The Insatiable Moon


The Insatiable Moon is a 2010 New Zealand drama film, based on a 1997 novel of the same name by Mike Riddell, who also wrote the screenplay. The film was directed by Rosemary Riddell, and stars Rawiri Paratene in the leading role as Arthur, self-proclaimed second son of God. Arthur sets off on a mission to find the 'Queen of Heaven', and finds her in Margaret, just as the community boarding house he calls home faces threat.
The film focuses on themes around mental illness and discrimination, and draws on Mike Riddell's experiences working with those with mental health problems and those that are underprivileged. This is what both the novel and screenplay are based on. The film was shot in Ponsonby, a suburb of Auckland.
The film has been screened at Mental Health events, such as Mental Health Awareness Week in 2013.

Plot

Arthur is a Māori man, who sees himself as the second son of God, and works to enlighten those around him. Arthur is considered mentally ill, and lives in a Ponsonby boarding house, operated by the foul-mouthed but hard-working house manager Bob. His friends at the boarding house all have their share of problems, and view Arthur as a role model in many ways.
Arthur wanders the streets, searching for the 'Queen of Heaven', and finds her with community worker Margaret, during a chance encounter at a local cafe. Arthur returns to the boarding house, where the TV series 'Marae Investigates' are filming, and they speak to him as part of a series on boarding houses in the area. Margaret and Arthur meet again at the funeral of one of Arthur's friends, a man with mental problems who commits suicide. Margaret attends in the place of her colleague, who feels guilty as she turned the man away from the community centre because she could not understand him. After the funeral, Arthur invites Margaret back to the boarding house, and introduces her to Bob and the other house residents. Although Margaret is married, she forms a relationship with Arthur.
Health bureaucrats threaten the future of the boarding house, supported by a real estate developer, and so the local Vicar, Kevin, works with Bob and Margaret, who is eager to help, to organize a meeting with local businesses and residents. However, after arguments at the meeting between the opposing sides, no conclusion is decided. Arthur is frustrated at the meeting, and intervenes as the sides argue, eventually being removed by Bob after venting his frustrations at the audience.
Although the boarding house's future is uncertain, Arthur still has faith and buys a lottery ticket, in the hope of winning enough money to support expansions to the house and fix the health problems. However, when the ticket does not win, Arthur becomes withdrawn and is visibly upset and frustrated for several days, and grows distant with Margaret. Norm, a friend of Arthur's and an occasional resident at the house, notices these signs and recommends to Bob that Arthur is taken to a mental hospital, for assessment and help. While Arthur is at the hospital, a women whose daughter was abused by the man who committed suicide earlier in the film approaches Bob, and offers a cheque of $100,000 dollars, ensuring the future of the house.
Arthur is treated at the hospital, but attempts to escape and so staff are forced to restrain him, inject him with some form of sedative. However, due to the drugs he is already on for his mental health, Arthur loses consciousness and attempts by staff to resuscitate him are unsuccessful.
Bob is angry at the hospital staff and Margaret is devastated by Arthur's death, and a funeral is held for everyone to farewell him. The film ends with Arthur sitting on a park bench with Norm, where he hands him a pie and talks to him for a while. Although Norm realises Arthur is not actually there, he is still left holding the pie, as the film ends.

Cast

Financing

The Insatiable Moon originally had a budget of NZ$6 million, but the New Zealand Film Commission pulled its share of the funding, reducing the production budget to $340,000, and $120,000 for post-production.

Casting

The film was to star James Nesbitt and Timothy Spall as two of the leads. Their roles were recast when the bulk of the funding was pulled. Mike Riddell's wife Rosemary directed the film, her prior experience primarily in the theatre and one short film.

Filming

took place over five weeks, with another six weeks set for post-production.

Music

The opening track of the movie, "The Sound", is by Luke Hurley as a busker playing his own song. As well he wrote many riffs for the project and recommended his Dunedin friend Neville Copland to be composer.

Release and reception

Critical response

The film has a rating of 75% on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 5.8 as of September 2014. It was mostly well received by critics, with a rating of 4/5 from the New Zealand Herald and 7/10 from TVNZ.

Accolades

At the 2011 Moondance International Film Festival The Insatiable Moon won the Atlantis Award, for feature films made outside of the USA.
At the 2011 Aotearoa Film & Television Awards the film won Best Lead Actor in a feature film and Best Supporting Actor in a feature film. The film also received nominations for Best Lead Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Screenplay and Best Original Music.