Ever the Land

Directed by Sarah Grohnert

A documentary that explores the sublime bond between people and their land through a landmark architectural undertaking by one of New Zealand's most passionately independent Maori tribes, Ngai Tuhoe.

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Reviews

  • ★★★★ review by Alannah Rose on Letterboxd

    I absolutely wasn't sure what to expect from this and hadn't planned on seeing it but I had time to kill before the other movie I was seeing so I decided to go. This was a sweet documentary that had a lot to say although the subject was deceptively simple. I wanted a bit more depth but found it worthwhile and informative.

  • ★★★★ review by Chris Hormann on Letterboxd

    By bringing the focus onto the people of the land rather than the big players, we feel their connection and identification with one of the great treasures of New Zealand, the land of Tūhoe. Beautiful, immediate and compelling.

  • ★★★½ review by Nick R on Letterboxd

    A beautiful example of contemporary doc practice — it’s refreshing to see digital cinematography on a small production that’s so compositionally-minded and observant, full of seamlessly edited closeups that hone in on little details.

    The subject, while conceptually compelling, is somewhat lacking in on-camera action outside of a few spectacular scenes, and maybe too much time is spent with people wandering around the construction site saying "well, I s'pose that looks good", but the quality of the filmmaking and its sensitivity to the underlying issues of heritage and land use commanded my attention.

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