The ground we won shows how far we haven't come

Post date: May 18, 2015 10:0:26 AM

Two blogs in one day is unusual. But two things happened yesterday that were things we would have spoken about had we been around the dinner table together.

Yesterday afternoon Tony and I went to see NZ movie called The Ground We Won. This is a documentary filmed in Reparoa in the centre of the North Island where they followed the local rugby team through a season. We think you guys would like it but for different reasons - Tim pretty sure you would recognise the rugby club; Adrian think you would like the cinematography and the planning around it. Mark, Maria and Stacey might just watch. The reviews say things like "highly authentic slice of life about the challenges and joys of manhood as seen through the rites and rituals of rugby".

Cast have names like Peanut, Slug, Broomy, Socks and Stick. Because of course the rites and rituals of rugby don't actually include real names.

It wasn't just the fact that the film was shot in black & white that gave us the feelign things haven't changed much since the 1950s. The behaviours in things like drinking, driving, road safety and attitude to women hammered home that there are large aprts of the country where the 21st century is yet to reach.

Likely this will be on film festival rotation/ artsy types.