User Reviews

A compelling story, half melodrama, half thriller, set in a quiet and fairly isolated region of New Zealand.

Two brothers meet up after a long separation and dark secrets from the past slowly unravel on a collision course with present day reality. Paul is a Pulitzer nominated war photographer who left home still quite young and is now deeply resented by sibling Andrew. Their father has died and split the Will three ways. There is further tension from Paul's ex-girlfriend Jackie, and a mysterious 16yr old, Celia. A concatenation of events draws Paul into knots of suspicion and trust, which the film juxtaposes with increasingly frequent flashbacks explaining shadowy glimpses of shame beneath façades of uprightness.

The beauty that first struck me about In My Father's Den was how it brought back to me the quietude of New Zealand, the untainted landscape where you can almost hear your own thoughts - and also the Kiwi ability to express much (for good or bad) without saying much. Having sat through a mainstream film immediately before this one, I had to do a 'gear shift' to concentrate enough to follow what was happening. This has it's own reward, and one of the reasons why art house movies have such impact – the *active* attention and listening that is required (as opposed to the spoon-fed nature of Hollywood movies) means a greater investment of one's own energy, and the result, when worthwhile, becomes internalised to a greater degree. Perhaps there should be a word such as 'internalism' to mean the opposite of 'escapism', for that is what we also do when we make the effort to understand, to achieve an active empathy, and so find qualities in a film that resonate more deeply with us than can entertainment alone.

What I found rather sad is what has happened to the film even with the present day's more relaxed attitude to censorship. The British Board of Film Censors website entry on this movie reports: "The distributor chose to remove a scene which showed consensual asphyxiation in a sexual context in order to achieve a '15'. An uncut '18' was available to the distributor." So UK law and our film censors would allow adults to see an uncut a work of artistic merit (one that was part financed by UK Lottery money) but UK financial interests (distributors with an eye to maximising ticket sales) will not.

In My Father's Den is not without faults – the intercut flashbacks towards the end come with such alarming rapidity that it is almost confusing, and some of the characterisation (like a 16yr old girl who writes world class poetry), however moving, can seem far-fetched. But overall the flaws are worth overlooking to enjoy the painting.

Once in a while, Cathay@Orchard screens their exclusive showcase selection of films which are not part of your mainstream Hollywood offering. In My Father's Den is one such film, and it is not often that I dive head on into a film without knowing at least a bit of the background or production details.

This film is an NZ-UK production, and it sure is set in NZ alright when I saw the "Pump" brand of bottled water in one of the scenes. Can't get anymore authentic than that! However, I'm in two minds as to how to rate this film. The narrative is painfully slow (butt-numbing 2hrs 10 mins), but necessary to allow you time to think through what is going on, and the revelation of the ending, shocking yet somewhat expected.

Paul Prior is a renowned war photo-journalist who's back in NZ to attend his father's funeral. Although he missed it, being back home gave him the opportunity to touch base with his estranged brother and his wife (Lord of the Rings fan will recognize Miranda Otto here), his nephew, and hook back up with his ex-flame who's now married to somebody else.

During this time, he hooks up with one of his students, 16 year old Celia, whose outlook in life, and passion for writing, brought back memories of himself, as well as memories of his ex-flame Jackie. However, an old photograph triggers suspicion that Celia might be the child Jackie bore him, before he literally walked out on his family, and Jackie. Meanwhile, you get a feeling that Celia is beginning to develop feelings for Paul, which all the more should sound alarm bells.

But things turn for the worse when Celia goes missing, and Paul becomes the prime suspect for her disappearance. It is during the portion of the film that time is juxtaposed, which might make it a little confusing or irate the viewer. There are many characters in this film, and your mind will race as to sieve out the red herrings, and decide who's involved, and who's not.

The "den" in the title refers to a shed that Paul's father has, which is stashed with good books, and good vinyl music discs. Quite a number of good songs are played throughout, which makes the soundtrack appealing. Many pivotal events take place in this shed, being a place of refuge for Paul, to being a key element of suspense and shock to the audience when the twist is revealed.

The multi-faceted relationships between the characters form the theme of this film, and the cast put up excellent performances in bringing their roles to life. The ending, when revealed and when you think through it in its proper chronological order, is fulfilling, yet laced with a heavy dose of sadness.

So if you're in for some classic story-telling, from a plot that really takes its time to unravel, then this is recommended for you. If you'd prefer to get on with action, then you should stick to the blockbuster summer offerings.

My Rating : 8/10

I love 'In My Father's Den'.

