Among the Cinders

1984, 1080hd

Johnny's comments:

Another 'lost' movie finally available in HD.

Among The Cinders is a coming-of-age drama about a teenage boy Nick (Paul O'Shea) who has become a constant worry for his parents Helga (Bridget Armstrong) and Frank (Maurice Shadbolt, the author of the book this movie is based on). Nick goes on a hunting trip with his only friend Sam (Ricky Duff) and they visit a cursed murder house. On one of their adventures, Sam falls off a cliff edge and dies, while Nick is injured while saving him. This only makes his parents more worried. Nick's brother Derek (Marcus Broughton), a revered poet, and perfectly normal person, suggests that this is happening because he's a homosexual! Nick's grandfather (Derek Hardwick) arrives to see Nick, much to the disgust of Helga who despises him, mainly because he believes in the 'old ways' and treats people as such. Granddad suggests that Nick should join him and his grandmother (Yvonne Lawley) for a retreat, which he does. Granddad is a handful for everyone and grandmother suggests that Nick should just go along with his way to keep him happy. Granddad suggests that they go on a trip to go prospecting for gum and gold. They leave suddenly, and Granddad seems forlorn. They make it to Granddad's old prospecting shack, where they stay for a while.

One day, Nick spies a bathing Sally (Rebecca Gibney), who introduces herself. While NIck is shy in her company at first, they become friendly while walking around the area including doing some skinny-dipping. They visit a house in the middle of nowhere and find it is owned by a famous photographer. Sally's friend Tera (Sela Apera) is there. Nick and Sally stay at the house waiting for a shoot to finish and after looking at some suggestive books, they have sex. Nick decides to leave abruptly, bringing Sally with him. Back at her camp, he hears a news item that says that police are looking for him and Granddad. Nick goes back to Granddad and tells him, and decides to go on the run, getting some horses from a Maori man who recently lost his wife. They bunker down in an abandoned shack as Nick is getting tired of the bush. Not long later, Granddad becomes gravely ill. Nick goes to town to get him his medicine, brandy, but a store owner recognises him and tells a nearby police officer.

So, why are the police after the two? And will Granddad survive?

Strange drama about a boy who mostly seems normal but does show some signs of being a bit off. Not a lot happens in the movie. It's mainly about the characters and there's a few good ones in the movie. Granddad is amazing, a real throwback to when 'men were men', someone who likes to argue law cases using the Magna Carta (still bafflingly a thing! I doubt it will ever go away), who treats women as second-rate and believes a man is at his best by his lonesome. Derek Hardwick's performance is a delight, an actor who barely had any roles but had an all-timer in this movie and then died a few years later. The lead, Paul O'Shea, in his only role, is not bad in the lead, very much the feel of a first-time actor but it sorta works because he's able to be more convincing as a shy person. Rebecca Gibney is in the movie for maybe 20 minutes but makes quite an impact and it's pretty obvious she was going to be a star not long after this.

I quite liked the movie, it is a very different coming-of-age story where it's hard to tell where it's going and what Nick's going to get out of it. It has a very rural, quaint New Zealand feel, and many of the actors aren't professional, which gives it a weird authentic feel that you don't usually get. A lot of random stuff happens, adding to that feel. Being a New Zealand movie, it has a dour, depressing feel  - and the ending is a bit of a shock. If you're look for something very different, this is well worth a look and you can rent it for only $3 off NZ On Demand (NZ and Australia only sadly).

While Rebecca Gibney is only in the movie for about 20 minutes, she has a few nude scenes and a decent wet dress scene. Most of the nudity is from a bit of a distance but still fairly visible. This is pretty much the only proper nudity she's ever done, so it's good to finally see it in HD, as it's only ever been seen in VHS quality prior to this.

Rebecca Gibney film clip (collages below)

Shelley Simpson and Jill Ann Davies film clip (sample below)