Via Satellite is a 1998 New Zealand film directed by Anthony McCarten based on his play of the same name.[1] After playing at the Cannes Festival market[2] it had its public premier opening the 1998 Wellington Film Festival on 17 July.[3]
Cast
- Danielle Cormack as Chrissy/Carol
- Tim Balme as Ken
- Rima Te Wiata as Jen
- Brian Sergent as Brian
- Jodie Dorday as Lyn
- Karl Urban as Paul
- Donna Akersten as Joyce
Reception
Sunday Star Times’s Rick Bryant gave it 4 stars and said “If Via Satellite has a marketing problem, it may be that it is too good, and the dingbats, usual suspects and assorted dullards just won’t get it. On the other hand, it has been kept familiar, recognisable and completely unpretentious.”[4]
David Stratton in Variety said “This modest Kiwi outing offers a few fresh twists to basically familiar material in which members of a dysfunctional family are forced into an uneasy reunion. Thanks to strong performances, especially from lead actress Danielle Cormack, pic builds to a satisfying, emotional climax.”[5]
In the Honolulu Star-Bulletin Burl Burlingame gave it 2 1/2 stars at the Hawaii International Film Festival. He notes after a family secret is dropped “Nothing wrong with Family Secrets. They tend to inject juice into almost anything. But this fairly light-hearted romp stagers under the load and never quite gets off its knees thereafter.”[6]
Phillippa Hawker of the Age gave it 3 stars and said of a reveal of a family secret “it is a strange, almost gratuitous plot twist; it doesn’t really illuminate any of the tensions we have seen between the family members and it glosses over others. It also requires a considerable shift in mood. It is too abrupt a transition for the film to sustain; it’s an impossible lurch in a new, implausible direction.”[7] Tom Ryan of the Sunday Age gave it 1 1/2 stars and said wrote “McCarten’s style-free sketch of this mixed-up family is drawn with broad strokes. rarely moving out of the realm of caricature. The cast works hard to make something of the thin material, Cormack alone (playing both Carol and her rebellious twin sister Chrissie) managing to transcend it.”[8]
Awards
1999 New Zealand Film and Television Awards
- Best Supporting Actress – Jodie Dorday – won
- Best Editing – John Gilbert – won
References
- ^ Grainger, Matthew (19 October 1998), “Right script, right time for success”, The Dominion
- ^ Herrick, Linda (24 May 1998), “Kiwi tipped to take first-film Cannes award”, Sunday Star Times
- ^ Courtney, Bernadette (16 July 1998), “Premiere of NZ comedy opens festival”, The Dominion
- ^ Bryant, Rick (18 October 1998), “Kiwi cast corker”, Sunday Star Times
- ^ Stratton, David (17 August 1998), “Via Satellite”, Variety
- ^ Burlingame, Burl (12 November 1998), “Family conflicts, secrets set ‘Satellite’ spinning”, Honolulu Star-Bulletin
- ^ Hawker, Phillippa (18 November 1999), “Family farce of Olympic proportion”, The Age
- ^ Ryan, Tom (21 November 1999), “Lost children, lost opportunities”, The Sunday Age
External links
- Via Satellite at IMDb
- Via Satellite at NZ On Screen