|
|
|
RAIN
Rain connotes a dark and dreary time. And Rain is a dark and dreary
picture of life within a family where the relationships are falling
apart. What makes it so dark is that there is a great deal of sin,
but no redemption. Just as there is lots of water in the movie,
but nobody ends up clean.
Review by Darrel Manson
|
RAIN
(2002)
This page was created on May 28, 2002
This page was last updated on
November 1, 2002
Review -click here
Trailers, Photos -click here
About this Film -click here
Spiritual Connections -click here
Forum -click
here |
|
CREDITS
|
|
Directed
by Christine Jeffs
Novel by Kirsty Gunn
Screenplay by Christine Jeffs
Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki.... Janey
Sarah Peirse.... Kate
Marton Csokas.... Cady
Alistair Browning.... Ed
Aaron Murphy .... Jim
Produced by
Philippa Campbell.... producer
Robin Scholes.... executive producer
John Toon.... associate producer
Judith Trye.... line producer
Original
music by Neil Finn and Edmund McWilliams
Cinematography by John Toon
Film Editing by Paul Maxwell
Not
Rated
For rating reasons, go to FILMRATINGS.COM,
and MPAA.ORG.
Parents, please refer to PARENTALGUIDE.ORG
|
|
TRAILERS
AND CLIPS
|
|
Trailer:
QuickTime,
4.9MB
|
|
POSTER
|
|
No
Available poster as of May 28, 2002
|
|
AVAILABILITY
ON VIDEO AND DVD
|
CHECK
AVAILABILITY AND PRICING OF THIS MOVIE ON VIDEO OR DVD.
Just type in movie title and click go.
Also,
check out 100
Hot Videos
and the
100 Hot DVDs
|
|
|
SYNOPSIS
|
|
 "Things
just happen, that's all.
And then they're gone."
From the novel Rain by Kirsty Gunn
"I
loved the sense of atmosphere and foreboding in the novel and also
the reflection on childhood... The sense of transience in that relationships
come and go and that the moment is precious."
Christine Jeffs (Director, Rain)
 It
is summer. Thirteen-year-old Janey and her family settle into their
isolated cottage for another perfect seaside holiday. Her days are
full of swimming and fishing. At night her parents give parties
where the adults drink, dance and flirt.
Janey
is increasingly aware of the cracks in her parents' marriage. Watching
her mother begin an affair with a visiting photographer, she starts
to discover her own sexuality. Janey decides to grow up quickly.
Too quickly...
|
|
REVIEW
By Darrel Manson
|
 Rain
connotes a dark and dreary time. And Rain is a dark and dreary picture
of life within a family where the relationships are falling apart.
What makes it so dark is that there is a great deal of sin, but no
redemption. Just as there is lots of water in the movie, but nobody
ends up clean.
 The
story tells of a family vacationing on the New Zealand coast. Ed and
Kate (the parents) are completely out of touch with one another. We
quickly see how fragile this marriage is. Janey (13 years old) and
her younger brother Jim, spend their days on the beach entertaining
themselves (often while their parents sleep off the party from the
previous night.) Cady is a friend, who both Kate and Janey flirt with
(and more). He is not part of the family, as such he represents an
escape from the darkness of the family.
 Director
Christine Jeffs uses visuals wonderfully to set the mood of the film.
As Ed and Kate spend their days and nights drinking, we often see
the world around them slightly out of focus. When Kate goes searching
out Cady, to have an affair, we see her walking through the mud plain
to his boat, inevitably muddying herself.  When
Cady lets Janey have tastes of his drinks, she takes them as if forbidden
fruit is being offered her. We often see Ed and Kate sitting in the
yard with a bucket of ice, a bottle of whiskey and a pile of lemons
as they drink the day away -- but it is always just one of them alone.
 Even
though it never actually rains in the movie, water is a key element.
The story takes place at the beach, so water is always there in the
background. We see shots of lemons being washed, the children in the
bathtub, the children swimming, showering. But in the end, for all
this water, nobody comes out clean. There is no washing away of sins,
however much the characters may wash.
 In
Janey we see that point in life between innocence (as her brother
Jim still is) and responsibility for one's actions. The film has been
referred to as a coming-of-age story, which often is a retelling of
the Eden story. And we watch as Janey begins using her nascent sexuality
to control people. She has already learned how to dominate and intimidate
a boy her own age. And she will see her becoming more and more like
her mother.
Also in the end, we are reminded that (as Paul taught) the wages of
sin is death. There is a death in the story, but it is just a sign
to us that this family has died, and the members have each, in some
way, died a bit themselves.
 The
only real objection I have to the film is that it is one more time
that sexuality is used to show sinfulness. I suppose sex is the easiest
way to convey sin (other than killing people, as in slasher movies),
but I wish that filmmakers would spend some time coming up with other
ways that sinfulness is manifest in daily life. Jesus spent very little
time teaching about sexual matters. He spent a good deal of time teaching
about the use of money and about the ways we treat one another. Often
movies just use sex as a shorthand for sinfulness, when in reality,
sexuality is one of the many ways God has gifted us. It is a gift
that is easily misused, but not something that is, in itself, sinful.
In Rain we know that none of the sex will add to the lives of the
characters, rather it will diminish everyone involved. |
Review
-click here
Trailers, Photos -click here
About this Film -click here
Spiritual Connections -click here
Forum -click
here |
|
COMMENT
ON THIS FILM
|
|
BULLETIN
BOARD (Rules)
Post
your thoughts in the forum
View or post comments -click
here.
Your
Private Comments.
I will not post these comments.
What are your personal thoughts? I also welcome your spiritual
concerns and prayer needs. I will correspond with you, usually
within two weeks.
Click here
|
OFFICIAL
SITE
Rain © 2001
IDP Distribution. All Rights Reserved.
Hollywood
Jesus News Letter
Receive
the Hollywood Jesus Newsletter FREE.
SIGN UP HERE
|
|
| |
|
|
