Having moved to New Zealand from the UK a couple of decades ago, it was interesting to see what a joint production between the two countries would turn out like. I had heard great things of this and when it was repeated, I taped it to watch later. Having now settled back and enjoyed it I can recommend it whole-heartedly to people who like a good story, a happy ending and maybe just learn a little in the process. True, there were stereotypes, yes maybe it was corny and Martin Clunes is highly visibly with his doctor in Cornwall series, but it was good fun, it did show the world a little bit of NZ, and it was a very enjoyable way to pass a couple of hours. Let's be sensible about this - there's not much on TV now that's worth watching but this is. Loved the scenery, loved the people and loved the story. Good quality stuff doesn't have to be heavy and unpleasant. This is entertainment, not about saving the world and it could have been a lot, lot worse. I don't think it could have been much better.
14 Reviews
Charming, funny, character driven small town drama
mezwise30 January 2011
In the tradition of comedy-dramas, where the big city boy is transformed by the charm and depth of connection experienced in a small town, this movie is delightfully and deceptively clever entertainment, that emulates Local Hero (Local Hero being a film that remains the most outstanding example the genre, but that is also one of the best movies ever made).
Character driven, strongly acted, intelligently directed and well edited, there is nothing heavy handed or over done. The humour is disarming (esp that of the Ma'ori characters similar tot hat seen more recently in Boy), and the plot unfolds easily, assuming the audience's perception.
Martin Clunies, oddly, is perfectly cast as the misfit romantic hero, delivering his lines with suitable dryness. However, the standout is the Ma-ori characters of the movie: the film is grounded in its good script and the Ma'ori cast. Just lovely.
Character driven, strongly acted, intelligently directed and well edited, there is nothing heavy handed or over done. The humour is disarming (esp that of the Ma'ori characters similar tot hat seen more recently in Boy), and the plot unfolds easily, assuming the audience's perception.
Martin Clunies, oddly, is perfectly cast as the misfit romantic hero, delivering his lines with suitable dryness. However, the standout is the Ma-ori characters of the movie: the film is grounded in its good script and the Ma'ori cast. Just lovely.
Good solid family entertainment
paul-carlier26 August 2007
Warning: Spoilers
This programme from the ever reliable Martin Clunes felt a bit like it had been produced using the 'writing a script by numbers' guide. Martin assumes his everyman mantle, playing the typically repressed and uptight Englishman. Needless to say he finds happiness and fulfilment in New Zealand in a village inhabited by stereotypes. Of course there is a happy ending, which most people can see coming for miles. Despite these shortcomings this was actually very enjoyable. Martin Clunes is always watchable and the New Zealand cast were a bit of a revelation. The amazing scenery was also a real plus. This was a good length at 2 hours in duration and easy Sunday night viewing; not too taxing on the brain but great fun to watch.
Q: Series potential?
facebook-835-88996311 February 2019
A: No.
Martin Clunes stars in a tale of culture clash when a sophisticated urban professional meets the provincial locals. Now why does that sound familiar?
A mostly benign and enjoyable, albeit unremarkable story with a few sloppy plot holes*. The local characters of Otakataka are fun. The biggest let down of the film is perhaps Clunes, whose character Ian simply lacks character. He's just kind of there, in the way that a body occupies space but really nothing more.
* No real reason given why Ian is dissatisfied with fiancee, making him look quite shallow and callous. Leaving the price sticker on the statue in the museum was unnecessary, we the audience know what happened. Now the museum staff also knows and will soon be making a trip to NZ to prosecute Ian and recover the statue.
Martin Clunes stars in a tale of culture clash when a sophisticated urban professional meets the provincial locals. Now why does that sound familiar?
A mostly benign and enjoyable, albeit unremarkable story with a few sloppy plot holes*. The local characters of Otakataka are fun. The biggest let down of the film is perhaps Clunes, whose character Ian simply lacks character. He's just kind of there, in the way that a body occupies space but really nothing more.
* No real reason given why Ian is dissatisfied with fiancee, making him look quite shallow and callous. Leaving the price sticker on the statue in the museum was unnecessary, we the audience know what happened. Now the museum staff also knows and will soon be making a trip to NZ to prosecute Ian and recover the statue.
Charming little movie.....
bobbiekostos8 April 2019
It was the fact that Doc Martin (Martin Clunes) was in this movie that made us want to see it. He is such a quirky, delightful character actor. Interesting seeing him not so stuffy & dressed up! Not an academy award movie, but well worth watching as the cinematography is beautiful and it's such a feel good movie which you don't see much of these days.
Very formulaic...yet still enjoyable.
planktonrules23 February 2019
My review of "The Man Who Lost His Head" is no doubt heavily influenced by the time I've spent in New Zealand. Although I was only there about a month total, I great to love the country, the Maori culture and the people. So, for me, this movie is a natural...for me it's an 8 or 9. But, for the average person who's never been to the country, it's still an enjoyable film despite often being formulaic and predictable.
Martin Clunes stars as Ian Bennett, a man from the British Imperial Museum* who has been sent to New Zealand to investigate whether or not to repatriate a Maori carving which some think really does belong back with its people. And, since the carving is from a Maori chief who came from a rural area outside Auckland, he goes to this part of the country and ends up living with the Maori locals. Much of what happens next is predictable (particularly the romance) but there are still some nice surprises and a nice glimpse into Maori culture. All in all, a nice slice of life movie which can be appreciated by anyone...but particularly by anyone who has seen the Maori and their land.
*The British Imperial Museum is a fictitious organization...obviously based on the British Museum. In recent years, this great museum has been under a lot of pressure to return items they essentially looted from other lands...the most famous of which are the Elgin Marbles, taken to the Uk for 'safe keeping' and never returned to Athens from where they originated.
Martin Clunes stars as Ian Bennett, a man from the British Imperial Museum* who has been sent to New Zealand to investigate whether or not to repatriate a Maori carving which some think really does belong back with its people. And, since the carving is from a Maori chief who came from a rural area outside Auckland, he goes to this part of the country and ends up living with the Maori locals. Much of what happens next is predictable (particularly the romance) but there are still some nice surprises and a nice glimpse into Maori culture. All in all, a nice slice of life movie which can be appreciated by anyone...but particularly by anyone who has seen the Maori and their land.
*The British Imperial Museum is a fictitious organization...obviously based on the British Museum. In recent years, this great museum has been under a lot of pressure to return items they essentially looted from other lands...the most famous of which are the Elgin Marbles, taken to the Uk for 'safe keeping' and never returned to Athens from where they originated.
This is a story about an Englishman who makes a trip to New Zealand to arrange the return of a Maori carving.
jmullen-423 November 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Martin Clunes plays the part of Alan Bennett, an English museum curator who is charged to go to New Zealand and arrange the return of an ancestral carving. However, it is not in the interest of the Museum in England to return the head, and Alan Bennett's main task is to prevent this happening. He arrives in New Zealand where he is introduced to Maori culture. "We will not speak English in the Meeting House".
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. As a New Zealander of European descent I found the cultural aspect of the film interesting. I learned more about the culture of the Maori than I had known before.
The movie was well put together, and the actors were believable in their parts. The comic aspect was well handled and the New Zealand scenery beautiful.
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. As a New Zealander of European descent I found the cultural aspect of the film interesting. I learned more about the culture of the Maori than I had known before.
The movie was well put together, and the actors were believable in their parts. The comic aspect was well handled and the New Zealand scenery beautiful.
Good movie!
llacour-928456 July 2018
Loved it.
Sleepin_Dragon16 May 2020
I've said it before, I'll say it again, ITV were making some incredible dramas around this time, nice that they were generally one offs, we opposed to long serials.
Along the same lines as Heartless with Angus Deayton, it's very funny, incredibly moving and one of those stories of escapism that you will lose yourself in.
I genuinely loved it, Martin Clunes truly is at his absolute best here, charismatic, funny, somewhat lovable.
Deserves a repeat. Fabulous, 10/10.
Along the same lines as Heartless with Angus Deayton, it's very funny, incredibly moving and one of those stories of escapism that you will lose yourself in.
I genuinely loved it, Martin Clunes truly is at his absolute best here, charismatic, funny, somewhat lovable.
Deserves a repeat. Fabulous, 10/10.
Interesting trip to New Zealand
Byrdz6 November 2021
I enjoyed this film which was picked at random and chosen because Martin Clunes was the star player.
Nothing really new about the boy-meets-girl / fish-out-of-water story but it was well worth seeing. The scenery alone is worth the time spent.
The kite flying / fish for dinner scene was particularly well done.
Nothing really new about the boy-meets-girl / fish-out-of-water story but it was well worth seeing. The scenery alone is worth the time spent.
The kite flying / fish for dinner scene was particularly well done.
"Star vehicles" should be taken off the road
pawebster7 September 2007
I don't know how Martin Clunes ever reached the dizzy heights of star vehicles -- no, actually it's much more than that. Here we're talking something closer to vanity project set in a long-haul holiday destination. It's a total mystery how Clunes got to this point, but somehow it happened and ITV picked up the tab in a sad attempt to revive its flagging ratings.
This film drags on for a long time. It could have been fitted into half an hour with little loss. Frankly, it's boring. You can watch large parts of it quite efficiently at 4x speed. It's still very easy to work out what's going on, since the plot and characterisations are clichéd.
Forget it.
This film drags on for a long time. It could have been fitted into half an hour with little loss. Frankly, it's boring. You can watch large parts of it quite efficiently at 4x speed. It's still very easy to work out what's going on, since the plot and characterisations are clichéd.
Forget it.
Doc Martin Smiles
tobycat-531743 March 2019
The Man Who Lost His Head
noisette-329 August 2007
Warning: Spoilers
The story is set in London and New Zealand.
The main character/hero, Ian Bennet, is a long way from home, initially out of his depth with the locals, but makes good in the end. They are missing a carving of an ancestor's head, the head is in the museum where our hero works. They claim its non-presence in the tribal village is causing them continuous bad luck, from poor fishing to losing ever rugby match in the local league. His job promotion as assistant manager at the museum is on the line as he has to negotiate with the Maori, to whom the head belongs, and persuade them that the carving of the ancestral head is better off in the museum in London. The situation is not helped by his fiancée being his manager's daughter. Whilst he is away she is organising her wedding, something he wants as little to do with as possible. He starts having weird dreams.
In New Zealand he finds his stay extended due to a sudden death of one of the tribe. It is not until the wake is over that he can concentrate the business in hand. On the Maori side, despite their adamance in having the head back, they treat our hero with respect and he in turn "fills in" by replacing the school bus driver who had died and takes some classes at the village school.
Here he discovers that the school teacher was having much the same dreams as he and inevitably develops feelings for her. At the same time, the local policeman, who is trying to woo her by stopping her car, keeps reminding our hero that he is on a limited visa only and tells him how many days he has left.
At the numerous council meetings with the Maori, punctuated by calls back to London on his mobile (the only place he can get a decent reception is up a hill overlooking the village) he tells the Maori that they can only have their head back if they can keep it in a museum style environment. Our hero knows he is stalling, but nonetheless the Maori invest in a large portakabin to serve as the museum. Further niggles about having lighting and humidity and temperature control are met by the Maori investing in a power supply and the necessary equipment. When the work is completed, they even have an opening ceremony in the new museum building until they are called away to the main meeting house as one of their tribe is appearing on TV as a stand up comedian at that very moment.
Whilst everyone was watching the show in the meeting house a strong wind whips up and the ancestral tree, under which the museum has been placed, falls on the museum. The same tree also brings down the overhead electricity wires and in turn the museum goes up in flames. At this stage our hero makes his departure but not before the local teacher finding him out and telling him what she thinks of him.
