• theatre
  • features
  • faqs
  • contact
  • theatre
  • features
  • faqs
  • contact
  Art Murmurs - Wellington Reviews

Reviews

Be Here Now

8/5/2016

Comments

 

Jonathan Hobman

Be Here Now was an extremely emotional journey. Part of the grief has stayed with me after the film. More than once I, along with neighbouring audience members, was covering my mouth, as the couple received the latest of their lymphoma examination results. I developed a real connection with the young couple. They come across as extremely charming (as do their two children) and totally in love with each other. Despite the fact that you are aware of Andy Whitfield’s passing, you find yourself willing him to get better throughout the film along with him and his wife. They were on multiple hopeful roads to recovery only to have things worsen when it became clear that the cancer was a malignant genetic disposition that couldn’t be gotten rid of.

​Andy Whitfield was the lead actor in
Spartacus - Blood and Sand. ‘Be Here Now’, is named after the tattoo on Andy’s arm and his core life philosophy. The title text for Be Here Now is the same font as the words on his arm. It’s a fly on the wall documentary of his deterioration under cancer. The film is intimate, with minimal mention of cameras except by their 4 year old daughter who adorably interrupts her father’s yoga relaxation therapy and romping in and loudly pointing them out.

I was fortunate enough to see the New Zealand debut screening in Roxy Cinema which opened with a powhiri from DocEdge officials and a haka from a neighbouring school. It was both an official opening for the Documentary Festival, and a welcome to Wellington for Be Here Now director Lilibet Foster, Andy’s wife Vashti Whitfield, and other crew members. The director was quite emotionally overwhelmed by the welcome.

​
The screening ended with a Q&A with Foster and Vashti Whitfield. What was most inspiring about the film and indeed about hearing Vashti speak after the film was the couple’s attitude towards life and Vashti’s courage and positivity after her husband and best friend's passing. I don’t want to say more about this film but I would recommend it to anyone. It’s extremely touching, heartbreaking, and somehow very inspiring. “Be Here Now is all about being present and not being afraid of what you don’t know. And so I feel really inspired to do this. Even though I have absolutely no idea how it’s going to turn out.” -Andy Whitfield
Picture
Comments

    Local Honest Reviews

    At Art Murmurs, our aim is to provide honest and constructive art reviews to the Wellington community.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    September 2021
    July 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015

    Categories

    All
    All Age Appropriate
    Art
    BATS
    Beauty Standards
    Black Comedy
    Body Positive
    Circa
    Circus
    Comedy
    Comedy Festival 2018
    Comedy Festival 2019
    Comedy Gala 2022
    Community Theatre
    Dance
    Devised
    Documentary
    Drag
    Drama
    Emerging Artist
    Exhibition
    Experimental
    Female Artists
    Feminism
    Feminist
    Festival
    For Kids
    Fringe
    Fun
    Gallery
    Gryphon Theatre
    Hannah Playhouse
    Heart + Music
    History
    Improv
    Interactive
    International
    Interview
    Ivy
    Lighting
    Local
    Mental Health
    Monologue
    Music
    Musical
    New Writing
    New Zealand
    NZ Comedy
    NZ Fringe
    NZIF
    On Tour
    Performance Poetry
    Photography
    Photospace Gallery
    Physical Theatre
    Political
    Politics
    Premiere
    Pyramid Club
    Queer
    Race
    Roxy LIVE
    Science
    Scruffy Bunny Improv Theatre
    Sexual Violence
    Shakespeare
    Site Specific
    Site-specific
    Sketch
    Solo Show
    Song
    Spoken Word
    Stagecraft
    Storytelling
    Tahi Festival
    Te Auaha
    Theatre
    Thought Provoking
    Thought-provoking
    Thriller
    Toi Poneke Gallery
    Verbatim
    Victoria University
    Violence
    Virtual Theatre
    Weekly
    Wellington
    Wellington Footlights
    Wellington Repertory