Sleeping Dogs (1982)

I've gone back and read reviews of this film to find out what others loved about it, to discover why it was considered such a milestone. Upon reading those reviews I gathered it was a milestone because it was unlike anything to come out of New Zealand at the time. That being said I still didn't find myself thinking it was a movie I'd choose to revisit.Sam Neill stars as Smith, a young man who as the film opens is leaving behind his wife and two daughters. It seems his wife has had an affair with a man named Bullen (Ian Mune) who is now moving in. Smith leaves behind his world and moves on to another area where he enquires about living on an island owned by a Maori tribe. Given permission as well as a dog they don't want, he does so and sets about making a new life for himself there. Among the things he finds in the house still standing is an old military radio.While this is going on there is unrest in the country. A fuel crisis has led to revolutionaries popping up to lead a rebellion and a police state brought about by their actions. It turns out that Bullen was a leader in the revolutionaries and this has put him and Smith's ex in jeopardy.Smith returns home one day to find a hole dug on his property. As he's trying to figure out what was in the hole a group of soldiers arrives and take him prisoner while ransacking his house. They find remnants of explosives, what was in the hole, and arrest Smith, taking him to a facility where he is left in a large basement. And ex-schoolmate now an officer gives Smith two options: a formal trial where he will be found guilty and executed or he can plead guilty and leave the country forever. Smith is then being transported when he escapes and thinks he's found safe haven working at a motel under a new name. Then Bullen shows and tells him the motel is run by revolutionaries and gives him no choice but to follow instructions. A group of soldiers is coming to stay at the motel and Smith is to give a signal at a specified time. I'll stop here with the description since that's most of the movie.I truly had a hard time with this movie for so many reasons. I could set aside the look of the film, a grainy bland look in all things seen from cityscapes to country sides. But it was more than that I found difficult. The acting felt stilted and put on. The story itself felt disjointed at best and confusing at worst. Why does Smith's wife take up with this revolutionary? What about the kids? Why does Smith seem complacent about leaving? Is he being set up from day one or a victim of circumstance? Most of the movie provides questions rather than answers including the ending. I'm sure there is a market for the film and in looking at several sites have read reviews that were favorable for the movie. I can't bring myself to do so, even though I'm a fan of the star as well as director Roger Donaldson. I know this was Donaldson's first feature but still I couldn't get into it and found it difficult to watch. Completists will want to add this to their collection though.Arrow, true to their desire to offer the best presentation possible, is releasing this in a cleaned up blu-ray format. Extras include a commentary track with Donaldson, Neill and Mune, THE MAKING OF SLEEPING DOGS a 65 minute making of featurette, the theatrical trailer, a reversible sleeve with new artwork by Sean Phillips and for the first pressing only in illustrated booklet with new writing on the film by Neil Mitchell, a contemporary review by Pauline Keal and the original press book.In the long run I'd say this is for fans and completists only.

I first saw this on Channel 4 away back in 1986 and as far as I know it was its only broadcast on British network television and was impossible to find in the preceding years . It was a film that stayed in my memory and I often wondered if it was as good as I remembered . After just seeing it again after an interval of more than 25 years I'm happy to report that my memory hasn't cheated and is every bit as good as I remember it My own knowledge of New Zealand is that it's a country of great natural wilderness . It's slightly bigger than mainland Britain but only has a population of 4 million . New Zealanders I have met have been uniformly friendly and any conversation quickly gets round to either rugby or hiking in the mountains and forests of their homeland . The only complaint Kiwis have of their country is that life there is very mundane and boring . Bearing this mind the scenario of SLEEPING DOGS means if life is grim as it is seen here what hope is there for the rest of humanity ? From a film making point of view it's a movie that is rather flat and low key and this shouldn't be taken in any negative way . The budget could have been bigger but instead of spectacle we're shown the very human elements of political chaos . By that I mean people just want to get on with their lives but are unable to due to a violently repressive state on one side and revolutionaries trying to the state by a system of government that may be just as bad It's interesting how much resonance the film has with New Zealanders on this page but when the film was produced and indeed when I saw it in the mid 1980s the scenario was being played out for real in the killing fields of South America where people would simply " disappear " if they'd make their political ideas too well known to the wrong people . Thankfully we've moved on from the dystopian future as seen here

'Sleeping Dogs' was the first major New Zealand feature film to find a wider audience.Featuring a young Sam Neill as a loner caught up by accident in the fight between a Fascist government taking control and those resisting the loss of freedom.The film is directed by Roger Donaldson (whose main stream movies include 'World's Fastest Indian','Dante's Peak' and 'Species') and is based on the excellent book 'Smith's Dream' by C.K.Stead.It features Warren Oates (US) and Ian Mune (who co-wrote the screenplay) as well as a cast of other New Zealand regulars.While action packed the human drama behind the movie is also of interest and the DVD (a double with 'Smash Palace') features an excellent making of documentary highlighting the issues of making a movie in New Zealand in the mid-1970's.This is an excellent movie which realistically portrays a nation accepting the gradual loss of freedom for all the right reasons - which seems very topical even today.The story will grip you and the end will... well see it for yourself!

I was slightly confused by the content of this movie. From what I gathered, Sam Neill's character was a family man whose wife had an affair, and he was then mistaken for a guerrilla. There was plenty of guerrilla warfare on the streets who were trying to protest something. I couldn't quite gather what it was. There were plenty of shoot-em-up scenes on the streets and in the wilderness when Neil was trying to escape and clear his name. Other than that, I thought the movie was decent. The scene where he was imprisoned in a dank jail cell was harrowing and unforgettable, and I loved the part where he vomits on the guards to escape from the transport car. I sort of liked the movie and might recommend it.** 1/2 out of ****