Back in London he realises he cannot go ahead with the wedding nor can he put up being employed by his future father-in-law. He realises that his wishes are different to those from the museum. At the wedding ceremony, which takes place at the museum, at the moment when the vows are exchanged he states that he cannot marry his betrothed. She and her guests leave in disgust, leaving him on his own with the wedding buffet until one of the museum staff, who had not been invited to the wedding, joins him. He is shown the new display of exhibits that been arranged in his absence, to reflect a Pacific Islands theme. He looks at the head in its display position he notices some replicas on sale. He starts plotting...
As soon as possible our hero returns to New Zealand where he arrives during the night. He has with him the disputed head. The following day the tribal head is placed on its perch in the meeting house. At this point the contractors who had supplied them with the portakabin demanded their money. As the Maori do not have any cash on them what ensues is best described as a ruck using the head instead of a ball. The skirmish stops when the head splits open to reveal a hidden pouch that is full of diamonds. The tribe's bad luck has been reversed.
Back in London they notice that there has been a spate of sales of the replica heads. What they do not realise is that the real head has been substituted with one of the replicas.
I found the film very enjoyable, very much of the "Local Hero" ilk. What makes this film most pleasurable to watch is that there are no unnecessary sex scenes and what little "violence" there is is at an acceptable level and in keeping with the story.
The main character/hero, Ian Bennet, is a long way from home, initially out of his depth with the locals, but makes good in the end. They are missing a carving of an ancestor's head, the head is in the museum where our hero works. They claim its non-presence in the tribal village is causing them continuous bad luck, from poor fishing to losing ever rugby match in the local league. His job promotion as assistant manager at the museum is on the line as he has to negotiate with the Maori, to whom the head belongs, and persuade them that the carving of the ancestral head is better off in the museum in London. The situation is not helped by his fiancée being his manager's daughter. Whilst he is away she is organising her wedding, something he wants as little to do with as possible. He starts having weird dreams.
In New Zealand he finds his stay extended due to a sudden death of one of the tribe. It is not until the wake is over that he can concentrate the business in hand. On the Maori side, despite their adamance in having the head back, they treat our hero with respect and he in turn "fills in" by replacing the school bus driver who had died and takes some classes at the village school.
Here he discovers that the school teacher was having much the same dreams as he and inevitably develops feelings for her. At the same time, the local policeman, who is trying to woo her by stopping her car, keeps reminding our hero that he is on a limited visa only and tells him how many days he has left.
At the numerous council meetings with the Maori, punctuated by calls back to London on his mobile (the only place he can get a decent reception is up a hill overlooking the village) he tells the Maori that they can only have their head back if they can keep it in a museum style environment. Our hero knows he is stalling, but nonetheless the Maori invest in a large portakabin to serve as the museum. Further niggles about having lighting and humidity and temperature control are met by the Maori investing in a power supply and the necessary equipment. When the work is completed, they even have an opening ceremony in the new museum building until they are called away to the main meeting house as one of their tribe is appearing on TV as a stand up comedian at that very moment.
Whilst everyone was watching the show in the meeting house a strong wind whips up and the ancestral tree, under which the museum has been placed, falls on the museum. The same tree also brings down the overhead electricity wires and in turn the museum goes up in flames. At this stage our hero makes his departure but not before the local teacher finding him out and telling him what she thinks of him.
Back in London he realises he cannot go ahead with the wedding nor can he put up being employed by his future father-in-law. He realises that his wishes are different to those from the museum. At the wedding ceremony, which takes place at the museum, at the moment when the vows are exchanged he states that he cannot marry his betrothed. She and her guests leave in disgust, leaving him on his own with the wedding buffet until one of the museum staff, who had not been invited to the wedding, joins him. He is shown the new display of exhibits that been arranged in his absence, to reflect a Pacific Islands theme. He looks at the head in its display position he notices some replicas on sale. He starts plotting...
