Draft 2 PhD Introduction - ResearchSpace@Auckland

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methods - his meticulous attention to details, exhaustive search for locations, and his
desire to be involved in all aspects of the film’s production. He appears to have been
not at all overawed by the greater experience of his collaborators, nor by the reputation
of Janet Frame (the film adapts her novel with considerable freedom). Ward was
fortunate in that his distinguished collaborators were willing to facilitate the director’s
vision. However, the process of working on the film was very much a learning
experience for the young director, and its success owed a great deal to the experience of
industry professionals, as both Ward and White readily acknowledged. White’s
contribution to the film was an important one – albeit leaning more to the practical side
of producing - and on the credits he and Ward were listed equally. Thus, although the
film was received as an inspirational example of the emergent New Zealand film
industry and the work of a young New Zealand auteur, it was in practical terms, much
more of a collaborative effort than a straightforward auteurist approach would suggest.
It is striking, however, how closely it relates in theme and style to later films directed by
Ward.
In Spring One Plants Alone was also made while Ward was still at Ilam as part of the
course requirements for his DipFA Honours. It remains the only documentary he has
made to date. It reflected many of his stylistic and thematic concerns in its focus on
outsiders, the meticulous research undertaken, the exhaustive search for a subject and
location, and the film’s emphasis on striking images. The film relied a great deal upon
its cameramen, but this was a skeleton crew compared with A State of Siege. The
subject-matter was most unusual – Herzog-like in its exploration of an unusual way of
life and unusual forms of subjectivity. While Ward’s approach displayed a Romantic
world-view in its concern with spirituality and its expanded sense of the real, the style
utilised in the film owed much to cinéma verité, with its careful observation of small
details. There were also suggestions of a Bazinian aesthetic in the film’s focus on the
spiritual aspects of Puhi’s life, its reliance on subtle nuance and suggestion, and the use
of long-held shots. Although the film appeared to be an objective record, its interest
clearly lay in extraordinary images and states of being. Ward commented recently that
“authentic filmmaking” only comes about through subjectivity linked with careful
observation and a determination to really hear what the subjects are saying. Arguably
this respect for reality and the mystery contained within it is Bazinian, and at the same