AND A LITTLE EDUCATIONAL SOMETHING : RAIN OF THE CHILDREN

It has been a shamefully long time since a documentary graced these humble pages. The main reason for that is the fact that I simply don’t watch enough of them. But even though they are few and far between, I try to share the good ones as they come along. I mean, it is never too late to learn something new, right? Besides, Rain of the Children isn’t what you might call “didactic”. I mean yes, you learn a lot from it and it gives you a lot to think about but it mainly carries the spirit of storytelling. Oh yes. In fact, it combines two different stories to be precise. One is a history lesson, a fascinating story about the history of New Zeeland. And the second is a story of the present day, the effects of this history in the life of one old woman and her son. For the life of Puhi, the old woman in question, is not only closely linked with historical events of Maori history but are quite extraordinary in their own right… The best thing about the documentary is that the film maker Vincent Ward, who sees Puhi and her son Niki as family, doesn’t seek to “educate” or “give a message”. He merely attempts to honor an old woman who is dear to him and has now sadly passed away, and share the quite extraordinary story of her life.
Vincent Ward meets Puhi for the first time in 1985, when he is 21. A young and intrepid filmmaker, as far as I can understand it, he is touring round New Zeeland, his homeland, in attempt to discover something, without being quite sure what it is he is seeking. On his travels, he comes across Puhi, an old woman of over 80 years old at the time who lives with her adult son Niki. He ends up staying with them for two years, filming them during his entire stay. On hearing of Puhi’s death, he returns to the place where the extraordinary threesome first met and traces back Puhi’s life. During the course of this long and complicated story, intertwined, as I said, with Maori history, we learn a lot. About Maori history and culture, of course, but also about the strength of the human spirit, the effects of grief, the power of beliefs and much, much more…
The documentary is in effect a biography. And at first, we are slightly confused (I mean I was) as to why we were watching Puhi’s biography in particular. I mean, every life conceals a story, but why make a film about Puhi? What would interest us, people who didn’t know her at all? I was wrong in thinking this… First of all, the first half of the documentary. This was an eye-opener for me. I mean yes, we do basically know about how the settlers first came to Australia and New Zeeland. How the natives had no immunity to the European diseases and died in their thousands. How the “white men” (that would be us) took over the land. Try, if you can, hearing these stories in detail, from the natives perspective. Ward makes sure his narratives are objective: whenever possible the story is told using old photographs of the actual people and events and witness testimonies of people who were actually there, Puhi as well but not only her. Naturally, there are re-constructions too, but they are not the primary source of information. We meet the great Maori leaders, including the self-proclaimed prophet Te Rua. Seeing the black and white photos, and then sometimes listening to the people in those photos, Maori history comes alive.. And it ain’t pleasant folks. Steel yourself for that one. But then, when we arrive in due course to the present, Ward doesn’t give up his “sense of reality”. The effects of the various events in the first half of the documentary are narrated mainly with the aid of the footage of Puhi, filmed by the director during those two years they lived together. I will not go into details, because this is a voyage of discovery you really have to make for yourselves but keep the tissues handy. Even the director himself chokes back tears sometimes as he tells the story, a story obviously very important to him. And through the clear and honest narration of the film, we are drawn right into it. I mean, I know that generally speaking documentaries are meant to be “educational” in one way or another. But who said they cannot have emotion as well? Rain of the children will educate you in matters of the human soul as well as history. You will not regret watching it.