Slow-paced, dialogue-driven and emotionally gripping set in a small town in New Zealand. It's drama at its absolute best. All the characters have their own emotional backstory and are wounded in some way or another by their past.

It is a slow film in the best way possible. Do not miss. It's one of the best films ever from New Zealand!

As an old codger who doesn't usually express himself on the internet this comment is a bit out of character. We saw the film recently while holidaying in NZ, nothing to do one Sunday evening and thought a local film might be interesting. Came out gobsmacked and argued and discussed it with my partner late into the night. Wanted to see if I could get a DVD, not realising it hadn't been released in the UK, and fell into this site.

The film is a bit like a jigsaw, at first it has no shape but as bits are added it starts to make sense and the enormity of the problem Paul has inadvertently got himself into becomes clear. The story is totally believable and all the actors, even the bit parts, are brilliant and convincing. The discontinuity of the story line means you have to work to understand it, but that adds to the interest.

The scenery is great (well, it is NZ). There is a little swearing and small sex scenes but they are also well done and not overplayed, and are necessary for the plot.

Am looking forward to seeing it again

Having had to do NZ fiction at school over a decade ago and hating it, I was not sure what to expect with this film. It has made me want to go and buy the book and get back into the wonder of my country's literary heritage... but that's another story.

This film is beautiful. It's tense, funny (some of the cameos for kiwi's to look out for additional fun!)... it takes you into the heart and soul of the characters. The two main characters are portrayed so wonderfully, you feel you're an extension of them.

Not knowing the story probably helped as I was not expecting everything that comes to pass (don't want to spoil anything). The movie, though desperate at some times, makes you feel somewhat uplifted. Hope. By the way, does anyone know who did the painting? I loved it.

Saw it during my vacation in New-Zealand last December. Didn't know the story at all. Haven't read the book or anything. The lady from the B&B where we were staying suggested this one. I thought the movie was amazing. The movie starts slow and if you like high speed action movies this may not be your piece of cake. If you can stand a lower pace this is absolutely one to watch.

I have actually seen it a second time because it was selected for the Rotterdam Film Festival 2005 (little bit closer to home) and I am know hoping for a regular release in the Netherlands. In my opinion this movie does not get enough attention.

This film was Brad McGann's debut feature as director, and sadly, as it turned out, his last. The screenplay by McGann uses Maurice Gee's 1972 novel as a starting point but goes off in a different direction. In the book we are aware at the outset that a girl has been found murdered and that her sympathetic teacher is under suspicion. In the film the possibility of a crime does not arise until half-way through. In the book "father" the owner of the den was a nice elderly man who had died many years previously. In the film he has just died, and turns out to have been a lot less nice. In the book Andrew the stitched up pious brother turns out to be a very dangerous person, in the film he is not much more than a fall guy. The book has Paul (Matthew MacFadyen), the principal character as an unknown schoolteacher in an outer suburban school; the film has him as a minor celebrity returning to the scenic rural home of his youth. In both stories, however, he becomes involved with one of his pupils, Celia (Emma Barclay).

Does any of this matter to the film's entertainment value? Well, the film is beautifully photographed, and wonderfully acted, yet it ultimately fails to make any sense of the events depicted. Maurice Gee on the other hand explores the dark recesses of his character's minds and his readers get to understand why things have happened the way they have. Character-based thrillers are tricky; there is a trade-off between action and insight. Here we have some interesting characters who somehow have got lost in the plot – a mistake not made in Ray Lawrence's "Lantana" for example, although "Jindabyne" ran close to the edge.

At the end of the film there is a complete stuff-up – the final scene should been the second to last scene. The director did it on purpose, according to the DVD commentary, through a reluctance to bump off his favorite character.

This film was Emma Barclay's first. She has gone on to a real triumph in "Suburban Mayhem" but you can see the talent here already. Matthew MacFadyen as Paul was doing his first feature too, though he has had considerable TV experience ("Spooks"). His English accent is a bit out of place in the land of the long lost vowel but the moodiness is right on. Miranda Otto as Andrew's distracted wife was like a sleepwalker but that was what the part requires. Colin Moy as Andrew was very impressive – his animus towards Paul was palpable even before he opened his mouth.

Maurice Gee set his novel in semi-suburban West Auckland in the late sixties and the film-makers have used present-day Central Otago, mostly in and around Alexandra, as their setting. This is fair enough, and Central Otago is a very photogenic part of NZ, but it does tend to overplay the return of the prodigal element. Again, Maurice Gee makes it clear that the semi-rural past that Paul grew up in has well and truly gone, but in the film it seems not to have changed at all.

