Dvd
Apron Strings
2008
CLICK HERE to read our interview with director Sima Urale.
Apron Strings premiered at the Auckland International Film Festival this year.
In her first feature Samoan-born Aucklander Sima Urale (King Kapisi's sister, FYI) brings an ebullient light touch to a story which traces parallel, richly loaded domestic dramas in two families of cooks: one Sikh, the other dyed-in-the-wool Anglo. Both tales centre on mothers and their fatherless sons.
Lorna (Jennifer Ludlum) is the proprietor of an old-fashioned cake shop, and mother of the listless, unemployed Barry (Scott Wills) who's 35, still living at home and complaining about her cooking. The glamorous Anita (Laila Rouass) hosts an Indian Cooking Show on TV. Her poise is shaken when her student son Michael (Nathan Whitaker), the apple of her eye, starts to "explore his Indian-ness" by getting a job in an Otahuhu curry-house. [Source: NZFF08]
Apron Strings premiered at the Auckland International Film Festival this year.
In her first feature Samoan-born Aucklander Sima Urale (King Kapisi's sister, FYI) brings an ebullient light touch to a story which traces parallel, richly loaded domestic dramas in two families of cooks: one Sikh, the other dyed-in-the-wool Anglo. Both tales centre on mothers and their fatherless sons.
Lorna (Jennifer Ludlum) is the proprietor of an old-fashioned cake shop, and mother of the listless, unemployed Barry (Scott Wills) who's 35, still living at home and complaining about her cooking. The glamorous Anita (Laila Rouass) hosts an Indian Cooking Show on TV. Her poise is shaken when her student son Michael (Nathan Whitaker), the apple of her eye, starts to "explore his Indian-ness" by getting a job in an Otahuhu curry-house. [Source: NZFF08]
Starring Laila Rouass, Scott Wills, Jennifer Ludlum, Nathan Whitaker, Leela Patel
Directed by Sima Urale (feature debut)
Written by Shuchi Kothari, Dianne Taylor
Drama | 1hr 30mins | Rated (M) | violence, offensive language | Origin: New Zealand
- Trailers
- Reviews
-
- SHARE:
- SHARE:
The Talk
38 votes / No comments
Flicks review
-
3
The latest NZ feature film is a real cultural potpourri set in the South Auckland suburb of Otahuhu, exploring the lives and tribulations of two families struggling in very different ways with matters of identity and control.
The central theme in the film is concerned with the often complex relationship between mothers and their children. We see the paralleled lives of two families - the suburban Pakeha family, where long-suffering mother Lorna (Jennifer Ludlam) tries to motivate her gambling addicted son Barry (Scott Wills), and the glamourous affluent Indian TV star Anita (Laila Rouass) as she strives to protect her beloved university son from the tangled web of lies and shame that surrounds her family's past. As Michael (Nathan Whitaker) forms his own relationship with Anita's estranged sister Tara (Leela Patel), the relationships begin to unravel.
If this all sounds a bit heavy, it's not. Director Sima Urale injects a great portion of humour into what could be fairly grim subject matter. She manages to draw out some great comedic performances from the characters - Ludlam's Lorna with her vitriolic dispersions on the Vietnamese and Pacific Islanders invading 'her' suburb is both heartfelt and amusing and Jodie Rimmer as Lorna's rebellious daughter Virginia is hilarious.
The common thread running through is that of food - Lorna runs an old fashioned cake shop, Anita is the host of a flashy modern Indian cookery show while her sister Anita runs a home style curry house. From the quaint kitsch wedding cakes to the exotic Indian delicacies, the food is all shot as beautifully as the entire film. Director of Photography Rewa Harra switches from infusing the film with the sumptuous golden light of the TV set and the curry house to the pastel haze of the suburban house scenes, dictating mood with ease and grace.
On the downside, Nathan Whitaker playing the male lead Michael failed to exude a strong screen presence, and while Laila Rouass of Footballers Wives fame bought a touch of glamour to the film, it never felt as if her character was developed enough to allow the audience to form any real empathy with her. Although light in nature, the rather limp ending could easily have been moulded into something more poignant.
The release of Apron Strings by Samoan born Auckland Director Sima Urale has been hotly anticipated since her critically acclaimed short films O Tamaiti and Velvet Dreams. While this film was beautifully made and entertaining, I can't help but think that the best is yet to come from Ms. Urale.SHARE:
The people's reviews
18 reviews
Press Reviews
-
NZ Herald [Peter Calder]
3
With a bit of luck, it will be the first of many movies that grapple with our changing ethnic identity. If only for that reason, and for all its faults, it deserves attention.
Read full review -
TV3 [Kate Rodger]
3
A couple of stand-out performances added impact to an often lightweight script, but overall this is mature debut feature for Sima Urale.
Read full review
View more trailers close window
-
Loading the player ...
Search For a DVD
I beg your pardon?
- Flicks.co.nz is serving the great nation of NZ with all things cinematic. Question about a movie or cinema? Thoughts on the site? Quips, gripes, advice for our own personal self-development?
- Get in touch with us by email at ED@ FLICKS.CO.NZ,on TWITTER oron FACEBOOK.
Want to see it
What say you? Yes No
Be the first to comment!