Movie Review: The Sun Came Out

7 Worlds Collide - Photo / NZ Herald

Rating: 3/5
Verdict: Halfway between a documentary and a concert movie, it embodies the good and the bad of both forms.

Neil Finn and a bunch of his rock star mates come together to make a charity album in this reasonably entertaining film.

In December 2008, Finn decided to follow up his 2001 Seven Worlds Collide project with another album and concert series benefiting Oxfam. So some of the worlds' best musicians (including Johnny Marr, KT Tunstall and members of Radiohead and Wilco, plus notable Kiwis) came down to the New Zealand summer and collaborated on an album.

Halfway between a documentary and a concert movie, The Sun Came Out embodies the good and the bad of both forms. The concert sections include fantastic songs but dilute the tenuous narrative drive of the film. However, you still get a thrill out of hearing famous foreigners talk about how great New Zealand is, and the visual (and spiritual) splendour of Auckland's Piha Beach is put to effective use.

Director: Simon Mark-Brown
Runtime: 90 mins
Out now for a limited engagement at the Academy Cinema

- Herald On Sunday / View