If I were Maurice Gee I would be in two minds about this film. On the one hand the filmmakers have handled the central story – the relationship between Paul and Celia – very sensitively. On the other hand much of the careful characterization of the novel has been lost, and the "backstory" has been made incoherent. If I hadn't read the novel (which I did before and after seeing the film) I still would be complaining about the ending. But I guess most viewers won't be doing that and will still find this an evocative piece.

See this New Zealand film - it probably won't make you laugh, it might bring you close to tears but see it anyway. This is small town New Zealand with a huge web of intrigue showing how through misunderstandings wrong conclusions with tragic consequences can occur. The breakdown of family relationships through communication problems is also highlighted, and I could relate it to my own experience where the death of a family member did not serve to bring the family closer together but broke us further apart.

But on the upside it's also about sharing dreams and goals and looking for something better than what your current setting can offer, whether that be small town Otago or middle Eastern trouble spots. There is some beautiful rugged New Zealand scenery to be enjoyed, although don't expect it on the same scale as in LOTR, it's more just the icing on the cake here.

Definitely see it if you can handle a moderate amount of swearing, violence, sex and drug use. If you're just looking for a laugh, don't see it.

In My Father's Den is apparently loosely based upon the Maurice Gee novel of the same name. Having never read the book, and not being much of a Gee fan in any event, I'm not going to comment on any similarities - or lack of similarities - between the two.

Matthew MacFadyen leads the movie as Paul Prior, a lonely war photographer returning home to southern New Zealand for his father's funeral. Having been gone for 17 years Paul finds much that has changed in his hometown and discovers the consequences of actions taken by him, and his family, linger still. When Paul visits his father's house, and returns to the secret den that his father built, filled with books and music, he discovers Celia (Emily Barclay), a young woman with a yearning for something deeper than the small town life. At first he demands she leave, but Celia returns later under the fabricated excuse of a school assignment to learn more about this man who has caused ripples to spread like tidal waves amongst her town.

Paul is shown as a deeply troubled young man. His vices stretch from alcohol to fetish sex to drug taking. Yet he is the closest thing in this movie to someone who can be considered even remotely to be a hero. His brother Andrew (Colin Moy) owns a declining ostrich farm that he runs with his wife Penny (Miranda Otto) and son Jonathan (Jimmy Keen). A repressed and clearly bitter young man, Andrew has married a woman the spitting image of the boys' dead mother.

In My Father's Den runs a twisted, web like connection between its characters. Celia is early shown as the daughter of Paul's ex-girlfriend, born soon after he ran from home to explore the world. The web gets deeper, much deeper, and stickier as the movie goes on. Paul takes a teaching position for some few weeks in town as the final arrangements for his father's property are made. As time passes Paul builds a friendship with Celia - now one of his students - through meetings and long discussions held in the secret den that they share.

When Celia disappears the rumor-mill starts working overtime and Paul finds the town's suspicion and hatred turned on him - once his home, the town now sees him as the worst kind of outsider. Vilified, and abused by those who distrust him, or are simply jealous of him, Paul travels a bleak and lonely road.

The movie keeps that bleakness throughout. From the opening shots of Paul on the train and the town under the shadow of the mountains, through to the end, In My Father's Den never relents. It is a dark movie, with Paul's drug taking, and the sexual moments of adolescents depicted sharply and without forgiveness. Paul's emotional journey is stark, and the claws of small-town life feel true as they are sunk into his back. In My Father's Den offers a deep and thoughtful look into a world of darkness and bitterness, in a way that will undoubtedly move you.

But it's far from perfect. MacFadyen does well enough with Paul and the building of the relationship with Celia is convincing and emotionally satisfying. Barclay's turn as Celia shows moments of strength but is often let down by a stilted and wooden reactions. Given the nature of his role Keen does remarkably well as Jonathan, but the rest supporting cast acting varies from the mediocre to the absolutely dire.

Some of the performance failures can be overlooked, some can't. The problems really begin to surface, however, in the final act which sometimes feels like an unrelated whodunit. The end is not a resolution, but is simply an end, though in that sense it is perhaps far more realistic than perhaps it otherwise could have been.

Overall, however, In My Father's Den is deep, thoughtful and moving, albeit flawed, and should be seen by anyone not put off by the slightly perverse matters it discusses. From teen sex, to auto-asphyxiation, to drug taking, to what some would consider pedophilia, In My Father's Den is not a movie that takes things lightly, but it is a movie that takes firm control of them.

