Sehnsucht nach Neuseeland

Not really much to say, it's almost a Crocodile Dundee genre movie, Big city overseas girl meets small town country boy, falls in love and outfoxes the baddies.

There's nothing bad about the movie, but there's nothing really gripping about it either, the acting is smooth and the story flows, but the scenery has as much or more influence on the watcher as the story and characters. More passion from the characters would benefit the movie, but while the actors play their parts, nothing really catches the emotions.

While I can understand this is a Movie, as a NZer, seeing scenes from as far flung as Nguruahoe in the southern central North Island, Rotorua region, the Far North, Te Aroha in the north Waikato plains, and the West Coast blacksands beaches all purporting to be in close proximity is somewhat disjointing.

Not a problem for the original German market, and I have no problems watching a Hollywood movie portraying Death Valley, California, and the wooded hills of Connecticut, as being a few minutes drive apart, or the Berlin train station and Frankfurt public gardens as being in the same city, but seeing it happen to ones own country is unsettling.

The conjunctions of scenery from distant places is something a New Zealand resident would wince at, as I did, but as a background to the story, it provides a real display of vibrant wilderness that explains why the villain of the movie, tries what he does.

Overall, a wonderful selection of scenery, a bland and forgettable story, and seamless acting makes far more of a NZ Tourism board advertisement than a worthwhile movie in it's own right.

You won't regret seeing the movie, but you probably won't remember anything more than the scenery after a few weeks.