The Insatiable Moon

The Insatiable Moon

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Rosemary Riddell
Produced by Pip Piper
Mike Riddell
Rob Taylor
Screenplay by Mike Riddell
Based on The Insatiable Moon 
by Mike Riddell
Starring Rawiri Paratene
Sara Wiseman
Ian Mune
Greg Johnson
Music by Neville Copland
Cinematography Thomas Burstyn
Edited by Paul Maxwell
Production
company
Blue Hippo Media
Holy Bucket Productions
Distributed by Rialto Distribution
Release dates
  • October 7, 2010 (2010-10-07)
Running time
 99 minutes[1]
Country New Zealand
Language English
Māori
Budget NZ$460,000[2]
(Varies between sources)[3][4]

The Insatiable Moon is a 2010 New Zealand drama film, based on a 1997 novel of the same name by Mike Riddell, who also wrote the screenplay. The film was directed by Rosemary Riddell, and stars Rawiri Paratene in the leading role as Arthur, self-proclaimed second son of God. Arthur sets off on a mission to find the 'Queen of Heaven', and finds her in Margaret (Sara Wiseman), just as the community boarding house he calls home faces threat.

The film focuses on themes around mental illness and discrimination, and draws on Mike Riddell's experiences working with those with mental health problems and those that are underprivileged.[5] This is what both the novel and screenplay are based on. The film was shot in Ponsonby, a suburb of Auckland.

The film has been screened at Mental Health events, such as Mental Health Awareness Week in 2013.[6]

Plot

Arthur is a Māori man, who sees himself as the second son of God, and works to enlighten those around him. Arthur is considered mentally ill, and lives in a Ponsonby boarding house, operated by the foul-mouthed but hard-working house manager Bob. His friends at the boarding house all have their share of problems, and view Arthur as a role model in many ways.

Arthur wanders the streets, searching for the 'Queen of Heaven', and finds her with community worker Margaret, during a chance encounter at a local cafe. Arthur returns to the boarding house, where the TV series 'Marae Investigates' are filming, and they speak to him as part of a series on boarding houses in the area. Margaret and Arthur meet again at the funeral of one of Arthur's friends, a man with mental problems who commits suicide. Margaret attends in the place of her colleague, who feels guilty as she turned the man away from the community centre because she could not understand him. After the funeral, Arthur invites Margaret back to the boarding house, and introduces her to Bob and the other house residents. Although Margaret is married, she forms a relationship with Arthur.

Health bureaucrats threaten the future of the boarding house, supported by a real estate developer, and so the local Vicar, Kevin, works with Bob and Margaret, who is eager to help, to organize a meeting with local businesses and residents. However, after arguments at the meeting between the opposing sides, no conclusion is decided. Arthur is frustrated at the meeting, and intervenes as the sides argue, eventually being removed by Bob after venting his frustrations at the audience.

Although the boarding house's future is uncertain, Arthur still has faith and buys a lottery ticket, in the hope of winning enough money to support expansions to the house and fix the health problems. However, when the ticket does not win, Arthur becomes withdrawn and is visibly upset and frustrated for several days, and grows distant with Margaret. Norm, a friend of Arthur's and an occasional resident at the house, notices these signs and recommends to Bob that Arthur is taken to a mental hospital, for assessment and help. While Arthur is at the hospital, a women whose daughter was abused by the man who committed suicide earlier in the film approaches Bob, and offers a cheque of $100,000 dollars, ensuring the future of the house.

Arthur is treated at the hospital, but attempts to escape and so staff are forced to restrain him, inject him with some form of sedative. However, due to the drugs he is already on for his mental health, Arthur loses consciousness and attempts by staff to resuscitate him are unsuccessful.

Bob is angry at the hospital staff and Margaret is devastated by Arthur's death, and a funeral is held for everyone to farewell him. The film ends with Arthur sitting on a park bench with Norm, where he hands him a pie and talks to him for a while. Although Norm realises Arthur is not actually there, he is still left holding the pie, as the film ends.

Cast

  • Rawiri Paratene as Arthur, second son of God.
  • Sara Wiseman as Margaret, a community worker who forms a relationship with Arthur.
  • Ian Mune as Norm, a friendly homeless man who is friends with Arthur.
  • Greg Johnson as Bob, the manager of the boarding house.
  • Jason Hoyte as Kevin, the local Vicar.
  • Mick Innes as John, a convicted sex offender with mental problems who Arthur knows.
  • Sophie Hakaraia as Karen, a reporter for Marae Investigates.
  • Sarah Valentine as Penny, Margaret's colleague at the community centre.
  • Don Linden as Wal, a boarding house resident.
  • Lee Tuson as Pete, another resident of the boarding house.
  • Teresa Woodham as Carolyn, the mother of a girl abused by John.

Production

The film was shot over 5 weeks, with another 6 weeks set for post-production. The film was originally set to star James Nesbitt and Timothy Spall as two of the leads, with a budget of NZ$6 million.[7] However the New Zealand Film Commission pulled out of funding, and so the film instead had to be produced for NZ$340,000, with another NZ$120,000 for post-production, and no longer with Nesbitt and Spall as leads. Rosemary Riddell, Mike Riddell's wife and a Hamilton District Court Judge, directed the film, with her only prior experience being in Theatre and with a short film.

Soundtrack

The opening track of the movie, "The Sound", is by Luke Hurley as a busker playing his own song. As well he wrote many riffs for the project and recommended his Dunedin friend Neville Copland to be composer.[8]

Critical reception

The film has a rating of 75% on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 5.8 as of September 2014.[9] It was mostly well received by critics, with a rating of 4/5 from the New Zealand Herald[10] and 7/10 from TVNZ.[11]

Awards

At the 2011 Moondance International Film Festival The Insatiable Moon won the Atlantis Award, for feature films made outside of the USA.[12]

At the 2011 Aotearoa Film & Television Awards the film won Best Lead Actor in a feature film (Rawiri Paratene) and Best Supporting Actor in a feature film (Greg Johnson).[13] At the same awards it received nominations for:

References

  1. ↑ "The Insatiable Moon (2011)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  2. ↑ "Mike Riddell putting his show on the road". Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  3. ↑ "The Insatiable Moon". Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  4. ↑ "The Insatiable Moon (2010)". Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  5. ↑ "New Kiwi film The Insatiable Moon". 17 November 2010. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  6. ↑ "The Insatiable Moon screens for Mental Health Awareness Week". 30 September 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  7. ↑ "Mike Riddell putting his show on the road". 2 October 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  8. ↑ Riddell, Mike (September 7, 2010). "The fabulous Mistah Luke Hurley…". The Insatiable Moon. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
  9. ↑ "The Insatiable Moon (2010)". Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  10. ↑ "Movie Review: The Insatiable Moon". 7 October 2010. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  11. ↑ "The Insatiable Moon: Movie Review". 11 August 2010. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  12. ↑ "The Insatiable Moon wins at Moondance International Film". 29 August 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  13. ↑ "Winners Announced: Aotearoa Film & Television Awards". 13 November 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2014.

External links

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