Rain

Rating:
Summary: Not Sure What The Folks @ Sundance Were Thinking ...
Review: ... in giving this film such high praise (along with several notable newspapers on the back advertising flap), but RAIN did sport the undercurrents of a possible brewing storm. Unfortunately, the real RAIN probably begins after the film's tragic (but not entirely unpredictable) climax.

A summer holiday at a shack of a coastal home is the principal setting for this slow moving tale of 13-year-old Janey. At first, she appears an ordinary teen ... hoping for the life of a supermodel and sneaking a drink of alcohol when mom and dad aren't watching. As the film progresses, we quickly learn that Janey is a teen coming to grips with her budding sexuality -- far faster than most her age -- thanks to the knowing extramarital daliances of her mother with a local friend. Intrigued by accidentally witnessing their forbidden kiss, Janey begins to feel the yearnings of sexual attraction. The destination it leads her, however, is one exploring the loss of far more than simple innocence.

Nearly an exercise in boredom through much of the story, RAIN juxtaposes ordinary existence with the oft-explored 'coming of age' tale with mixed results. At times, RAIN boasts some astonishingly beautiful photography (some desperately grim, some wonderfully lush), but some scenes are slightly out-of-focus (intentional?) or characters heads are completely chopped off in the 1:33:1 ratio in which it was filmed. The film sports a soundtrack that is harsh, at times, and I found myself constantly questioning the director's annoying choice of background music and incessantly long film scenes with minimal cuts. A tighter pace might've improved RAIN's inevitable lingering timing, but perhaps that isn't what the director wanted.

I suppose the greatest strength of RAIN is the second half: Janey kicks her interest in the opposite sex up several notches by titillating youth (simple kisses on the mouth) to exploring the body of a much older man (her mother's secret suitor). The man is her first lover (largely depicted in some wonderful symbolic images). Finally, the film explodes in emotion by the family coming to grips with growing old together, even though they'll never quite be the same after the events of the summer. However, by this point in the film, the drawn out cadence of the narrative didn't offer enough hooks to captivate this admirer of foreign films, delivering a little too little a little too late.

Still, RAIN isn't a bad film. It's certainly watchable, and, as a character study, one could argue that it's a purer coming of age film in contemporary society than TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD was in its day. The plot draws out like a "New York Times" notable bestseller of the week, complete with the requisite tragedy comparing the loss of innocence with the loss of life.

If there had been something new here (other than the sparkling performance of the young lead), I might've rewarded the film with higher marks. As it stands, RAIN is much like the weather: it's a bit of fun to play in at first, but, after awhile, it just feels darn cold.

Rating:
Summary: Not Sure What The Folks @ Sundance Were Thinking ...
Review: ... in giving this film such high praise (along with several notable newspapers on the back advertising flap), but RAIN did sport the undercurrents of a possible brewing storm. Unfortunately, the real RAIN probably begins after the film's tragic (but not entirely unpredictable) climax.

A summer holiday at a shack of a coastal home is the principal setting for this slow moving tale of 13-year-old Janey. At first, she appears an ordinary teen ... hoping for the life of a supermodel and sneaking a drink of alcohol when mom and dad aren't watching. As the film progresses, we quickly learn that Janey is a teen coming to grips with her budding sexuality -- far faster than most her age -- thanks to the knowing extramarital daliances of her mother with a local friend. Intrigued by accidentally witnessing their forbidden kiss, Janey begins to feel the yearnings of sexual attraction. The destination it leads her, however, is one exploring the loss of far more than simple innocence.

Nearly an exercise in boredom through much of the story, RAIN juxtaposes ordinary existence with the oft-explored 'coming of age' tale with mixed results. At times, RAIN boasts some astonishingly beautiful photography (some desperately grim, some wonderfully lush), but some scenes are slightly out-of-focus (intentional?) or characters heads are completely chopped off in the 1:33:1 ratio in which it was filmed. The film sports a soundtrack that is harsh, at times, and I found myself constantly questioning the director's annoying choice of background music and incessantly long film scenes with minimal cuts. A tighter pace might've improved RAIN's inevitable lingering timing, but perhaps that isn't what the director wanted.

I suppose the greatest strength of RAIN is the second half: Janey kicks her interest in the opposite sex up several notches by titillating youth (simple kisses on the mouth) to exploring the body of a much older man (her mother's secret suitor). The man is her first lover (largely depicted in some wonderful symbolic images). Finally, the film explodes in emotion by the family coming to grips with growing old together, even though they'll never quite be the same after the events of the summer. However, by this point in the film, the drawn out cadence of the narrative didn't offer enough hooks to captivate this admirer of foreign films, delivering a little too little a little too late.