7.5 / 10

When his father dies, Paul Prior (Matthew Macfadyen), a disillusioned and battle weary war photographer, decides to return home to New Zealand. His brother is caught off-guard by Paul's sudden re appearance after seventeen years away. Reluctantly re-visiting the dilapidated family property, he discovers his fathers old den tucked away in the equipment shed. Paul sets about clearing up and stumbles upon sixteen year-old Celia (Emily Barclay) who has been using the derelict hide-away as a private haven to write her stories and to fuel her dream of living in Europe, far away from the small town she longs to escape.

This seemingly uninteresting story-line masks a superb plot that slowly unfolds as the movie progresses. The characters are fantastic and the performances of Barclay, MacFadyen and the supporting cast is excellent. The subtle twists are very well hidden and the final explanation of the whole scenario is mind-blowing. In my opinion, this is a must see movie!

I just saw In My Father's Den at its Seattle International Film Festival premiere and it was certainly an entertaining movie. The themes are fairly dark, the background scenery of the mountains and apple orchards (braeburn!) adds a nice touch, and the characters are all sufficiently flawed to make them real and interesting. The acting is routinely professional if never outstanding, and the mystery storyline plays out very well without becoming obvious even once it's exposed. All these aspects give it an intriguing sort of Kiwi Noir feel.

That said, the editing and cinematography from In My Father's Den never really exceed average, the story runs on a bit long, and there is nothing here particularly innovative or even cutting edge. Perhaps all the raving reviews had increased my expectations, but earlier kiwi gems like Rain (2001) and Whale Rider (2002) certainly also raised the bar. But I don't want to leave too negative an impression of this very interesting film. As Hollywood continues to produce worse and worse films, New Zealand has become one of a number of bright stars in world cinema and In My Father's Den certainly ranks amongst the better Kiwi films.

Last night I was privileged to see one of the most emotional, sensitive and highly enjoyable films I have seen in many years. "In My Father's Den" both premiered and opened the 51st Sydney Film Festival, which is no mean feat for a New Zealand feature film.

The film is of world class standard and I predict will easily join the ranks of other noted NZ feature films such as "Once were Warriors", "The Piano" and "Whalerider".

The storytelling is sophisticated, delicate and richly layered in such a way, that it easily deserves a second viewing. The performances from the entire cast are compelling, but none so as extraordinary as the lead performances by newcomer Emily Barclay (as Celia) and Mathew MacFadyen (as Paul Prior). The scenes between these two are simply mesmerizing. A pure joy to watch. This film achieves what few films can claim to, and that is, to create characters, which you totally believe are living flesh and blood.

I predict from this point forward, many an accomplished actor will be beating a path to Writer/Director Brad McGann's door.

Mathew MacFadyen plays a war zone photographer returning to his former his home town to attend his fathers funeral. Set in a small township in a remote area of the South Island of New Zealand. The film beautifully dramatizes the world weary Prior against the next generation who look to leave the town and experience the world for themselves. Paul's very presence creates a ripple effect across the close knit community. Some positive, some negative. Old family wounds are opened, youthful loves remembered, new relationships are forged and dark truths revealed.

The film plays it's cards slowly and steadily at first, gradually drawing you deeper into it's web. Before long you are captivated and unable to prevent yourself from becoming emotionally involved. The audience around me were drawn deeply into this beautiful film and many moved to tears. Attendees included Director Phil Noyce, Actors Geoffrey Rush, Hugo Weaving, other luminaries and several thousand of Sydney's film fraternity.

This is one of those films that successfully stays with you after you leave the cinema. I can wholeheartedly recommend it to you.

There was a lot of hype about this film before screening at the Auckland/ Wellington film festival - it had been hailed by critics as the best NZ film since 'Once Were Warriors' and 'Heavenly Creatures' which meant that it was up for

some heavy slating if it didn't perform to expectations. Upon seeing the film I have to say that I think it is one of the most sensitive and intelligent films to come out of NZ for a long while, and although it's unfair to make comparisons, it's fair to say that it is up there with the best of NZ films, (probably) in the top five. What makes this film unique is that it dares to look beneath the surface of our society and the people who make it up. It dares to take it's time. It dares to follow it's own rules than that of your average mystery/murder mystery. This is not a film for people who get bored easily or don't like to think or participate in the story- telling process - it is for those of us who like to take a plunge into something a little different, challenging (both in the way it's told and what it's about) and unpredictable. In essence this is the sort of film which will establish a strong following but, because it sits outside the flags of comfortable viewing, will be met with hesitation from those who like their films pre-digested and served with a smile.

