In making great use of drones, Young explores Christchurch’s broken city centre in a fresh and intriguing way, contrasting with more gloomy, traditional news footage of the damage.

Highlighting the importance of art and theatre healing Christchurch, The Art of Recovery’s subject matter slots into a familiar narrative of art and artists being dismissed by governmental projects preoccupied with profits.

Though the story of ‘guerrilla gardening’ never seems to thread itself into the main arc, the central plot of the concept/evolution of the Gap Filler project makes a unique, exciting, and hopeful watch.

By focusing on the positives that the earthquake caused, Young doesn’t so much create a silver lining as illustrate the complexities of human experience and resilience.

RATING: 4/5

INFORMATION

DIRECTOR: Peter Young

CAST: Dr. Ryan Reynolds, Coralie Winn

SYNOPSIS: Following the 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, local artists develop new ways to engage with the broken cityscape, bringing the people of Christchurch together while coming at ideological odds with the governments plans for the city.

The screening of The Art of Recovery was kindly provided by The New Zealand Film Festival.

About The Author

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A year after finishing formal education I started to itch with the need to produce film analysis once more, and thus, found a place here. I love film, I will watch any genre, in any language, but have a particular enjoyment of the beautiful and strange. The first film I watched at the cinema was the Disney Hercules, I got to leave kindergarten early, this became the first sacrifice I happily made for my love of the silverscreen