Still, RAIN isn't a bad film. It's certainly watchable, and, as a character study, one could argue that it's a purer coming of age film in contemporary society than TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD was in its day. The plot draws out like a "New York Times" notable bestseller of the week, complete with the requisite tragedy comparing the loss of innocence with the loss of life.

If there had been something new here (other than the sparkling performance of the young lead), I might've rewarded the film with higher marks. As it stands, RAIN is much like the weather: it's a bit of fun to play in at first, but, after awhile, it just feels darn cold.

Rating:
Summary: Low key gem, with fantastic performances
Review: Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki gives a phenomenal performance. From what I understand this is her debut film, but I fully expect to see her in more movies. The acting in Rain is superb all around, but so much of the movie rests on Fulford-Wierzbicki's shoulders. She creates a believable, complex character.

Special note also goes to the young actor who portrays her brother. There is a very real bond between the two characters, rarely are sibling relationships shown this realistically.

The film is also very beautifully shot. Many well-composed, strikingly-lit shots linger long enough to really appreciate them. This is a very leisurely paced film, yet the characters are so compelling that it never becomes boring. Give this movie a shot if you enjoy character studies.

Rating:
Summary: Low key gem, with fantastic performances
Review: Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki gives a phenomenal performance. From what I understand this is her debut film, but I fully expect to see her in more movies. The acting in Rain is superb all around, but so much of the movie rests on Fulford-Wierzbicki's shoulders. She creates a believable, complex character.

Special note also goes to the young actor who portrays her brother. There is a very real bond between the two characters, rarely are sibling relationships shown this realistically.

The film is also very beautifully shot. Many well-composed, strikingly-lit shots linger long enough to really appreciate them. This is a very leisurely paced film, yet the characters are so compelling that it never becomes boring. Give this movie a shot if you enjoy character studies.

Rating:
Summary: Have all I want. Simple enough? Whole lot more thinking of.
Review: FAMILY TIES ARE COMPLICATING:
The point of this whole film: the crux, the message, the morale is your family is more important than having affairs with strangers you barely know. That is the tragic lesson, a fable for the new millenium.

PRIVATE UNIVERSE/KARE KARE:
The family in this film thought they could find happiness in buying a small beach house, in a small tranquil town amongst stunning nature elements. They were wrong. The isolation and mundaneity of everyday life is exemplified x 1011 here. If you thought surburban life was boring, think again. There was nothing to do for the character excepts revert to primal cravings.

MOST OF ALL IT'S MUSIC TAKING ME:
The soundtrack of this film is mainly done by Neil Finn, from Crowded House & Split Enz and brother of Tim. This, as well as the cinematography, is the highlight/main selling point of the film. It showcases Finn can transgress any musical genre, with skill, grace and FINese. Sadly and commercially the CD soundtrack is scarcely available in retail shops, let alone here on Amazon, so if you want a copy scout eBay and second hand record stores.

I HAVE ALL I WANT IS THAT SIMPLE ENOUGH? WHOLE LOT MORE I'M THINKING OF:
The DVD is quite dissapointing, I would have purchased it if it came with commentaries (especially by Neil Finn or Christine Jeffs). There was no subtitles (to clarify the NZ accents) and is a single layer disc. Maybe in the future they could release a special edition so please support this film by buying your copy on Amazon and other retail shops. Other films similar to this are Lolita and The War Zone (Ireland), all dealing with teenage sexuality.

Rating:
Summary: One summer and so much more...
Review: I was very pleasantly surprised by this movie. I expected something of the Lolita kind of movie, but it turned out to be something completely else. Truth is that there was a 13-year old girl and much older guy involved, but the story certainly didn't evolve around that. It was basically an excerpt from a young girl's life and some of the most important moments of her life fall into that 'excerpt'. A summer that changed young Janey's life forever. One of the most important moments of the movie was when Janey told her father in front of her mother that "she [the mother] has him wrapped around her finger" and other truths about her mother and her behavior; and then stands up and leaves with her mother wanting to follow her when the father stops the mother and says "leave her, she's growing up". At that moment you can feel how pathetic the whole situation in which the family finds itself is, how well Janey knows what is going on and is disturbed by it - how she's turning from an innocent child into an adult feeling the weight of the reality on her unexperienced shoulders - that all is toppled later in the movie. It is a movie about growing up, about loss of innocence, about need for a better communication among people, about the need for 'caring for other people, not only yourself', about problems that need solving....about life.
This is a real life movie.
Great performances, great New Zealand scenery, perfect music. Thumbs up to Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki.

Rating:
Summary: One summer and so much more...
Review: I was very pleasantly surprised by this movie. I expected something of the Lolita kind of movie, but it turned out to be something completely else. Truth is that there was a 13-year old girl and much older guy involved, but the story certainly didn't evolve around that. It was basically an excerpt from a young girl's life and some of the most important moments of her life fall into that 'excerpt'. A summer that changed young Janey's life forever. One of the most important moments of the movie was when Janey told her father in front of her mother that "she [the mother] has him wrapped around her finger" and other truths about her mother and her behavior; and then stands up and leaves with her mother wanting to follow her when the father stops the mother and says "leave her, she's growing up". At that moment you can feel how pathetic the whole situation in which the family finds itself is, how well Janey knows what is going on and is disturbed by it - how she's turning from an innocent child into an adult feeling the weight of the reality on her unexperienced shoulders - that all is toppled later in the movie. It is a movie about growing up, about loss of innocence, about need for a better communication among people, about the need for 'caring for other people, not only yourself', about problems that need solving....about life.
This is a real life movie.
Great performances, great New Zealand scenery, perfect music. Thumbs up to Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki.

Rating:
Summary: Where's the Rain?
Review: I'm not quite sure where this film got its title, seeing as though I don't think it rained once throughout the whole thing. But who was noticing? 'Rain' is a powerful coming-of-age drama that centers around 13-year-old Janey. Janey seems to have a great relationship with her little brother, but her relationship with her parents is flawed. In the scenes where Janey catches a glimpse of her mother getting up-close and personal with the family photographer friend, Cady, she doesn't seem at all surprised. Her mother drinks most of the time, but isn't a mean drunk. She just downs a few at all the beach parties they throw at the house, and runs off into the bathroom to committ adultery with Cady, all while her husband looks on sadly. He doesn't look all that surprised, either. At the parties, Janey is just the drink-server, and usually gets a sip of alcohol from whatever Cady is drinking. Her mother sees this, but doesn't do too much about it. A lot of this film is like this. This family has the worst communication skills I think I have ever seen in a movie. And while all of this is going on with her mother and the photographer, Janey herself is coming to grips with her own sexuality - there is a local boy who obviously likes her, but she just toys with him by kissing him, then ignoring him. She doesn't like him, but she doesn't tell him that. Again with the bad comminication.

This is beautiful film - literally. Filmed in New Zealand, the scenery is magnificent. Even if you didn't enjoy the story, you would certainly enjoy the view. The performances are all wonderful, especially Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki, who plays Janey. She is a remarkable young actress who will go places. However, despite the fact that it's good, it is not at all a cheery film. After a while, you begin to sense that something bad will happen. You don't know when, and you don't know what, you just know that stories like this don't usually have happy endings. But that's why movies like this are better than your average blockbuster film. This is more like real life.

Rating:
Summary: Rain - An element of cinema for all the senses
Review: I've only seen this film once, but once is enough to proclaim this flick as my new all-time favourite! The cinematography and location of the film in scenic New Zealand is absolutely and positively phenominal, and that alone would have anyone gazing in amazement at the simplistic beauty and phenominal nature of the film narrated by the main character: Janey. Simple, beautiful, natural, and amazing - four elements of a wholesome and gratifyingly delicious story of life, old/young love, jealously, adultery, escape, guilt, imagination, sorrow, regret, innocense, and death, amongst a broken family of four attempting to tape together the pieces - all in perspective through the eyes of a twelve year old..... Now you do the math! Two thumbs, and Five Stars for a movie that's 'as right as rain': )

Rating:
Summary: The Taste of Rain....
Review: Janey and her family spend their summers at their lakeside vacation home. The lake is a refuge for Janey and her little brother Jim. Janey tries teaching Jim to swim in the day, and at night, their parents parade them around as entertainment for their friends at their endless beach parties.

Janey seems to resent her mother and the way she treats her father. She realizes her parent's photographer friend is more than a friend to her mother...much more. Janey begins to fixate on the photographer and offers to be more than his photography subject which she ends up paying for dearly.

This film is directed by Christine Jeffs and is her first feature film. She has won awards for her Television Commercial Direction which is understandable in the film Rain through her use of slow motion photography. There are several slow motion shots that filter in and out of the film giving it a surreal yet creepy feel.

The pacing is comfortably slow and feels right for the story. The plot unfolds naturally and pulls you in for a gentle ride that unexpectedly becomes thrilling towards the panicked end. Janey is so easy to fall in love with. Her emotions are human and easy to relate to and I felt like I understood her to the core.

Actress Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki plays Janey and captured my heart with her honest performance. Her performance is very impressive, especially considering this is her first feature film and she comes across as an experienced natural. Aaron Murphy plays the little brother and he is precious and real. The casting for this film is right on and makes this character driven movie 5 stars.

This film is based on the novel Rain by Kirsty Gunn. This is one of the first times that a movie was more impressive than the book on which it was based. ...