Synopsis
Lucinda (Danielle Cormack) and Rob (Karl Urban) live happily on a New Zealand farm with their 117 cows. One day while driving, Lucinda accidentally hits a Maori tribe old woman (however, the old lady is not hurt), and when she awakes, she realizers that the blanket she used for sleeping has disappeared. The blanket, it turns out, was taken by the old Maori woman. To get the blanket back, Lucinda gives away Rob's beloved cattle, and when Rob finds out, he leaves her, angered. To retrieve Rob's cattle, she must give away something that is most dear to her heart. Her love for Rob. The second film by the director Harry Sinclair, is quite different when compared to his first film, . While the first film deals with modern lives in the city, the second film is a fairy tale about two lovers set on a pastoral background. This film, which at first glance may seem like a campaign film for breast feeding, is actually a love story which could only be thought up in dairy farming country like New Zealand. (Where else but in New Zealand could one imagine an infatuated man joining a woman for a bath in a milk barrel?) With the serene music of Russian folk songs played by Moscow Symphony Orchestra and the beautiful scenery of New Zealand as its background, the director tells us a story about true love-without the need to possess. Especially the magical realism-like Emir Kusturica's Yugoslavian magical realism, but a different one-is worthy of notice. In addition, in this film, the Maoris play a crucial part in giving the film a sense of magical realism. The biggest asset of this film, , is its lovely humor and its willingness to look at life in a new perspective. (Sim Young-seop)