Two years after the sudden death of his wife Rose in Papua New Guinea, Jack meets Kate, a writer, in Melbourne, Australia. She quickly decides to go with him back to his jungle village. But life there is not the paradise she expected, particularly with Jack. He sinks more and more into the past, living more with old videos of his wife than with his new lover, whom he tries to make like the first. Soon the reasons of Rose's death appear less clear than before, and Kate begins to fear for her life.

• The second feature film from award-winning director of Ghosts...of the Civil Dead and music videos, John Hillcoat, has been eagerly awaited. And To Have and to Hold has just been nominated for two Australian Film Institute Awards. This time, though, they are for production design and sound, nor for direction or for the film as such. Deservedly so. Sound and photography may be wonderful, but we soon have more than enough of that, and the plot is barely adequate. While the hectic first few minutes border on the confusing, the long middle section is full of repeats and saturated atmospheres, demanding absolute attention from the audience. By the time something actually happens towards the end, the audience has been disinterested for a long time. The only thing left to excite the viewer is continual annoyance at the pseudo character of some of the filmmakers' concerns: pro-rainforest, anti-patriarchy, pointing a finger at neo-colonialism. Bullshit! Hillcoat is just harkling back to the melodramas of the 40's and 50's. He has nothing against the male mentality described in the brochure. In this way he uses old clichés instead of plot: tropical heat drives whites crazy, seldom do both partners survive in these latitudes until the end of the film, and sudden outbreaks of political unrest must not be left out. Praise for our safe white world? The woman lover's treatment is not just dangerous, but highly sexist. This is not so much a conscious portayal, more a misogynist structure: the woman who understands her man, who has lost his sanity, after she has given up her life for him. Even when Kate is sexually humiliated, wearing her predecessor's dress (in which she feels uneasy), beaten by Jack and ignored by the police – even then, the film revolves around the man, making him out to be a victim (of himself). Anyone who does not fall asleep, will leave the auditorium dissatisfied and annoyed.

• The film press will be interested in To Have and to Hold, having been waiting for it with bated breath. But wether or not it will find a fair-sized niche in the market, recalling the director of the eight-year-old film Ghosts...of the CIvil Dead, is questionable. In France, audiences may be attracted by the star Tscheky Karyo, in other places by the previously released soundtrack by such artists as Blixa Bargeld, Nick Cave and Mick Harvey.

Soundtrack (German only)

Filmdata

Deutsche Version