Vigil

Vigil has some good ideas, and occasional moments when they're realized fairly well, but this is anything but a satisfying movie. There's virtually no content at all, and it is painfully slow in revealing its emptiness. None of the characters are compelling, the scenery, is unremittingly gray and bleak, the mood is as drab as the leaden sky under which it's filmed. At this point in time, NZ films were often remarkable only for their weirdness, and Vigil, although tender and with heart, is not an exception. Vigil's greatest value may be as a study in Vincent Ward's development, which burst open to reveal his wonderful talent in the remarkable gem, The Navigator, two years later, the first of some first-class movies from New Zealand, such as The Piano, Whale Rider, and of course, The Lord of the Rings.

Well this film is hard to categorize, but let's just say it is filled with gorgeous and wondrous textures and images. The stark scenery is brilliantly captured by the camera here. Classic Vincent Ward palette of delectable images and haunting music. - Bravo!

My Rating : 8/10 'Beans up your...' 'Vigil' is about a lonely young girl living with her family on an isolated, mist-cloaked farm and the disturbing realities she faces along the way. Beautiful, funny and grand - don't be fooled by it's minimalist settings but try and look for the primal feelings of childhood which is captured so wonderfully. Highly recommended.

This film is a portrayal of a lonely and isolated childhood. It really has a dreary feel with all the darkness and fog. It is good at setting a tone of uncertainty and foreboding.

Vincent Ward's work in this film reminded me of the use of images by Bergman in his early films. Rough country, silhouetted figures, unexpected angles and movement, an avoidance of bright colour. We have to struggle to get to know the characters a little, and that is what I found was drawing myself in to the film. Ward could be accused of not telling the story fully enough. I found that his style kept me wondering what might happen next.

At the starting scene of the movie, I did not know what to expect..as I continued to watching..I began to drawn to each character in their own way in the movie as in the connection between the mother, the grandfather, the poacher (the stranger).All together in one. But the real star in the story is TOSS- the little girl who witness her father's death. Throughout the whole movie, one begin to see how she is coping by her father's departure and somewhat feel alienated she wore an hawk-like hat to cover her face from the rest of the world ..and coming of age to discover who she really is and most of all the value of her womanhood. The movie is a bit slow but it has a nice background based on its time, kinda bluish-gray mixing with different weathers during the scenes which made it magnificent and captivating to watch..Don't expect drama or actions..This movie is somewhat for the innocent. Just a feel-good movie. Go your nearest store; buy or rent it. You will enjoy it..

A beautifully photographed movie where the characters seem more than usually shaped by their surroundings. The unremitting cold wet climate in the unforgiving New Zealand hills forces those making a life there to spend more of an effort than your average city dweller. The father dies, the grandfather goes crazy, the mother seeks another life or another partner and the little girl accepts it all because it is all she has known. I was reminded of Samuel Beckett and also of Werner Herzog and perhaps there is something of each of them here. The constant and wearing daily effort just to stay alive and an urge to test oneself further, almost to build castles in the sky. As with the writer there is also just enough humour to keep us engaged and to distract us occasionally from the absolute desperation and futility of those efforts. Not an easy or speedy watch but thoughtful, worthwhile and ultimately optimistic.