Bad Blood

A film about something that happened in New Zealand. Stanley Graham farms in the country. He is on bad terms with his neighbours; he believes his stock has been made ill, that he is being harmed deliberately and that everyone is against him. He carries a rifle constantly. The authorities decide to take his guns. The police go to the farm and it turns into a shooting. Graham kills four officers and takes to the hills. What follows is one of the largest manhunts in the country's history: hundreds of men, military support and a twelve-day search. What the film is interested in is not the crime but what led to it. The narrative shows how the man became isolated, how his delusions grew and how nobody intervened. The attitude of the district is part of it too. The events happened in 1941 and were talked about in New Zealand for a long time. Jack Thompson plays Graham and Carol Burns his wife. Mike Newell directed. It is a British and New Zealand co-production, shot in the region where the events took place. A little-known but strong example for anyone who likes drama based on real events and hard rural stories. Before you watch, know this: the film shows violence directly and its register is tense from beginning to end.