Genres

Visitors Review

2013-05-16 06:09:18

Low key gem, with fantastic performances

Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki gives a phenomenal performance. From what I understand this is her debut film, but I fully expect to see her in more movies. The acting in Rain is superb all around, but so much of the movie rests on Fulford-Wierzbicki's shoulders. She creates a believable, complex character. Special note also goes to the young actor who portrays her brother. There is a very real bond between the two characters, rarely are sibling relationships shown this realistically. The film is also very beautifully shot. Many well-composed, strikingly-lit shots linger long enough to really appreciate them. This is a very leisurely paced film, yet the characters are so compelling that it never becomes boring. Give this movie a shot if you enjoy character studies.

2013-05-15 23:33:22

merits beyond own age groups

Lost by bored parents-holidaymakers' kids-about six year old boy and in-young-teens girl-explore a world around them on merits far beyond their age groups.If something good in this movie, it is Aaron Murphy A redhead boy-brother's performance, of whom death makes a film being a viewing targeting spiritual course-goers rather than a realistic cinematographic work: in a real life so shallow departures from Ten Commandments bear so extreme consequences rarely.

lostatlimbo 2013-05-15 01:11:36

laid back beach movie with a twist...

this movie had all the makings of a feel-good beach movie. set in new zealand in the 70's, it does a great job of making you feel relaxed, even sedated, as you watch a family's world turn upside-down. the key character is janey, a naive 13 year-old girl, but the real story is her parents and a marriage that is shaky at best. aside from the great direction and cast, ethereal camera-work, and a superb soundtrack, the real delight of this film is the part of jim, janey's little brother, who basically steals the show. a great film with a few good laughs that makes you feel good, despite a saddened ending.

2013-05-14 18:15:30

Thirteen Year Old Janey is a Victim of Sexual Abuse

This review is from: Rain (2001) [VHS] (VHS Tape) This is a film that literally sees little wrong with child molesting. And no, I'm not even slightly exaggerating. It is also bizarre that I am the sole reviewer to point this out. Janey is only a 13 year old teenager. She is indeed rather mature for her age. Nonetheless, Janey is too young to legally allow a fully grown man to have sex with her. Such an adult male (or female) is clearly breaking the law. Janey is the daughter of a woman who is selfish and undisciplined. The father is being played for a fool. This dysfunctional family seems doomed. Janey's younger brother needs her love and protection. Is she capable of handling this responsibility? Will matters finally get out of control? "Rain" is morally bankrupt. The story line takes place in New Zealand. Perhaps the people associated with the American TV program "To Catch a Predator" and "Perverted Justice" should visit this country. David ThomsonFlares into Darkness

2013-05-04 03:53:46

One summer and so much more...

I was very pleasantly surprised by this movie. I expected something of the Lolita kind of movie, but it turned out to be something completely else. Truth is that there was a 13-year old girl and much older guy involved, but the story certainly didn't evolve around that. It was basically an excerpt from a young girl's life and some of the most important moments of her life fall into that 'excerpt'. A summer that changed young Janey's life forever. One of the most important moments of the movie was when Janey told her father in front of her mother that "she [the mother] has him wrapped around her finger" and other truths about her mother and her behavior; and then stands up and leaves with her mother wanting to follow her when the father stops the mother and says "leave her, she's growing up". At that moment you can feel how pathetic the whole situation in which the family finds itself is, how well Janey knows what is going on and is disturbed by it - how she's turning from an innocent child into an adult feeling the weight of the reality on her unexperienced shoulders - that all is toppled later in the movie. It is a movie about growing up, about loss of innocence, about need for a better communication among people, about the need for 'caring for other people, not only yourself', about problems that need solving....about life.This is a real life movie.Great performances, great New Zealand scenery, perfect music. Thumbs up to Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki.

awillawill 2013-05-03 18:19:05

An atmospheric gem

I fail to see what the title had to do with the film, but that aside,Rain is a terrific tribute to the director, Christine Jeffs, and boththe adult and actors. Right from the beginning, I could strongly sensethe barren atmosphere of the location and the self-destructivebehaviour of the adults. The acting of the girl/woman and her littlebrother was stunning, and credit must go to Christine Jeffs forensuring that exactly the right tone was struck throughout. It soeasily could have been a creepy Disney effort had the script not beenso deftly performed and directed by such a skilled team. There couldhardly be an adult watching this wonderful film who did not have theirown childhood flooding back as they watched the girl/woman and herbrother interact.

