''Vigil'' is a 1984 New Zealand

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by Vincent Ward and starring Penelope Stewart,

Frank Whitten Frank Edgar Richard Whitten (15 November 1942 – 12 February 2011) was a New Zealand television actor. He was more recently known for playing Ted "Grandpa" West in the New Zealand television show '' Outrageous Fortune''.Megahey, LeslieEsteeme ...

Bill Kerr William Henry Kerr (10 June 1922 – 28 August 2014) was a British and Australian actor, comedian, and vaudevillian. Born in South Africa, he started his career as a child actor in Australia, before emigrating to Britain after the Second Worl ...

, Fiona Kay, and Gordon Shields. It was the first New Zealand film invited to play in the competitive section of the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

. The film was nominated for awarded three awards at New Zealand's GOFTA Awards in 1986: Best Cinematography ( Alun Bollinger), Best Original Screenplay ( Vincent Ward), and Best Production Design (Kai Hawkins).

Plot

Eleven-year-old Toss lives on a remote farm in a valley somewhere deep in rural New Zealand with her father, mother and grandfather Birdie. When she witnesses her father's death while out herding sheep, she is shocked to see another man present, who then carries her father's body out of the bush. When the new man, Ethan moves onto the farm and begins a relationship with her mother, Toss sees him as an invader into her isolated world.

Cast

* Penelope Stewart as Elizabeth Peers *

as Ethan Ruir *

as Birdie * Fiona Kay as Lisa "Toss" Peers * Gordon Shields as Justin Peers

Production

Vincent Ward spent five years making ''Vigil'', from pre-production to completion. Part of this was a lengthy pre-production process which involved him visiting hundreds of schools throughout New Zealand, looking for the right actor to play Toss. Similarly, Ward travelled all over New Zealand looking for a perfect setting before finding the isolated farm in Northern Taranaki where filming eventually took place.

Reception

Upon its release, ''Vigil'' polarised critics although generally it was reviewed positively. One particularly negative critic, Robert Brown of ''

The Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...

'', criticised the film for its "irritating music-and-effects track" and said it offered "grand themes ..but without any notion of how they connect in reality".Martin, Helen and Sam Edwards. ''New Zealand Film: 1912-1996''. Oxford University Press, 1997, p. 106. Others however offered far more favourable reviews. The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' described ''Vigil'' as "a film of elemental beauty and growing tension". ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' gave a positive review, saying "In ''Vigil'', Ward gives us imagery that plays like blasted poetry", while ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' called it "a work of astonishing, original force ..the most distinctive New Zealand film ever to reach Britain". Notably, ''Vigil'' was the first New Zealand film to be selected for competition at the Cannes International Film Festival, where the film received a standing ovation.

References

External links

*
Vigil at Vincent Ward Films

Vigil
on

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Vigil (Film) 1984 films 1984 drama films 1984 directorial debut films Films directed by Vincent Ward Films set on farms Films shot in New Zealand New Zealand drama films 1980s New Zealand films 1980s English-language films