NZIFF 2012 Review: ‘¡Vivan las Antipodas!’

The word antipodes means opposite, and the filmmaker here takes this idea in its purest essence as he maps opposite points across the globe.

Given much of the earth is covered in water, finding antipodal pairs that are both on land is a challenge. But director Kossakovsky has done it and brings us footage from four places on one side of the earth, contrasting them with their polar opposite on the other.

We start in Argentina where two brothers operate and maintain a toll bridge. Theirs is a quiet, tranquil life with an abundance of fresh air and nature at their doorstep. Across the globe from their humble shack is Shanghai, all bustle and pollution and noise. The distinction between the two is striking, perhaps more so than any of the other pairings.

A Russian woman and her daughter live by a lake and muse on reincarnation while a Patagonian shepherd shoos cats out of his house while he makes bread. A man searches for a missing dog amid lava flows on a Hawaiian island while a village in Botswana watches the lions, hippos and giraffes wander within feet of their children. A beached whale on a New Zealand beach at Castle Point in the Wairarapa finds its antipode in a freshly hatched butterfly in Spain.

While it is all beautiful, and the use of digital technology is stunning, I found the film over-long and its point laboured. The repeated tipping and flipping of images grew tiring and made me feel somewhat seasick. But the power and beauty of the landscapes captured are magnificent.

If you’re looking for something beautiful and contemplative, this would be a good film for you. I just needed a little more substance to satisfy me.

6/10

http://youtu.be/b0Nx-gyxKec