Sam Neil's Cinema of Unease is supposed to be a film on the history of New Zealand cinema. However, rather than being a defining view, Cinema of Unease comes across more as Sam Neil's version of what our National Cinema is, rather than a collective view.
Rather than obtaining input from a diverse group of New Zealanders involved in cinema in this country, the audience is given the history according to a white, middle aged, ex-patriot, now resident in London. Unfortunately, this means that anyone unschooled in New Zealand cinema that watch the film, will get a very limited and biased outlook on the industry.
In Peter Jackson's Forgotten Silver, the audience is treated to probably the biggest hoax ever pulled off in New Zealand cinema. Jackson's film shows how a New Zealander, Colin McKenzie, had beaten Hollywood to many of it's claimed "firsts" in film, including the "close-up," color film, and the first pictures with recorded sound.
The fact that many New Zealanders were duped into believing the film, and were then outraged at how they had been duped, showed how desperate some New Zealanders are to hold onto and claim anything that can add to the young history of our country, including that of our national cinema. This yearning for national icons and achievement that may strengthen our sometimes-fragile national identity lead to some of the more negative reactions to Forgotten Silver.
