Rain (2001/III)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Christine Jeffs

Writers:

Kirsty Gunn (novel)
Christine Jeffs (writer)

Release Date:

October 2001 (New Zealand)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Whilst on a family vacation on the Mahurangi Peninsula in New Zealand, 13-year-old Janey begins to realize that her parents' marriage is on the rocks.

Plot Keywords:

Marriage | Photographer | Summer | Beach House | Party

Awards:

5 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki	...	Janey
Sarah Peirse	...	Kate
Marton Csokas	...	Cady
Alistair Browning	...	Ed
Aaron Murphy	...	Jim
David Taylor	...	Sam
Chris Sherwood	...	Ron
Claire Dougan	...	Joy
Alison Routledge	...	Heather
Pino Scopas	...	Pino
Ross Harper	...	Partygoer #1
Jane Irwin	...	Partygoer #2
Tom Evans	...	Partygoer #3
Andi Reveley	...	Partygoer #4
Lu Rathe	...	Boat Cleaner

Runtime:

92 min | Argentina:90 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival) | UK:91 min | Germany:86 min (TV version)

Country:

New Zealand

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Singapore:NC-16 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Mahurangi Peninsula, Rodney District, Auckland Region, New Zealand

Company:

Communicado Productions

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Although this film is set in the year 1972, the partygoers at Ed and Kate's party are dancing to the Sherbert song "Howzat", which was not released until 1976.

Quotes:

Ed: Take that to your mother, please.
Janey: She's got legs.
Ed: Take it to her anyway.

Sublime evocation of adolescent girlhood and family fragility

My friend and I spent the after-movie coffee trying to decide whether Rain was indeed the best New Zealand movie we have seen. An intense, evocative slice of 1970s beach holiday life, there is nothing about it that doesn't work.

This project clearly couldn't have worked or even happened if it weren't for the amazing discovery of the star, the very young Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki. She makes Rain an uncomfortably accurate portrayal of what it's like to be inside an adolescent girl's body and life. Her character, Janey, is twelve-going-on-twenty, experimenting with the power that can come from being a young woman, full of new secrets. Her performance is intense in a deliciously natural way and carries the entire film.

While her character is central, this is not just another coming-of-age story. We also see the complex interactions of her family members and various holiday acquaintances and watch tested loyalties, experiments in love and attraction, and quite a bit of swimming and fishing.

The cinematography is distinctive and excellent, all the other actors are faultless and the soundtrack, by Kiwi icon Neil Finn, is exactly right. Rain is a frighteningly impressive debut by director, Christine Jeffs.