After I saw this film, I walked home from Newmarket to the city crying. It wasn’t just that I found it incredibly moving, I thought it was the first film I had seen in ages, from New Zealand or otherwise that had themes that resonated for longer than it took to watch the film. New Zealand as a nation does not have a good track record of caring for our children, and this brilliant film hits us right between the eyes with this fact. It also has a story construction that teases us as viewers, but doesn’t give us all the information, so that when we finally figure out what has really gone on, it is like a punch in the stomach. It also has amazing actors, not only the British import, Matthew MacFadyen, who is truly amazing as Paul, but uniformly great work from all the Kiwi actors. Emily Barclay, as the girls whose disappearance sparks the story, easily gives one of the best portrayals of a teenager in any film I have ever seen. Passionate, self-obsessed and funny, it must rate as one of the best performances of the vagaries of youth ever. Jodie Rimmer as her mother Jackie is, as they would say on ‘Twin Peaks’, “full of secrets”, and is also a well-rounded portrayal of a women in total crisis. Colin Moy as Paul’s brother Andrew is also “full of secrets” and proves in the amazing scene by the river that he is an actor that could prosper overseas, as could Miss Rimmer. If you were one of the people who didn’t attend this film at the cinema then I unreservedly recommend you hire this great film now. One of the best films I have seen in years, you owe it too yourself to see what all the justified fuss is about. And I cannot wait for first time director Brad McGann’s next film. This is truly brilliant cinema of the first degree. Just…..see it.