Flight of the Albatross

Flight of the Albatross
Directed byWerner Meyer
Written byRiwia Brown
Produced by
  • Vincent Burke
  • Susanne Wagner
  • Udo Heiland
Starring
Narrated byGrant Tilly
CinematographyMartin Gressmann
Edited byMichael Horton
Music byJan Preston
Release date
  • 6 July 1996 (1996-07-06)
Running time
90 min
Countries
  • Germany
  • New Zealand
LanguageEnglish

Flight of the Albatross, also known as Der Flug des Albatros, is a German-New Zealand film. It is based on the Deborah Savage novel of the same name. It was filmed on Great Barrier Island in early 1995. It had its New Zealand cinema debut on 6 July 1996 at Great Barrier Island before opening in Auckland the next week.

Māori teenager and German girl form a relationship after she arrives on his island while dealing with an ancient Māori curse and a wounded albatross.

Cast

Reception

Reina Whaitiri in The Contemporary Pacific wrote "The word melodrama came to mind as I watched, half-heartedly, the coming together of two very immature and somewhat shallow characters, each absorbed with their own problems." She finished "As a film targeted at young adults Flight of the Albatross fulfills the criteria but would probably leave a wider, more mature audience unsatisfied." In New Zealand film, 1912-1996 Helen Martin wrote "Many of the actors give spirited performances but, because some performances are wooden, and much of the dialogue is awkward, not all the characters convince. The plot is overloaded with twists and turns, and the symbolism weighs so heavily - shark, earring, albatross, patu, gold comb, bird incubations, flutes - that the narrative has the predictability of melodrama, and the message (adults will let you down, take responsibility for yourself) is unsubtly delivered." Cinema Aotearoa said "Aside from a mildly amusing albatross puppet, there's really not much to recommend with Flight of the Albatross. Its harmlessness is its downfall, and the film will likely be forgotten mere hours after a viewing."

Awards

1996 New Zealand Film Awards

47th Berlin International Film Festival - Crystal Bear

References

  1. 1 2 Martin, Helen; Edwards, Sam (1997). New Zealand film, 1912-1996. Oxford University Press. p. 188. ISBN 9780195583366.
  2. ↑ "Movie set to boost the Barrier", NZ Herald, p. 20, 12 January 1995
  3. ↑ Houlahan, Mike (11 July 1996), "Top-flight Romeo And Juliet tale", The Evening Post (Wellington), p. 19
  4. ↑ Grant, Frances (8 July 1996), "Glitz and glamour on the Barrier", NZ Herald, p. 20
  5. ↑ "From Gumboots to Glamour: 'Flight of the Albatross' Premieres on Great Barrier Island", Barrier Times, 9 July 1996
  6. ↑ Linda, Herrick (14 July 1996), "Island woman soars with the Albatross", Sunday Star Times
  7. ↑ Whaitiri, Reina (1999), "Review of Flight of the Albatross, by Werner Meyer.", The Contemporary Pacific, p. 505-508
  8. ↑ "FLIGHT OF THE ALBATROSS (1995)", Cinema Aotearoa, archived from the original on 19 February 2018, retrieved 22 May 2026{{citation}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. ↑ "`Natural' is named best actress", Sunday Star Times, 24 November 1996
  10. ↑ "PRIZES & HONOURS 1997". berlinale.de. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2014.