KITCHEN SINK

 (Alison Maclean, New Zealand, 1989) 14 minutes

KITCHEN SINK

Director: Alison Maclean
Producer: Bridget Ikin
Screenplay: Alison Maclean
Photography: Stuart Drybergh
Editor: David Coulsen
Music: The Headless Chickens
With:
Theresa Healey (The Woman)
Peter Tait (The Man)
Annagreta Christian (Schoolgirl)

Reviews and notes

  • Wellington Film Festival, 1989
  • Cannes Film Festival, 1989 - Competition Section
  • Melbourne Film Festival, 1989 - Certificate of Merit
  • Sydney Film Festival, 1989 - Audience Award for Best Short Film
  • Sitges International Film Festival, Spain, 1989
  • Listener Film & Television Awards, New Zealand, 1989. "Best Short Film"
  • Oporto Internation Film Festival, 1990. "Best Short Film"
  • Golden Gate Awards, San Francisco, 1990, "Special Jury Award"


    A woman pulls an unspeakable glob of muck out of the bowels of her kitchen sink. After a ghastly transformation, the glob proves to be an unexpectedly charming companion. A minefield of metaphors sparks what one reviewer labels "the demise of the female gothic and the birth of the feminist fantastic."




    "The relationship that developed between the woman and the man/monster was reminiscent of myths and fairy tales. Containing almost no dialogue, KITCHEN SINK presented the story as a dreamlike succession of events. Cleverly structured, the film returned again and again to a few motifs - hair, water, eye and razor - reminiscent of early surrealist films such as Un Chien Andalou. These images, reinforced by an eerie soundtrack, had a gut-level impact on audiences, who gasped, laughed, and screamed."
    - Roger Horrocks, Film in Aotearoa New Zealand, Victoria University Press, 1996.




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