Robert Graham 2013-04-30 00:34:53

An unexpected, moving piece of cinema.

My initial thoughts whilst watching Christine Jeffs debut film 'Rain',were that the narrative crawled along at a pace far too slow forenjoyment. For a 92 minute film, there weren't a lot of obvious plotadvances to keep me transfixed to the screen, or even that interestedat all. The one thing that kept me watching was the beautifulcinematography of John Toon, and the stunning landscapes of NewZealand. The repeated use of photographically perfect sunsets and shotsof the sea for most of the establishing shots throughout the film keptme wanting the current scene to end just so I could watch the nextestablishing shot.However, I was glad that I kept watching because I began to notice themore subtle side to the narrative, which I had at first, thought wasmissing altogether. Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki's performance as thetroubled 13 year old Janey starts off as a little unsure, but she seemsto grow into the role throughout the film, until she becomes acharacter we can really feel connected to. Her portrayal of a youngteenage girl struggling to cope with her journey into adolescence andnew found sexual energy is incredibly moving, especially at the endwhen it leads to the death of her younger brother Jim. The performancesof the rest of the cast I found to be not so powerful, but stilleffective in more subtle ways. Janey's dad, played by AlistairBrowning, show's his feelings towards the breakdown of his marriagethrough small and relatively unnoticeable acts such as when he say's tohis children 'because families do things together', whilst his wife isat home with a hangover.Another of this film's defining features is its careful use of non-diegetic music which really manages to capture the mood of each scene.The piano music that accompanies Kate's walk across the beach to Cady'sboat starts off quite slow and relaxed, but builds up the closer shegets, like a mirror to Kate's emotions as she gets closer and closer tocheating on her husband. The acoustic song played over the scene whereJaney finds Jim dead on the beach, is another example of just howuseful getting the right song is, as it encapsulates most of the filminto this one defining moment. It is that moment that, in my opinion, where this film crosses over theboundary of a simple coming of age film, into something elsecompletely. In one instant, all the worries about Janey growing up andseducing Cady, Kate's affair with Cady, and the general breakdown ofKate and Ed's marriage, are put into a harsh perspective. Throughoutthe film, Jim plays a backseat role, not really impacting on the storysignificantly, and the rest of the characters end up neglecting him. Weare reminded just how small and insignificant in the overall scheme ofthings that such worries are, and how when people get so caught up intheir own lives and problems, that the little things, often the moreimportant ones, can be overlooked, with tragic consequences.

LadyinDisguise 2013-04-29 19:46:05

A Roller Coaster of Emotions

I will admit firsthand that the main draw for me to this movie wasMarton Csokas, who is quite possibly the sexiest man alive. That said,I will focus on the fact that this movie had me laughing and crying,entranced and disturbed. While some people like to focus on Janie'sirresponsible (and troubling) actions leading to Jim's death, whatabout mom & dad? Why isn't anyone blaming them? I was a little botheredby the sight of a young girl seducing a grown man, yet the embarrassingdesperation of the mother's need for sex with Cady was also difficultto watch. Janie, in my opinion, was a little girl who was jealous ofher mom, and made up her mind to be more alluring to Cady. I thoughtall the cast was wonderful, but back to Marton. Can any man exude rawsex better than Mr. Csokas? I only know that just watching him kiss awoman got my heart racing, and I would have loved to feel those lips onmine. Overall, this is a movie filled with emotions of every kind, andI highly recommend it to everyone.

2013-04-25 18:13:09

intimate story of alcoholic family in New Zealand during the '60's.

This review is from: Rain (DVD) I believe the story takes place in New Zealand, based on character vocal accents and film production company information. The time seems to be during the late 60's, as the characters reference Hendrix music in the present tense and listen to 60's music.Intimate story about a family of four; husband and wife with 2 children, one teen girl and a young boy. The wife in the story is in a unhappy marriage; despite her husband buying the family a nice home by the beach. Much of her unhappiness is due to her alcohol abuse. Seeking meaning in life, she develops a romance with a local boat dock worker. The husband wants to be closer with his wife, but she has grown cold toward his affections. He too abuses alcohol, though not as much as the wife.The film is interesting in how it shows the effects of alcohol's negative effects on the family- how it affects the husband and the two children. A fictional look at how genuine family dysfunction develops due to substance abuse.The soundtrack is very impressive, and fits into the mood of the film well. The actors were great, and as the film develops we (the audience) start to care more about them and their situation.

2013-04-25 12:07:12

A movie to watch with girlfriends NOT a boyfriend

The casting for this movie was spot on - but the actress who played 13 y.o. Janey shined the brightest. Yes, it is another coming of age story but this one hits the mark. It's about growing up in the 70s. It's about a girl hating her mom and yet, trying desperately to be just like her. But most of all, it is about endurance - just holding on. The film is slow paced and fits the mood of the lazy days of a 1970s summer. Add lots of booze and marital boredom, mixed together with sexual awakening and you have a disaster just waiting to happen. Janey's flirting with the same man as her mother has dire consequences in so many ways. The whole "rain" metaphor and using it as a title struck me as too film project but since it was this director's first film, she deserves a lot of credit for making a film that strikes a hard emotional truth.

2013-04-23 19:04:06

Sublime evocation of adolescent girlhood and family fragility

My friend and I spent the after-movie coffee trying to decide whether Rainwas indeed the best New Zealand movie we have seen. An intense, evocativeslice of 1970s beach holiday life, there is nothing about it that doesn'twork.This project clearly couldn't have worked or even happened if it weren'tforthe amazing discovery of the star, the very young AliciaFulford-Wierzbicki.She makes Rain an uncomfortably accurate portrayal of what it's like to beinside an adolescent girl's body and life. Her character, Janey, istwelve-going-on-twenty, experimenting with the power that can come frombeing a young woman, full of new secrets. Her performance is intense in adeliciously natural way and carries the entire film.While her character is central, this is not just another coming-of-agestory. We also see the complex interactions of her family members andvarious holiday acquaintances and watch tested loyalties, experiments inlove and attraction, and quite a bit of swimming and fishing.The cinematography is distinctive and excellent, all the other actors arefaultless and the soundtrack, by Kiwi icon Neil Finn, is exactly right.Rain is a frighteningly impressive debut by director, Christine Jeffs.

Cristina 2013-04-23 15:33:25

Great Indie Film

I just bought Rain on vhs and I have to say that I really loved it. Therewere some slow parts, but I think that reflected the environment aroundthem. The two young actors were excellent and the story line was goodtoo.I thought that the whole Janey/Cady scene was going to be a lot moreexplicit than it was, but I wasn't disappointed. Christine Jeffs made areally great film that hit on some tough subjects but was done tastefully.Rain was a great indie film.

2013-04-17 18:59:13

RAIN IS AMAZING!

I really loved this film. It was so beautifully shot. Don't miss it!!

2013-04-17 14:30:46

Thirteen Year Old Janey is a Victim of Sexual Abuse

This review is from: Rain [VHS] (VHS Tape) This is a film that literally sees little wrong with child molesting. And no, I'm not even slightly exaggerating. It is also bizarre that I am the sole reviewer to point this out. Janey is only a 13 year old teenager. She is indeed rather mature for her age. Nonetheless, Janey is too young to legally allow a fully grown man to have sex with her. Such an adult male (or female) is clearly breaking the law. Janey is the daughter of a woman who is selfish and undisciplined. The father is being played for a fool. This dysfunctional family seems doomed. Janey's younger brother needs her love and protection. Is she capable of handling this responsibility? Will matters finally get out of control? "Rain" is morally bankrupt. The story line takes place in New Zealand. Perhaps the people associated with the American TV program "To Catch a Predator" and "Perverted Justice" should visit this country. David ThomsonFlares into Darkness

RayDiant 2013-04-08 12:36:55

Beautifully shot and quite a ride

Rain is the type of New Zealand movie that New Zealanders love. Slice ofKiwiana presented with high art mixed with bleakness.People have berated the double barreled ending as contrived but it is alsosymbolic. Janey comes of age through one event and is hit home that shecan't go back through the other.The acting is great. And the cinematography almost steals theshow.Kiwi batch life is presented in full force. A young girl's all too fastgrowing up because of the parents selfishness is presented with only ahintof sentimentality and emotional manipulation.

przgzr 2013-04-07 22:39:23

Authors' confrontation with 70's

This movie has a long, long line of events that prepare us for tragicending. And it still comes unexpected, unless you've read thespoiler-containing comments.Having read other comments, I don't want to repeat what's been written.I'll share some thoughts about author's relation to characters, plotand year it happens.(IF YOU DON'T LIKE LONG COMMENTS SKIP THIS PARAGRAPH) First we noticethat the director's relation to characters seems to be rather cold. Wesee a wife having a barely hidden affair and her husband not caringmuch. Is he used to, does he have affairs of his own, or he simply hasno feelings for his wife any more, or maybe never even had? Or is thisa kind of free love from flower-power? Is he resignated and waiting forthe divorce, or is this situation convenient for him too? He can drink,stay home, go away, hang around with kids or ignore them and alwayshave an excuse, he has a bad marriage. The parties these people takepart night after night with their friends (turists as themselves) seemto be rather wild, with drinks, smoking, and maybe some drugs (Ihaven't noticed them, but...), wild enough that they (especiallymother) need a lot of morning hours to recover (and prepare for nextevening). During parties they swim nude, though they are not naturists(we never see them swim nude otherwise, even on such marvelouslocations that simply lure for skinny-dipping - I can only dream toever get there), so it is alcochol that rinses their inhibitions away.A girl, young teenager, has a few drinks, a few cigarettes, and hermother's reaction is weak, maybe just because she has an impression sheshould say something. But, being the one who is smoking and drinkingand going alone with her lover, she knows she can't judge her daughterfor following her steps. And the daughter goes forward, she choosesmother's lover to be her own as well. Is this the mother-daughtercompetition, the way daughter proves herself and builds herself-esteem, maybe trying to save her parent's marriage by takingmother's lover for herself or just imitating mother's behaving? We areleft unanswered. (Btw, some people ask what happened between Janey andCody. Did they watch some cut version, or do they really need anX-rated graphic version to understand what's going on?).After her brother's death there is an interesting, underestimated scenebetween mother and daughter. The girl blames herself for the accident,and mother comforts her. But this comfort is weak, inconclusive. Itlooks as if mother found a grain of consciousness but won't admit itand hopes for someone to say it's not her fault either. As they arerivals, both having an affair with same man, their guilt is equal, bothwere acting against the family. If they comfort and forgive each other,their own guilt will grow and they are not able to cope with it.The way all these events end gives us an answer why is the director onsuch a distance. She simply doesn't like any of the characters exceptthe little child (as women often do), making him a victim to emphasizeall the things she doesn't like in the world she is showing us. And shehas no mercy and no understanding for any of these sinful adults.Just remember the last scene when the boy appears alive on the beach.He looks as if he knows it's all over, his world has collapsed, I canimagine this was the way children looked when they realized they'd besacrificed to ancient pagan gods. This is a look that transfers adirector's message: look what (and why!) happened to this cute kid, andmost of viewers will agree, yes all those bad, bad people are guiltybecause of drinking, smoking, taking drugs, nude swimming, dancing,adultery, premarital sex, teenage sex, OK - sex in general; havingheadaches, pretending to have headaches, making photos, sailing, notsailing, going on holidays... well, doing anything amusing at all. Itshould all be forbidden to make the world better.Finally, why 1972? It seems as if the authors had some very badexperiences in 1970's and want to confront them. The basic plot couldhave happened in any period of history (even future), but the yearlooks to be carefully chosen, and none of the stereotypes people haveabout those years has been omitted. condemned After Manson "family"killed Sharon Tate and her guests four years before, making peoplerealize the danger of drugs, Easy Rider was history in USA. Some (very)bad things in flower-power made people neglect positive sides of it.Few extreme situations were excuse for some people to terminate freedommovements, and plant a seed of paranoia that is blossoming today.Conclusion: the condemned life style led to L.A. murders, and it alsoled to Jim's death. We got analyzing the ten commandments one by one,then seven mortal sins, in more strict version than in ordinarychurches (Pope John Paul II would forgive this sinners, and imams wouldmaybe call back their fetvas, but there is no mercy from authors). Thedirector must be a Saint herself. But if Christine Jeffs isn't MotherTheresa's pseudonym I can neither understand the authors nor feelsympathy for whatever happened to them in the 1970's.

eewittme 2013-04-01 21:05:37

Cotton Mather would've loved it (spoilers)

The acting (particularly by Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki) and cinematography ofthis movie are so well put-together that it makes the movie's horriblecliche of an ending that much more painful and embarrassing.(Here come the spoilers)Jim's death at the end of the movie is a cheap gimmick that directorChristine Jeffs telegraphs from square one. It's a lame, moralizingmade-for-TV-movie plot device that attempts to somehow punish the film'scharacters for their perceived moral transgressions (Janey and Jim'sparents' drinking and Janey's experimentation with sex). By killing off Jimimmediately after (or during, it's not clear) his sister's firstexperimentation with sex, the cast and crew of "Rain" come across as a bunchof holier-than-thou moralists. "This is what happens when innocent youngchildren are left unsupervised so the adults can go off and drink and havesex," we can almost hear Jeffs saying while she wags her finger at heraudience.It's not clear if Jim's death is something taken from Kirsty Gunn's novel orif it's introduced in Jeffs' adaptation. Whatever the case, Jeffs ought tohave had the sense not to kill off Jim right after Janey's encounter withCady. The final quarter or so of the movie should be about Janey coming togrips with her encounter with Cady. Instead, Jeffs rips the focus away froman uncomfortable subject by drowning Jim, after which she tries to tidy upthe movie with a quick funeral and another cliche, the "driving home in acar after a tragic event" scene. "And after that summer, I was never thesame," we can almost hear Fulford-Wierzbicki saying during the film's finalvoiceover.It's almost as if Jeffs is afraid to let Fulford-Wierzbicki act out hercharacter's reaction to her sexual awakening, or to show her parents actingout their split on screen. It's an awful way to end a movie, and I can'trecommend this movie to anyone but moralizing, condescending types who likenothing more than to see characters suffer for sins that are actually littlemore than character flaws.

TheUnknown837-1 2013-03-31 23:44:19

It is a nice little film about many subjects; some of which we can relate to, others we hope never to

