Film Club Presents: JACK BE NIMBLE (1993) - Feat. Q&A with director Garth Maxwell

Name: Film Club Presents: JACK BE NIMBLE (1993) - Feat. Q&A with director Garth Maxwell
Start: 2024-12-18T19:00:00+13:00
End: 2024-12-18T22:00:00+13:00
Location: 610 Dominion Road, Balmoral, Auckland, New Zealand 1041

Schedule

Wed Dec 18 2024 at 07:00 pm to 10:00 pm

UTC+13:00

Location

610 Dominion Road, Balmoral, Auckland, New Zealand 1041 | Auckland, AU

Film Club is BACK for the final film of 2024, and what a doozy it is - Garth Maxwell's rapturous gothic fairytale JACK BE NIMBLE!
One of the greatest, most underrated of New Zealand films, Maxwell's epic psychosexual fable is a Kiwi film not quite like any other. Transgender icon Alexis Arquette stars as Jack alongside local legends Sarah Smuts-Kennedy and Bruno Lawrence in the story of a boy who flees an abusive adoptive household in search of his long-lost sister (Kennedy), with whom he shares a telepathic connection. They are pursued by Jack's sadistic stepsisters, who seek retribution for the actions he's taken in order to escape.
The film is a landmark of New Zealand queer cinema, but also a visionary, dreamlike experience that recalls the work of Lynch, Hitchcock and even De Palma. Tragically hamstrung by a botched release and suffering from being way ahead of its time, the film only recently found the recognition it deserves, being accepted into the Museum of Modern Art's film collection, alongside Maxwell's other work. The film's singular strangeness and feel-bad majesty ensured that neither director nor the two leads were able to receive work of this size or scale again - but thankfully, this masterpiece arrives to us unsullied and fully realised.
Said critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas: 'Jack Be Nimble is a dark, supernatural urban fairy tale, but the key to its power lies just as much in its extraordinary beauty as it does its bleak story and powerful performances. Grass, trees, water, flowers – as much as the cold hardness of the film dominates Jack’s life especially, there is something aggressively elemental, even organic in the building blocks that construct the world of Jack Be Nimble. One of the most beautiful yet simultaneously foreboding New Zealand films ever made (which is saying something), Jack Be Nimble is a masterclass in tone, form and the power of strong performances.'
Come and see this under-the-radar masterpiece of New Zealand cinema featuring a post-screening Q&A with the director himself Garth Maxwell. Wednesday 18th of December, 7pm. Tickets only $10 - you don't want to miss this one!