As soon as possible our hero returns to New Zealand where he arrives during the night. He has with him the disputed head. The following day the tribal head is placed on its perch in the meeting house. At this point the contractors who had supplied them with the portakabin demanded their money. As the Maori do not have any cash on them what ensues is best described as a ruck using the head instead of a ball. The skirmish stops when the head splits open to reveal a hidden pouch that is full of diamonds. The tribe's bad luck has been reversed.
Back in London they notice that there has been a spate of sales of the replica heads. What they do not realise is that the real head has been substituted with one of the replicas.
I found the film very enjoyable, very much of the "Local Hero" ilk. What makes this film most pleasurable to watch is that there are no unnecessary sex scenes and what little "violence" there is is at an acceptable level and in keeping with the story.
Not challenging, nor interesting nor exciting just smugly bland
bob the moo14 October 2007
Ian Bennett works with the British Museum but is finding his passion for the past is being overtaken by the marketing savvy of his younger colleagues. When a Maori carved head is put forward for exhibition it comes to the attention of a small community in the northern part of the country. Led by Zac, they make a claim to repatriate the mask and so Ian is sent over to help sort it all out but under no circumstances let their claim be valid. Ian gets there and is immediately treated with suspicion and dislike but can both Ian and the community find more than they first assume? Well, it's Sunday evening in the UK and its an "ITV drama premier" staring Martin Clunes. Suffice to say I did not have huge expectations for this one and the start did suggest that it would do just what I expected it to do. See now, Ian is a very English man who is repressed in his job and even his engagement is being fully organised for him by his fiancé (who describes herself as an "events manager" more than a bride-to-be). When he is sent to New Zealand to meet with some good natured yet simple people about some artefact, you can just see the "journey of self-discovery thanks to simpler life with natives" storyline being laid out in front of you for miles. And indeed so it is with this eminently predictable and simplistic drama that oozes "Sunday night" from every pore.
It is not that it is lazy so much as smug. To me it knew the basics buttons it had to push and it does it with an air or knowing people will watch it as long as it delivers these; so it goes about it with an air of not really caring that much and not attempting to find anything within the material to challenge or really engage. The script is very middle of the road and Johnson's direction matches this as he cannot help but just lap up the "beauty" of New Zealand and the people while playing it all out with a tinkly score that just irritated me. Clunes is really well cast since he does what is asked of him well. Of course, if he'd had a script that sought to do more than the basics he could have been in trouble, but there was never any danger of that here. Kawana is OK but struggles to have any chemistry with Clunes while the rest of the ethnic cast fit in well enough with characters that skate around stereotypes while also being ones.
Overall then this is an obvious affair but to target audience I'm sure it will be the warm, life-affirming entertainment that it is meant as. To my more angry, bitter soul though, it just came off as smugly bland stuff that just pitched a lazy ball to an audience looking to numb themselves to the end of the weekend with nothing challenging, interesting or exciting and this film fits that bill perfectly.
It is not that it is lazy so much as smug. To me it knew the basics buttons it had to push and it does it with an air or knowing people will watch it as long as it delivers these; so it goes about it with an air of not really caring that much and not attempting to find anything within the material to challenge or really engage. The script is very middle of the road and Johnson's direction matches this as he cannot help but just lap up the "beauty" of New Zealand and the people while playing it all out with a tinkly score that just irritated me. Clunes is really well cast since he does what is asked of him well. Of course, if he'd had a script that sought to do more than the basics he could have been in trouble, but there was never any danger of that here. Kawana is OK but struggles to have any chemistry with Clunes while the rest of the ethnic cast fit in well enough with characters that skate around stereotypes while also being ones.
Overall then this is an obvious affair but to target audience I'm sure it will be the warm, life-affirming entertainment that it is meant as. To my more angry, bitter soul though, it just came off as smugly bland stuff that just pitched a lazy ball to an audience looking to numb themselves to the end of the weekend with nothing challenging, interesting or exciting and this film fits that bill perfectly.
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