Have just watched this film and am in awe. It did start a little slowly, but the gradual building of intensity just helped the film get it's clutches on me. Several other comments talk about bleakness. Whilst acknowledging this aspect and the grim subject matter, I feel the beauty of the developing relationship between Paul and Celia is so touching and the scenery/photography is so wonderful, that for me, this lifted and gave balance to the overall feel of the film. The 'mystery' part of the storyline adds complexity and depth, yet is more about how it serves to develop the characters and their relationship to one another. Completely compelling and a must for anyone interested in powerful, interesting films rather than blockbuster cheese. In a similar vein to the Scottish film I watched recently called 'Wilbur wants to kill himself' which I also enjoyed but this one is even better.

Be warned - this film gets off to a very slow start, and I nearly gave up on it, but it's worth persevering for what in the finish, is a finely-wrought piece of cinema.

Full of difficult familial relationships and tensions, a character who's clearing suffering PTSD, strange behaviours that seem at first inexplicable, it gradually builds into a sad, unsettling story that really draws you in, and a number of plot twists that may surprise.

The scenery is harsh and beautiful, and that sense of being a cuckoo in the nest in a small town is captured very well. The acting performances are also very good, especially from Matthew MacFadyen (SO much better here than his sleepwalking performance as Mr Darcy), who beautifully conveys the sense of someone with deep internal wounds.

Glad to have found it.

Brad McGann's film 'In my Father's Den' starts very slowly, an account of some closed and not particularly likable brothers coming together after the funeral of their father. But their obstructive characters (and of those around them) pay dividends when they become suspects in the disappearance of a local girl; even as we learn that there's a lot of dark family history which makes them seem more understandable and sympathetic, we can also believe that they might have done something terrible; and the plot is worked out nicely. But the film isn't perfect; I like Mazzy Star, but I didn't think their music fitted well to the film; there's a reliance on arbitrarily ordered flashbacks to maintain the tension; and a certain heavy handed obviousness to the way some of the ideas are presented. The portrayal of the victim as an unusually deep soul is also unnecessary; and her supposed writings, which frame the story, are tedious and present only to assert this superfluous quality. Still, I liked the overall portrait of life in the far south of New Zealand, a place that may seem beautiful and open but which in this film, comes across as a very narrow and claustrophobic place.

Just grabbed it off the shelf, hadn't heard of it before, bit of a gamble really.

How surprised I was to find this one of the best movies I have seen in some time, in fact one of the best movies I have seen. It's a slow burner, but burn it does, from beginning to end.

Great story, great acting, great photography, great sound track, it's superbly judged. Set in a small town, that's the only thing that is small about this movie.

I have no hesitation in recommending this excellent movie. I will be hiring this again.

What a lovely film made with the collaboration of Brits and Kiwis. Very unusual essence felt when i watched that very film and i was quite amazed that how Kiwis has proved itself and its cinematic effectiveness to the whole world. I mean what a composition of lovely location with griping story line , best camera , mysterious lightning wonderful photographic shoots taken with the slight touch of smooth veering direction and most of all noticeable acting of all the out sooner underdogs performers of Europe. Little slow(European be like) but soon the film goes by you are not even know you are breathing or no. And most amazing thing is that the topic is quite disturbing but still it does not creates that significant disturbed feeling. A quite must watch film to all the film lovers.

The Kiwis are better at fantasy than real life...

After a promising start this rather enervating domestic drama settles for shrill melodramatics and stupid behaviour, based on silly coincidences, and culminates in an over-the-top showdown that strives for catharsis, but merely achieves hollow bathos, while the only agreeable character meets a grim farewell.

Nice to look at and not without its moments, but much too long-winded and emotionally bloated.

Watch Black Sheep instead.

4 out of 10 brotherly feuds

Alright, I admit family dramas with long hidden secrets are my favourites, but this has to be one of the best.

I was utterly compelled by the story, I can't remember the last time I was so emotionally engrossed. I was with Paul every step of the way. I have to see it again because I was so caught up I only noticed peripherally that the music,

cinematography and design were all delivering the perfect cinematic

experience.

As for the performances, the actors just disappeared, I was watching Paul and Celia and Jax living their lives. I felt more voyeuristic than Jonathon, as if I was witnessing private moments. What a wonderful film.