. Films aren’t always identified, though some should be recognizable to film fans. While movies were an important part of New Zealand’s social fabric and of Neill’s childhood, very few of them actually came from within the country – which left a vacuum for a new style all its own.
Neill swiftly takes us through the social changes of the mid-twentieth century, linking them to the development of New Zealand’s distinct cinematic identity. From the 1970s onward, as Neill’s career began, the country’s cinema turned to complex, even frightening themes. Both the nuclear family and the order of society were upended, rejected in favour of a new type of freedom. Neill describes the change as “Gothic”, which fits perfectly. Newer movies frequently explored intense subject matter, external horrors and, frequently, the troubled side of the human mind.
The question of New Zealand identity is also part of this discussion, particularly in the context of growing Maori rights and of the country’s relationship to the United Kingdom (thousands of kilometres away yet still culturally tied). Neill is not afraid to be frank, expressing criticism and praise of certain changes in New Zealand society. Neither does he shy away from controversial movie content. It is easy to see why the film attracted criticism on its release.
Delivered through this personal lens, Cinema of Unease is a combination of memoir and chronicle. Its only downside is that it cannot cover the past twenty-six years of filmmaking. By 1995, New Zealand cinema had emerged as a fully realized, distinctive field. Since then, it has only grown. For anyone interested in this country’s legacy of great movies, Cinema of Unease serves as the perfect introduction.
Rachael Crawley holds a Master's Degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, and has worked with film in Canada and in Europe. She adores language and cinema, and how these subjects interact with each other.