Draft 2 PhD Introduction - ResearchSpace@Auckland

312
Like all of Ward’s work, The Navigator had a spiritual aspect – it was about faith, albeit
in a broad sense. The notions of sacrifice and scepticism or pragmatism versus faith
were important concerns in this film, as in Vigil. In this film also, the influence of
Ward’s Catholic upbringing was evident in the iconography. The central concept for
the film - that of medieval men encountering the modern world - was a striking and
original one. Initially, Ward intended to draw parallels between the situation of the
medieval villagers in an isolated pocket of the world, fighting off the plague, and the
situation of twentieth-century New Zealanders, equally geographically isolated,
defending themselves against the threat of nuclear war by the super-powers. He drew
on extensive research to depict the medieval world of the film, but his intention was not
to achieve historical authenticity for its own sake. At times, he was willing to sacrifice
historical accuracy for the sake of achieving a striking image, and once again it was
Ward’s extraordinary visual sense and passion for details that were the film’s strengths.
He drew upon his knowledge of the visual arts for the look of the film that was inspired
by medieval paintings and stained glass. He knew little about special effects so the film
was a steep learning curve for him. The film’s storyboard demonstrated how detailed
his vision was and how meticulously he planned the film, although he also relied
heavily upon specialists to achieve many of the effects.
Like Vigil the film’s narrative was criticised for not being entirely coherent and
practical problems in production were obviously responsible for some of the gaps. But
since it was based on dream structure in some respects, the film might be said to have
its own logic, with the viewer encouraged to construct his or her own meanings from
the images. Ward’s original aim had been to strengthen the story-telling aspects of the
film, but his methods of scripting – starting with images and seeing the details before
the overall pattern - remained incompatible with orthodox Hollywood narrative patterns.
Likewise, in casting the actors, his decisions were based on the primacy of the image
rather than acting abilities. His search for the actor to play Griffin (Hamish McFarlane)
was thorough and meticulous, and his ability to work with children resulted in a strong
performance from McFarlane that was another of the film’s strengths. Apart from the
difficulties of funding the film, the shoot was very difficult for the cast and crew, due to
the extreme locations Ward had chosen, and to his perfectionist methods that caused
hostility amongst the crew at times. That the film was eventually completed was, to a
considerable extent, due to Maynard’s belief in the director’s vision and his