Tina (2024)
Summary
Tinā is a 2024 New Zealand choral-themed drama film set three years after the devastating 2011 Christchurch earthquake. In it, Mareta Percival must struggle to survive in the wake of losing her only daughter in a building collapse. Shut down from the world around her, Mareta finds herself working at a substitute teacher in a snobbish boarding school, wrangling kids that may seem perfect on the outside, but underneath are dealing with a variety of their own traumas and pains.
Assessment
Tinā is a highly cinematic movie that loses none of its down-to-earth humanity for the sake of art. Rich in atmosphere, well-acted, and with a heart of gold, this story carries its heavy messages of grief, faith, perseverance, and community well. Additionally, the music sung and played throughout the story is quite beautiful, from the hymns to the more modern songs.
A thin, overt thread of Christian theology is woven throughout the movie, but it is in the covert messaging that the story shines. Its core messages skewed towards Christian-adjacent themes such as loving one’s neighbor, not judging people based on their appearance, and living in harmony despite racial differences. There is also a strong, indirect message of returning to faith after a major heartbreak as well as the importance of community and working together with fellow humans (indirectly: believers) in harmony towards a common goal.
The movie is clean in every aspect except cursing; there are a few instances of some more minor cusswords and several f-bombs (although the version I watched at the f-bombs at least muted out). Angel Studios is offering a fully clean version of the movie, however.
Light-o-Meter
Overall — 5 out of 7 Little Lights
Story: 5 out of 7 Little Lights
Acting: 6 out of 7 Little Lights
Cinematography: 6 out of 7 Little Lights
Music: 6 out of 7 Little Lights
Quality: 5 out of 7 Little Lights
Theological Message: 4 out of 7 Little Lights
Age Appropriateness — Appropriate for older teens and adults due to cussing and some intense subject matter.
Talk
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie for a variety of reasons. First of all, it has this beautiful thread of hope that I deeply appreciate. Although the movie is filled with tragedy, grief, and loss, there is a spirit of forward motion and healing that is very encouraging. It’s also a gorgeous movie in terms of visual storytelling. The two sides of the tracks — the poorer neighborhoods of Aranui to the richer St. Francis School — are shown in luscious, pointed details. It’s, I think, one of the few movies where not a moment of on-screen time is wasted. Every single second had some kind of weight or bearing on the whole of the story, even if it is just visuals that set the stage for the world and characters.
In terms of characters, I loved every single one (except Wadsworth, but he’s obviously meant to be hated). Mareta had such a perfect, “mama bear” type vibe where she’s just as likely to give you a pat on the back and some encouraging words as she is to beat you upside the head with her sandal. Anapela Polataivao brought the character to life with such a fantastic warmth and gravity; Mareta was entirely believable and lovable. The same can be said for Sophie, Anthony, Mei-Ling, and all of the supporting characters. Each one had a clearly-defined and unique role in the story, and the casting was nearly perfect.
The only two areas I felt the movie was a little weak on was the messaging and just how much tragedy it was filled with. These artistic life-of-the-common-man type movies do tend to run a little blunt in their messaging, so it’s not out of place for this kind of story. This being said, I felt the director was kind of manhandling some of the scenes at the end to make them really “impactful” or “punchy”. Same kind of thing with the amount of tragedy in the story; some of it felt a little gratuitous and only in the story for the sake of the audience’s reaction but I also want to say that I could be misinterpreting the reasons why some of the drama was in there. It may also be that there are cultural elements, either from New Zealand or Samoa that flew right over my head that connect everything together.
Regardless of these nitpicks, I really enjoyed this movie and would absolutely watch it again.
Where to Enjoy
Streaming
Angel: Where to Watch TINĀ | Angel
Google Play: Tina - Movies on Google Play
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