It’s something in moments of stress and pressure we’ve all thought about – leaving that professional career behind for a rural European lifestyle. Just take a look at YouTube! Here Nick Scott review “From the Vine”. Italian-Canadian throws it all up and goes back to his genetic homeland, Italy! Here’s what Nick thought about “From the Vine” – I’ve seen some films that I have considered walking out of after the first half. – “From the Vine” is not one of them. “From the Vine” is refreshing viewing because It keeps you attention from the beginning until the closing credits.…
Author: ARTbop
One of the facts often overlooked when the phrase “David v. Goliath” is applied to battles is that, big and powerful as he was, Goliath didn’t win. In fact Goliath met a particularly ignominious and sad end – he really did bite the dust. Kua takoto te manuka The leaves of the manuka tree have been laid down I go to Wikipeda to confirm exactly what Goliath was trying to achieve – I remember most of it from childhood references. And it was certainly an outcome of unexpected success I always kept in mind during my own working years. …
It’s such a cliché: the fingers of early morning light. Little shafts of light moving across walls, furniture, art. Changing the colour of walls. Patchworking in light and shade. But I love it and often I’ll stand and watch as the light moves across the room. There are worse ways to start the day! Rosemary Balu. Rosemary Balu is the founding and current Managing Editor of ARTbop. She purchases her power from Trustpower and is a beneficiary of the Tauranga Energy Consumer Trust. Rosemary has arts and law degrees from the University of Auckland. She has been a working…
Regular ARTbop Film Reviewer Nick Scott has been to see the now almost period film, Six Minutes to Midnight, a film he says “you can enjoy”. Nick also says “Jim Broadbent, Judi Dench, Eddie Izzard; the presence of these three acting talents made me want to see this film,” The screenplay was partly writen by Eddie Izzard and it is important to realise that this is not an accurate historical film. Nor is it meant to be. There is a reason why films like this one have the tagline “based on actual events” with the important word being “based”. If…
The bell rings 60 times. 60 deaths. Relative to the contemporary devastation of Covid19, not many deaths. But like representative charges, those 60 peels of metallic note represent the wholesale deprivation of land and the overwhelming social dislocation of post-colonial New Zealand Maori. The annual commemorative service at St George’s Church at Gate Pa in urban Tauranga is one founded on reconciliation. Still surprising despite that 1864 battle having had the benefit of a pre-written behavioural code and post-battle examples of human empathy, compassion and generosity of spirit in the face of the subsequent massacre of Maori at Te Ranga.…
First walk through the Tauranga Art Gallery doors in an unconscionable age. I could blame Covid19, the closed off roads, the weird parking or the flower lines. Who cares, I’m here this early Sunday afternoon. You forget how breathtaking it is walking into the Atrium. I do quite literally take a breath. The wall hangings, their designs and colours are soaring, imposing but contemporary gentle – you could find them in a millennial sitting room (open plan). It’s the stunning work of Christina Pataialii. First stop the Youth Art Awards – these will confirm there is hope for the future…
Nearing Lake Tekapo and nearing the end of the search for personal vengeance. What happens after the bus stops at the southern end of the village? As they were talking, Lake Tekapo came into view. The iridescence of the water immediately stopped the conversation. They surveyed it open mouthed. Neither Joe nor Ian had seen the lake before and like most tourists they found the sight incredible. The bus pulled into the village at the southern end of the lake and they could see its glowing blue water, the surrounding mountains and that strangely shaped Mt John with the Observatory…
History. It’s not written by the dead. It’s usually not written by the children. It’s usually not written by the women. ANZAC Day Morning 2020 – the Covid ANZAC Day We’re standing in the garden among the flowers, under the Pohutukawa buzzing with warm summer bees. I feel my throat close and the tears start to bang against my eyes as she talks about her Aunt. Not her Aunt now but her Aunt then. When she was a little girl, a tiny little girl of five or six or seven in a war ravaged Germany. A little girl being sent…
Tauranga author and reviewer Nick Scott’s been at the movies at the Rialto in Downtown Tauranga. Nick saw “Chaos Walking” and says …”this was a movie I had to watch…A sci-fi film with no connection to Star Wars!” Chaos Walking turned out to be great and the first truly original film I have seen in the last year. I kept on looking for a reference to some other film but, no, it was all very new. The narrative begins with a spaceship crashing on a planet and while it was filmed somewhere on earth the rest is unique. Just who…
This seemed like it was a set-up for a fairly simple comedy but, while it was a comedy, a fairly dark one, the plot was not so simple. It’s an adaptation of an Icelandic narrative to Western Australia. The beginning was very ordinary. So very ordinary I considered leaving just before it was half way through. Then, one simple piece of information turned the whole story into something you just had to watch. It’s a rural story with rural characters and the juxtaposition of rural characters and urban bureaucratic characters. There are two brothers in a complex relationship. There is…