Draft 2 PhD Introduction - ResearchSpace@Auckland

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Chapter One
The Context of Romanticism and Expressionism
This chapter will explore the artistic tradition in which Ward’s work can be situated, a
tradition that is as much a European as an Antipodean one. When Ward’s work first
emerged in New Zealand, it struck viewers as different in some way from other
contemporary local films. At first glance, his films seemed to have more in common
with the European art film than local filmmaking traditions. The characteristics of his
early films which linked them to the European art film included: an emphasis on
atmosphere and the psychological state of the characters, and an association with ‘high
art’, particularly literature. While this type of film might have had commercial
potential, it was able to be read as a work of art. Other features of this European style
“art cinema” were Ward’s strong authorial vision, his liking for subjective point-ofview,
and careful composition of shots. In contrast, the emphasis on a “roller-coaster”
narrative involving dramatic physical action that characterised many other New Zealand
films of the period had more affinities with the mainstream American filmic tradition.
One way of explaining Ward’s unique approach is to link it with Romanticism as a
means of providing a context and indicating the richness and coherence of Ward’s
aesthetic. The focus on the “inner life” of the characters in Ward’s early films, in
particular A State of Siege, In Spring One Plants Alone, and Vigil, appears to owe so
much to European Romantic (and Expressionist) traditions that it is useful here to
provide a brief overview of those traditions and the legacy they passed on to modern
culture in general. This may be familiar territory for my readers but I believe the
parallels with Ward’s work are more extensive than has been realised. What is perhaps
less commonly understood is that New Zealand has its own Expressionist and Gothic
traditions in the visual arts, as well as in literature and film. Ward was influenced by
these traditions and his work has made a substantial contribution to them.
The European Romantic Tradition
Romanticism has been defined as being “the principal movement involving all the arts
that flourished in Europe in the first half of the nineteenth century […]. The movement