I am a real sucker when it comes to movies that deal with subjects suchas coming-of-age, first loves, families dividing, and independence inthe younger generation. So it was no surprise to me that I found myselfwrapped in the story of "Rain," a 2001 import from New Zealand about a13-year-old girl watching her family slowly separate with the coming ofa photographer, who takes a shine to her emotion-drained mother. As hermother and the photographer begin an extramarital affair, young Janeyalso struggles to teach her younger brother in the ways of the world,and combat the fact that she has an attraction toward this man herself."Rain" is played with a straight face, but this is to its advantage. Itis a nice little film about many subjects; some of which we can relateto, others we hope never to. The plot does not thicken or compounditself with complications and big, astronomical twists. For most of itsrunning time, it's sort of mundane. It almost seems like a Yasujiro Ozufilm with a constantly moving camera. It presents life as it is withoutbecoming melodramatic or hyperbolic and I think this is the reason whya lot of us can understand the position of Janey, who is verywell-played by Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki, and get involved in a storythat is edited with gentle pacing.Some of the directing is a little hampered (no surprise, since it wasChristine Jeffs's debut) but is overcome by deliberately richsymbolism. There are symbols and graphic representations found allthroughout this movie and a sharp-eyed person will be very appreciativetoward them. Example: daughter wants to confront her mother about atouchy issue with a little hostility. Her brother is off to the side,blowing bubbles through his straw into his drink to simulate boilingwater: a parallel to the brewing animosity between the two characters.The movie is also rich with its details about the coming-of-age part ofa person's life and this is what, I think, really drew me in. Janey ison-screen almost all of the time and we see her go through the roughparts of growing up. She experiences her first kiss, her first crush onan adult, her strives for independence from her parents brews, herdesire to both instruct her younger brother and to get away from him,to stand on her own two feet, etc. We've all been there before. Wedon't get that many (compelling) coming-of-age stories these days andso a movie like "Rain" is worthy of appreciation.Performances are very good. Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki, most of thetime, stays solid in her characters and expresses her emotions (many ofthem withheld) wonderfully. She's a very good actress. As heremotionally-drained, seemingly lifeless mother, Sarah Peirce is verygood, representing her inner feelings remarkably well while keeping astraight, seemingly exanimate face. The same can be said of AlistairBrowning as the father. There's great energy in the performance byAaron Murphy as the young, highly adventurous and free-spirited brotherand a solid performance from Marton Csokas, whom "Lord of the Rings"fans are sure to recognize. There's also a very good supportingperformance from David Taylor as the boy down the beach with a crush onJaney. His part, though very small, also contributes to this very sweetlittle painting of a movie.Warning: parents considering showing this movie to children might wantto take into mind a brief, erotic prelude scene to lovemaking, and somebrief flashes of male genitalia during a beach scene.

mmh-4 2013-03-30 14:05:22

excellent movie, all the way up to the last few minutes

This film was delicious to watch. Some of the cinematography was reallystriking, as were some of the cinematographic choices, such as the sparinguse of very brief black-and-white shots. I also liked the depictions ofchildren at play (one moment in particular: when Jim cavorts in the dimlylit front yard at dusk in semi-slow-mo in a dracula cape, in a sort ofscene-change-sideshow-distraction, innocently echoing the ominous tone ofthe previous scene). The play really rang true, reminding me of my owninteractions with my siblings. The relationship between the two childrenwasendearing and a welcome relief from the other very draining relationshipsinthe movie.I spent most of the film wondering whether a particular event was going tohappen, and I felt that the few moments after it did happen near the endwere the best of the film, UP UNTIL something else happened that I felt wasa little over the top. The former event brought together the relationshipsthat Janey, the young protagonist, had with all of the other characters insuch rich, complex, achingly painful ways, it really left me in awe. It wasa very strange experience, then, to have the second, over the top eventhappen not a minute later. I really felt this last event was unnecessary,and it cut me off from fully appreciating the best moment of thefilm.So, the first 94 minutes or so were really great, and the last three, whilethey did cut me off from my greatest moment of admiration, did not detractfrom the overall greatness of the film.

C.M.HALL 2013-03-29 22:14:14

"WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS"

RAIN is a retrospective on regrets, a study in how NOT to raise children orrepair a marriage. Or, maybe it's a sure-fire recipe for disaster.Take one indulgent husband & permissive father. Add one selfish wife &juvenile mother. Steam one surly & shameful daughter. Glaze one exploringbut innocent young son. Ignite the whole dish with a lecherous neighbor and a seemingly harmlessdose of the Sex, Drugs, Rock n Roll of the '70's, and you have all thetragedy that any one family should ever have to bear in a lifetimecompressed into one summer at the beach. Definitely NOT a "feel-good" movie. But it is a good lesson in a reality tobe avoided. Probably 80% of the viewers in a Westernized culture havepersonally experienced some form of the destructive tragedies included inthis portrait of a modern sorrow. Go learn from their mistakes.***/4