Tina

This original and extremely moving story is set three years after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake when 185 people lost their lives. Tina, a teacher originally from Samoa, is traumatised after her daughter is killed in the earthquake. She is eventually persuaded back into employment, this time at an exclusive, and elite conservative private school. This is a major shift from her previous teaching post where she worked with underprivileged children. The movie explores themes of loss, resilience, race and culture. The sports/rugby culture vs the music/choir culture was a little formulaic, especially the typecast bully of a rugby coach. Aside from that small niggle, the film had plenty of laughs, but we also cried. The music was amazing. Here in New Zealand we are blessed with an internationally acclaimed reputation for choral excellence, and this was superbly showcased.