And now for something completely different. New Zealand writer and director Harry Sinclair has come up with a modern-day fairy tale about some of the obstacles to love. Lucinda (Danielle Cormack) and Rob (Karl Urban) live together in a run-down shack on a dairy farm in an idyllic New Zealand countryside. He genuinely loves taking care of the cows and is especially tolerant of his agoraphobic dog Nigel who lives under a nice big box. Lucinda and Rob's relaxed and solitary lifestyle also gives them plenty of free time to indulge in sex.
Everything is hunky dory until Lucinda hits a Maori woman with her car. She is astonished to see the old woman get up, brush herself off, and disappear into the woods. Then the couple's magnificent patchwork quilt disappears. She's genuinely upset by this development, but Rob doesn't seem to care. She starts to wonder whether the spark has gone out of their love relationship.
Of course, her friend Drosophila (Willa O'Neill) has plenty of advice on how to bring some spunk back into their lives. Eventually, Lucinda listens to others — including the mysterious Maori woman (Rangi Motu). She pushes all of Rob's buttons and sends him running from their relationship. He gets so mad he loses his voice.
Sinclair has fashioned a sprightly and visually enchanting adult fairy tale that manages to incorporate themes of sexual politics, friendship, and the relationship between the Maori people and farm folk. He has a phantasmagorical imagination that tucks into the romantic storyline Indian saris, golfers, a suitcase filled with baby shoes, and a dangerous corner where cars regularly roll over and pile up side by side like gigantic sculpture pieces. All of these images are carried into our consciousness by a lyrical soundtrack performed by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra.