I haven’t been to the Documentary Film Festival in years!
I used to go every season, write 20 odd reviews and love every second of it.
Documentaries are beautiful insights into our world. They seek truth, justice and oversight with a passion and heart.
That Doc Edge has managed 20 years is a testament to their love of the craft.
Not sure how I got dropped as a reviewer, but I hadn’t been in about a decade, so I was thrilled to take an invitation from Richard O’Brien to attend the Gala Evening of the launch of his sons documentary, Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror.
Because I’m an enormous fan of his legacy, I’ve previously had the privilege of sitting down with Richard for an interview…
I remember the awe older, far cooler people would whisper about the Rocky Horror Picture Show as a kid, and I think I was 10 years old when someone told me that Riff Raff was not only a Kiwi, but actually wrote the musical, the screenplay and the book.
That shockwave for me as a 10 year old, learning that this insane, radical, revolutionary musical was created by a New Zealander shifted my entire horizon and I know that happened for an entire Generation of kiwis.
In my mind, in the pantheon of NZ cultural icons: Katherine Mansfield, Peter Jackson, Split Enz and Taika Waititi are your peer group.
…for me, Rocky Horror being written by a Kiwi was the greatest surprise in the world, that we could make something so weird, beautiful, funny and subversive shifted my perspective of what was creatively possible in NZ.
The documentary, created by his son Linus, has the trust of Richard to do the project justice and because it’s a family affair, the documentary is given the mana it deserves.
The impact of Rocky Horror culturally on the West can’t be understated.
The subversiveness, the gender bending roles, the b-grade special effects, the way it inspired so many to be who they are – it’s all here in 90 minutes, and what a exquisite 90 minutes it is.
Richard’s early career in musical theatre in London, particularly Jesus Christ Superstar, seems to have been an enormous turning point for him creatively.
He was in London, mingling with the very best of popular culture and after a promising start with many other stage shows, used his contacts to push an avant-garde b-grade art house sci-fi musical.
It’s surprising how quickly he had the offer taken up, and my guess is that was driven in part by the excellence of Richard’s musical writing skills but also by his Egalitarian upbringing in NZ where his easy laid back persona didn’t accept class, meaning he was a breath of fresh air in the stratified class heavy England.
Tim Curry is a highpoint. Exploring his role, the power of it is made more poignant after his stroke which still clearly impacts him now. He originally was going to do the accent in German for his character, but decided to do it as the Queen, which when you hear it like that, is glorious new twist on his role.
The cultural investigation of his power in that character is almost worth 90 minutes on its own.
Th behind the scenes footage of the movie is great, but the real power of the documentary is the social cultural impact of the Movie.
The midnight screenings become a viral phenomena before there was an internet, and the people going felt a liberation from the movie that impacted countless lives.
It’s truly moving when these are read out to a Richard O’Brien whose modesty is never ending.
The transvestitism and fluidity of sexuality was radical and revolutionary while remaining accessible to everyone who ever felt marginalised – The Rocky Horror Picture Show isn’t a parade of circus freaks to be laughed at, it’s a song of celebration and honouring the individual – it’s mind boggling success is because it taps into that human need to honour the self.
NZ has ‘recognised’ one of its most creative and paradigm shifting sons with a bloody Riff Raff statue in Hamilton!
Don’t get me wrong, I love that statute, but it should be in Te Papa as a national treasure!
Isn’t it time we honoured Richard with something for more meaningful, hasn’t Richard earned a New Zealand Order of Merit?
He’s way too cool to ever accept a knighthood, but a New Zealand Order of Merit to the Arts surely?
We Generation Xers have so few heroes we are allowed to enjoy now, can’t we salute this one?
In the 50th anniversary of this paradigm shifting global cultural phenomena, wouldn’t Richard getting an Order of Merit be fitting for an incredibly humble creative genius?
5 Stars
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Hell yeah a NZOM Would be amazing.