茶碗蒸

No matter what age you are at, it is always possible to achieve amazing things.

No movie I have seen has EVER brought this message so much to life before.

Today I was fortunate enough to get the chance to book in to see a newly-released Kiwi film called “Hip Hop-eration” at the cinema… and boy was I blown away!! What a stunning, honest and hilarious portrayal of the strength of Kiwi spirit, and a glorious depiction of a heart-warming tale. I cannot express how honoured I felt afterwards for an opportunity to share this journey with the cast, and how proud I am to have grown up in this amazing country that is filled with such joy even in the most unexpected places.  

To be honest, I had pondered over whether to go and see this movie at the cinema or wait for it to come out on DVD and watch it at home for the few weeks since its first showing, simply for the reason that I had watched quite a few movies over the past few weekends. However, when I saw the trailer before the last movie I saw (possibly Gone Girl?) I quickly had my mind set on spending just that few dollars extra and properly supporting the movie. So here I was this afternoon armed with my beloved flat white in one hand and ticket in another, preparing to set off on an adventure with a special group of Kiwi oldies, that honestly already felt somewhat familiar because of the nature of my work!

And before the movie had even started, there was already a scene that made me smile as I was about to enter the cinema room. A woman had taken her mother to see the same film, but because her mother is in a wheel chair the cinema staff had to move one of the seats on the edge of the small cinema to accommodate for that. So after some shuffling and wheeling, there was the old lady happily sitting a few seats away from me with her daughter by her side, and happily licking on a chocolate-dip ice-cream cone. It was truly heartening to see how accommodating the cinema and how content the old lady was – I'd imagine it was not a particularly frequent choice of outing and it really lifted my spirits to even share that small source of excitement. And gosh I have to mention how sorely I have missed the Kiwi (or maybe Nelson in particular??) audience at the cinema!! As well as this mother-daughter pair beside me, it was so easy to feel the enjoyment other people in the theatre with me today were experiencing from the movie. I find that the infectious responses from the surrounding people really do help me relax and immerse myself in the world the movie was portraying. Be it laughter (there was one lady behind me today that had seriously the most hilarious hooting laugh – I think I would have laughed along even if I was watching a horror film hahaha), or gasps of surprise, or little grimaces of disgust, they all add just that last splash of colour to the experience at the pictures!

Basically, Hip Hop-eration is a documentary with a rather simple plot but an extremely inspiring theme that stirs up a lot of reflection and thinking. It portrays the journey of a group of elderlies (oldest being 94!) from the Waiheke Island (near Auckland) to their performance at the world hip-hop dance championships in Las Vegas. The courage, optimism and life burning strong in each member of the dance crew, as well as the incredible determination and good heart of the woman, Billy, who thought up the idea and led the group to achieve this seemingly impossible feat, brought tears to my eyes on numerous occasions and surprising bursts of laughter on others. In particular, to see the particular life stories of the few selected elderly ladies has provided me with a completely new perspective and respect for the older generation, which will no doubt cast a new light for my job too. There were of course too many memorable quotes to keep track of (so much cheeky Kiwi humour XD) , but here were some of my favourites that I remember:

“I've always wanted to die dancing… but not in Las Vegas!”

“You look like a lunatic!” (Billy to an oldie with a head full of hair-sprayed hair)

“When I saw Michael Jackson dancing and grabbing his crutch, I didn't like it at all. But now here I am doing the same thing!” (I can't remember the exact wording but it was something along those lines! XD)

And... definitely that particular letter someone wrote to the group after one of their NZ performances (had one of the rather teary moments there QQ)

What I found amazing as well was that Billy isn't even a professional hip-hop dancer! She learned all she needed to put together a routine for the oldies from just Youtube and a few books. Her passion and dedication really moved me and will no doubt spark many other inspirations after the release of this film. 

Another thing I loved about the crew was their costumes!! It was just such a conflicting image to see silver-haired senior citizens in black ganger hoodies with baggy pants and bling-blings that it was... refreshing! Bloody brilliant even. It gave not only the ladies behind me, but also me endless amusement. Absoloutely loved it.

So even though by now many cinemas in NZ are probably doing the last of the showings for this movie, please please please go and support this fantastic film!!! It may not be as glamorous or dramatic as those from Hollywood, but it does capture the truest side of Kiwi communities and attitudes just as well as the other two wonderful NZ movies I have seen (Kiwi Flyer and Second Hand Wedding), if not better! If you DO need that last little push though, here is a little teaser video the group made for the NZ annual school stage challenge competition last year XD

I do hope it will be your cup of tea!! Because it certainly was mine :)