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Time Out says

A pensive, oddly querulous tribute to New Zealand's 19th century pioneer stills photographers, the Burton Brothers, this is weighed down with a gravely simple lesson in political history that sacrifices both character and drama to sketchy schematics. In the aftermath of the Maori wars, idealistic settler Walter Burton (Vere-Jones) documents the misery of a dying culture while becoming increasingly estranged from his own: he's less the misunderstood artist, though, than one all too well understood by the colonial authorities bent on censoring him. Brother Alfred (Wilson) arrives later, trading on his reputation as a society portraitist and landscape romanticist to give the governmental patrons the images they want. Supporting stereotypes abound, and the ironies are trowelled on. It's handsome and well-meaning enough, but there's hardly a spark of cinema to it.
Written by PT

Release Details

  • Duration:87 mins

Cast and crew

  • Director:Michael Black
  • Screenwriter:Robert Lord, John O'Shea
  • Cast:
    • Kevin J Wilson
    • Peter Vere-Jones
    • Helen Moulder
    • Elizabeth Coulter
    • Terence Bayler
    • Matiu Mareikura
    • Ron Lynn
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