The Screen Addict | ๐ง๐ฎ๐บ๐ฎ๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ
Lee Tamahori passed away last week.
Tamahori wasnโt what one would could call a โhigh-profile directorโ, but I was a big fan of his work nonetheless.
The New-Zealand born filmmakerโs most famous work is of course ๐ข๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ช๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ (๐ญ๐ต๐ต๐ฐ) and although I love that film, it isnโt my favorite Tamahori flick.
I absolutely adore the Nineties-Thriller ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ (๐ญ๐ต๐ต๐ณ), starring Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ was released when video stores were still huge, but I had always resisted renting it because I hated the cover art (proof that marketing actually works). It wasnโt until someone whose opinion I highly valued recommended it to me, that I decided to give it a shot.
I loved everything about ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ โ The phenomenal opening sequence featuring Jerry Goldsmithโs epic score, David Mametโs clever and exciting script, the great cast and wonderful acting throughout, and especially the subdued yet extremely gratifying finale.
I pop on my DVD of ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ at least once a year just to listen to Goldsmithโs score over the opening credits, but I always end up watching the whole thing.
I just love it, I cannot overstate.
Fun fact โ the huge Kodiak bear featured in ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ is named โBartโ and was actually an old acquaintance of Hopkins. They both starred in ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐น (๐ญ๐ต๐ต๐ฐ) three years prior.
Tamahori was a much sought-after director during The Nineties and most of The Noughties, helming big studio-fare like ๐๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ (๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ญ), ๐ ๐ซ๐ : ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น (๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฑ) and Pierce Brosnanโs final appearance as Bond in ๐๐ถ๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ฎ๐ (๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฎ).
In recent years, Tamahori seemed to return to his roots with independent productions like ๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐ (๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ณ) and ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐นโ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ (๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ญ) โ which is where our paths crossed from time to time.
I met the soft-spoken Tamahori years ago when he was trying to get a project called ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฟ financed. IMDb lists this pic as his final film โ now titled ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ฉ (๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฒ) and still in post-production. I sincerely hope that Tamahoriโs last will actually get a proper release next year.
I commemorated Tamahoriโs death not by revisiting ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ for the gazillionth time, but by finally screening ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ (๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฏ). This title had been on my watchlist for quite a while, but with the deluge of great content (sorry) out there, a humble film like this tends to linger.
I have always been interested in films that originate from or take place on the Pacific Islands. Everything ranging from the early work of Taika Waititi to spectacles like ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฎ ๐ก๐๐ถ (๐ญ๐ต๐ต๐ฐ) and ๐๐ผ๐ป-๐ง๐ถ๐ธ๐ถ (๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฎ) fascinates me.
Tamahori of course was of great significance to the Polynesian film industry not only through his early work, but again later in his career with films like ๐ ๐ฎ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ (๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฒ) and ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐.
In ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐, we follow Thomas Munro (Guy Pearce), a British missionary in New Zealand caught in the middle of the brutal Mฤori tribal wars.
Iโve written before about the so-called โPocahontas Principleโ and my fondness for films that follow this narrative structure, such as ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ช๐ผ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ (๐ญ๐ต๐ต๐ฌ), ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐บ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ (๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฏ) and ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ (๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ต).
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ is a wonderful addition to this sub-genre.
Itโs easy to dismiss these stories as โWhite Saviorismโ, but I choose to see the beauty of acculturation. Call me naive or a hopeless romantic, I donโt care.
Furthermore โ having now seen ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐, I am quite sure that Tamahori appreciated the notion of acculturation too. I guess I am, or rather, ๐ธ๐ข๐ด in good companyโฆ