Draft 2 PhD Introduction - ResearchSpace@Auckland

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Tony Mitchell wrote about the film later, in 1984: “In its detailed exploration of textures
and its brooding definition of objects against a background of darkness, it conveyed a
distinctively European, metaphysical tone, with its vigorously-crafted camera-work
prowling about Frame’s disintegrating heroine in a way which, in its concentration on
extremities, recalls both Beckett and Bresson”. 439 This description of the film, as
McDonnell points out, is evidence that its success with New Zealand intellectuals was
assisted by its resemblance to the work of “European ‘masters’ like Bresson”. 440 In
terms of critical reception, Ward and White had, perhaps, a lucky run since the film’s
narrative was not merely enigmatic, it was at times confusing. Certainly there were
viewers who found the dialogue (such as it was) awkward, and the ending so obscure as
to be frustrating, but those attuned to art films embraced it warmly. Its overseas
exposure was modest, but for a student film it was exceptionally well-received. Ward
would not always be as fortunate with the response to his work, particularly to his liking
for narrative leaps and elisions.
European Influences
A State of Siege does have many similarities to the European art film in both style and
form. Ward was still at art school at the time, involved with the European painting
tradition as well as the European art film. In the preliminary discussions with his
Director of Photography, Ward showed Bollinger two of Carl Theodor Dreyer’s films,
Day of Wrath (1943) and The Passion of Joan of Arc, in order to explain the kind of
cinematographic style, particularly the lighting he wanted to achieve in A State of Siege.
Bollinger, while “never much of a film buff”, was “enormously impressed” by some of
the techniques that Dreyer used in Day of Wrath, particularly in one sequence between
the husband and wife, in which there was “a shift of emphasis at the right part of the
scene, without any complicated camera moves, it just goes to the right place for the
right move”. He felt he could relate to what Dreyer was trying to achieve, as he himself
worked “instinctively - what feels right is what you try and shoot, something that feels
right for the mood and the sound”. He loved the way Dreyer seemed to be “quite
uninhibited by standards and conventions, just did what felt right”. 441 Again, the phrase
offers an apt description of Ward’s own approach. This story also reflects the fact that
439 Tony Mitchell, "Vincent Ward: The Eloquence of Isolation," Art New Zealand 30.Autumn (1984): 38.
440 McDonnell, "The Translation of New Zealand Fiction into Film," 150.
441 Lynette Read, interview with Alun Bollinger, 3 December 1998.