In My Father's Den (2004)

Australia is vital to my life in film. From an American perspective, New Zealand is normally clumped in there as well — something that annoys kiwis to no end. At least in terms of film, they differ: more direct, honest, intimate. Unfortunately, you pretty much have to go to the place to experience their films. Well, I did and found this little gem.I am a student of introspection in film, with one of the more fascinating elements being where that introspection is placed. One end of a spectrum has characters wondering about themselves — the stuff of ordinary drama. Another end has the audience discovering and masticating about what they see and how. In between are not mere continuous stations but "folds" where for instance characters wonder about the nature of how they are being watched.Many kiwi films have a unique take on this. There was one my last trio having to do with magical dairy farming. This is similar in stance, a backward fold.We have an on-screen detective who I can describe broadly as our "filmmaker." He is from the town, left because of some unknown trauma and is now returned. We discover what he does, but in this case, he has knowledge we do not. This trivial twist on the standard form is rather profound.The story involves a teen girl he encounters and strangely befriends. There are events. They are relatively unimportant, but they allow us to engage in this strange inverted discovery. The outer form of the "thriller" is there: a murder, an innocent man — our "detective" — is suspected. There are red herrings. Confusing sexual impulses are thrown in. There is a twist, wholly unexpected but completely sensible. The resolution is typical with flashing policecar beacons calmly arresting the right guy so we know justice will take things from there.But within this form, this inverted discovery is very, very clever. A good piece of writing.There are books involved: the girl who dies is a writer and it is in effect her script we stand on.Our detecting hero is in fact a war photographer. Images — including a photograph not his own, a strange never-explained painting, and a photo of a girl he took — become characters in their own right. The den of the title is a space where key events take place. The camera could have done better with this space, but it does well in making it secret, special, evocative of dangerous unknowns — the place that holds the inner war our hero has been trying to see and convey.(The only really false scene is at the end when our hero strides away from the place, it engulfed in flames behind him. The setup is so trite I cry when I think of it being the last image folks will take away from this. I advise you to stop watching when the Zippo lighter that has failed many times suddenly works.)The images and the writing entwine.The den is notable by being something the father created that was invisible to his wife. She is a thin, pale redhead that we only see in flashes. The redheadedness here is a shorthand for her inner wars which drive the whole thing, and which needs the den apart. She is mirrored by a daughter in law who could have been played by the same actress: identically redheaded and lost.Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

I enjoyed this movie very much. The story was great. The acting was great. The editing was great. The emotions were great. The way the story was told in various layers and twisted time was great. The scenery was great. This is the sort of suspense, psychological thriller that sets you thinking for hours after watching in order to put the various puzzle pieces together. Matthew MacFadyen did a marvelous job in living out the suppressed emotions and the loneliness of the main character. His performance was stunning and he fits the character completely and makes the audience feel his pain. It is such a huge loss that Brad McGann has left us. Would really really want to see many more from him as he is such a talented and meticulous man. May he rest in peace and this masterpiece of his will always be remembered. Probably one of the most under-appreciated movies of this century. Brad we miss you....

This was a terrible waste of time. For those looking for a mystery, thriller - look somewhere else. The plot is full of holes and the actions of the characters, especially the protagonist don't make sense. I mean, when a man is suspected of sleeping with, and perhaps murdering an underage girl, why wouldn't he 'fess up at some point that he believes he is her father to explain why he is spending time with her!? This of course, is to maintain tension (of the Snuffalupagus variety IMHO) and to preserver the "twist" at the end which doesn't actually make much sense if you think about it.As for the slowly developing plot and characters. There's nothing wrong with that - if there had been a plot and characters to develop. The characters seem to have been skimmed from some Dr. Phil pamphlet. Other than the scars that derive from their mysterious past, they apparently have no other personality traits and thus spend their time staring silently (but purposefully) in thought. This is the type of stuff that gives art-house films such a bad rep. It's not enough to have a beginning, and an interesting ending - and an outline of the characters. You have to fill everything in, in a way that makes sense and feels real and convincing. I give this mess a 2 only because the Bailero song featured in the film is one of my favorites.

One of the most touching films I've seen in a long time, a complicated story that unwinds slowly but powerfully due the the directing and performances of the fine cast. This film really needs to be seen, it's been buried and badly handled in that it's not out there. I had the rare opportunity to see it at a special private screening...almost no one in the USA has seen it at all, in spite of heavy festival play. Emily Barclay who play the young girl and narrates much of the film is an emerging NZ talent in league with Keisha Castle-Hughes. Mathew McFayden gives a multi-layered and complicated performance as a man estranged from the family he left behind as a teenager. The casting is believable for every character and the audience is drawn into the story. Can you hear me Weinstein Brothers-- someone needs to pick this one up and run with it!