Te Puke’s first feature film, made by and for the community, is an exercise in passion. The commitment of all, both on screen and behind-the-scenes, shines through this tale of the Coromandel anti-mining protests of the 1980s, describing comic shenanigans from puncturing prospectors’ tyres with Z-nails to crashing company parties dressed as Santa Claus. But pride and passion alone does not a great movie make, in what amounts to a low budget, though very well shot and scored, TV drama.
An uncertain tone, clichéd gags and an overly long run time don’t help, but what it lacks in Hollywood polish it makes up for in local wit, charm, and feel-good communal conscience. This is a humorous underdog tale of little locals taking a gallant stand against a mighty mining giant. Opposing the Goliath of Golia Minerals is David, played by Erroll Shand, whose effortlessly naturalistic acting sits uncomfortably against the often two-dimensional characters around him. There’s a hippie-hating, big city police sergeant, two inept, moustached Aussie prospectors, a pair of Swedish tourists, and a corporate, cowboy hat-wearing, Texan baddie, with the worst American accent since my Uncle Sandy’s impression of John Wayne.
Based on its own merits, this is a community production that all involved in should be proud of. Judged as a piece of cinema, competing on the world screen, it’s no masterpiece, but it is fun and frothy, with a heart and ambition way bigger than its tiny budget.
