James & Isey

aka: James and Isey
New Zealand 2021, 91 minutes
Dir. Florian Habicht
Rating: [M] offensive language
Genres: Documentary / Sociology

“It's a rare film that can be this free of sentiment and saccharine while still positively rolling in romanticism, nostalgia and pure, honestly given aroha. James & Isey is an unclassifiable triumph of heart and instinct over the odds.”~Graeme Tuckett, Stuff.co.nz

Aroview: Kiwi director Florian Habicht's deeply moving tribute to Northland life and aroha in the form of a documentary portrait of Isey and her son James, who live on a small farm in Kawakawa and are descendants of the Ngati Manu sub tribe of Ngapuhi.

Filmed over one week leading up to Isey's 100th birthday, Habicht presents two immensely lovable characters, one a bourbon drinking warrior queen with a face illuminated by laugh lines, and one a devoted caregiver with a profound spiritual worldview, which interweaves Maori and Native American beliefs into a unique understanding of tohunga.

A graceful film full of humour and insight that will charm the socks off anyone with a heartbeat.