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Rain ****
Rain is an independent film from New Zealand inspired from a book of the same title by Kirsty Gunn, and directed by Christine Jeffs. It is a coming of age movie about a 13-year-old girl named Janey (Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki) who is on summer vacation at a cottage built by her father (Alistair Browning) along side a pleasant seaside location. This is not a comedy looking at the lighter side of life from a young girl’s perspective, but rather a somewhat sad commentary of a child who lives in a household that forces her to desire to grow up too quickly.
During the day she and her little brother, Jim (Aaron Murphy), spend their time fishing and swimming in the ocean. At night she serves cocktails to her parents friends as they hold their nightly parties. There, she watches her mother (Sarah Peirse) flirt with a local photographer (Marton Csokas) and begins to wonder whether her parents are in love with each other anymore.
Janey is bright and pretty and loyal to the well being of little Jimmy. Her parents sleep in late every morning and wake up to fresh drinks with lime. Janey is already the caretaker in a lot of ways and she seems to not resent in too terribly unless her mother starts to act motherly. In one scene, her mother asks her to sit by her and give her some snuggles to which Janey replies, “I hate that!” Her mother replies that she always used to like to snuggle, but Janey retorts that it’s the drinking that she meant. Statements and attitudes like this don’t slow down her parents at all however. It’s obvious that her parents love the children, but it’s equally obvious that they still put themselves first.
When Janey spies her mother and the handsome photographer going further than the harmless flirtations, she starts to become aware of her own sexual power. A young boy who is a son of one of the party goers is enamored of young Janey, but instead of her responding to his feelings with her own, she practices her power over men on him, resorting him to do nothing other than flee in various states of panic. All the while, little Jim watches from the background, idolizing his older sister, but not understanding why she is acting differently.
Eventually, Janey decides that the handsome photographer might be the ticket to her adulthood. At different points in the movie, he offers her sips of his drinks and spots cigarettes to her. He is the only person who treats her like she is a woman, which is what she craves. Even though she despises the way her mother is seemingly betraying her father, she still has a desire to emulate her. In time, Janey proposes to the photographer to take her picture, and he can see that she might just have something else in mind. At this point, many other films might vilify the man for even considering spending a moment alone with a pretty 13-year-old girl, but instead, it is more honest than that. He falls under the spell that Janey has perfected by watching her mother and practicing on the young boy. He seems unwilling, yet powerless to resist her temptations, even though he may believe she’s over her head. Sexual desire is a powerful thing and it is responsible for many a downfall, which unfortunately, this movie provides.
Rain is a sad story throughout, but it’s also absolutely beautiful in its brutal honesty of unhappiness not being cured with sexual gratification. None of the characters involved are bad people. They are only human with their own faults which most of us can recognize within ourselves. Christine Jeffs direction is exceptional using very little music and a lot of dialogue that is right on key with what you would expect in a modestly dysfunctional family. It is also a gorgeous film using the weather to match the temperament of the characters. It uses brown as its primary color to everything, which to me, can be a bit depressing, but it fits in with the style and mood of the film. I wholeheartedly recommend this film to anyone who has also grown tired of the usual Hollywood fare.
Rain is an independent film from New Zealand inspired from a book of the same title by Kirsty Gunn, and directed by Christine Jeffs. It is a coming of age movie about a 13-year-old girl named Janey (Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki) who is on summer vacation at a cottage built by her father (Alistair Browning) along side a pleasant seaside location. This is not a comedy looking at the lighter side of life from a young girl’s perspective, but rather a somewhat sad commentary of a child who lives in a household that forces her to desire to grow up too quickly.
During the day she and her little brother, Jim (Aaron Murphy), spend their time fishing and swimming in the ocean. At night she serves cocktails to her parents friends as they hold their nightly parties. There, she watches her mother (Sarah Peirse) flirt with a local photographer (Marton Csokas) and begins to wonder whether her parents are in love with each other anymore.
Janey is bright and pretty and loyal to the well being of little Jimmy. Her parents sleep in late every morning and wake up to fresh drinks with lime. Janey is already the caretaker in a lot of ways and she seems to not resent in too terribly unless her mother starts to act motherly. In one scene, her mother asks her to sit by her and give her some snuggles to which Janey replies, “I hate that!” Her mother replies that she always used to like to snuggle, but Janey retorts that it’s the drinking that she meant. Statements and attitudes like this don’t slow down her parents at all however. It’s obvious that her parents love the children, but it’s equally obvious that they still put themselves first.
When Janey spies her mother and the handsome photographer going further than the harmless flirtations, she starts to become aware of her own sexual power. A young boy who is a son of one of the party goers is enamored of young Janey, but instead of her responding to his feelings with her own, she practices her power over men on him, resorting him to do nothing other than flee in various states of panic. All the while, little Jim watches from the background, idolizing his older sister, but not understanding why she is acting differently.
Eventually, Janey decides that the handsome photographer might be the ticket to her adulthood. At different points in the movie, he offers her sips of his drinks and spots cigarettes to her. He is the only person who treats her like she is a woman, which is what she craves. Even though she despises the way her mother is seemingly betraying her father, she still has a desire to emulate her. In time, Janey proposes to the photographer to take her picture, and he can see that she might just have something else in mind. At this point, many other films might vilify the man for even considering spending a moment alone with a pretty 13-year-old girl, but instead, it is more honest than that. He falls under the spell that Janey has perfected by watching her mother and practicing on the young boy. He seems unwilling, yet powerless to resist her temptations, even though he may believe she’s over her head. Sexual desire is a powerful thing and it is responsible for many a downfall, which unfortunately, this movie provides.
Rain is a sad story throughout, but it’s also absolutely beautiful in its brutal honesty of unhappiness not being cured with sexual gratification. None of the characters involved are bad people. They are only human with their own faults which most of us can recognize within ourselves. Christine Jeffs direction is exceptional using very little music and a lot of dialogue that is right on key with what you would expect in a modestly dysfunctional family. It is also a gorgeous film using the weather to match the temperament of the characters. It uses brown as its primary color to everything, which to me, can be a bit depressing, but it fits in with the style and mood of the film. I wholeheartedly recommend this film to anyone who has also grown tired of the usual Hollywood fare.
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"Today, war is too important to be left to politicians. They have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought. I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids."
"Today, war is too important to be left to politicians. They have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought. I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids."
Last edited by LordSlaytan; 11-29-03 at 12:43 AM.
