An Insatiable Moon, Myths, and an interview with Mike Riddell.

Paul writes - In many ways, engaging with a good film is an act, or more precisely, an action of self-discovery. Films extend the contexts and circumstances within which we can reflect on our own lives in all their complexity. Magically, as it were, we are transported and find ourselves ‘in’ the unfolding drama being played out before us.

We find ourselves actors in the story, responding to the story and allowing the narrative flow to carry us along on our own journey, one interwoven with the warp and weft of our own lives, our memories, images, symbol and metaphor, scripts we live by, experiences, meaning, thoughts, and emotions. We contemplate its effect on our lives. We ponder its significance for our lives. And, at the same time, open ourselves to the other and to perspectives that invite us to move beyond self-interest.

Somehow, as a consequence of that experience, we shift the way we see the world, ourselves and the other. How we see the world is changed, and as a result we aspire to live, relate, and behave differently.   

While its extremely low budget has inevitably had some affect on the technical aspects of the film The Insatiable Moon, whose screenplay was written by Mike Riddell, is a good example of one of those kinds of movies that treats its audience as grown ups and asks important questions of us. It doesn't just entertain us, although it certainly does do that. It presumes a level of life experience and self-awareness. 

So, given my comments above, how then would I describe The Insatiable Moon? What genre or categories would I use? For me, it works especially well as “myth”, a particular kind of story that, in the words of Karen Armstrong, “gives us new insight into the deeper meaning of life.” “A myth”, she says, “is essentially a guide”; it suggests to us what we must do in order to live life more freely, richly, and fully. It reveals things that the everyday circumstances, pace and routines of our life generally make less accessible. 

Movies provide a means of opening up new possibilities for living by taking us out of the everyday. They help us reflect on the deep questions of meaning and significance. They extend the space that is typically available to us for contemplation and reflection, and for engaging the deeper reaches of our lives. Myths, Armstrong tells us, were “an early form of psychology” helping us to work with our own interiority and the ways that interiority is informed and shaped not only our self understanding - which includes our fears, longings, hopes and desires - but also our interactions with our contexts and the people and circumstances that populate those contexts. 

The Insatiable Moon encourages us too to reflect on larger more obvious questions of community, neighbourhood, the others in our lives, self, loneliness and disconnection, reality versus unreality, sanity and insanity, economics and what makes for happiness and a life deeply lived.

Back in January 2010, I interviewed Mike Riddell, and put to him a question as to how he might see the relationship between “story-telling” and “myth”. You will find his response to this question and others in the PDF appended below.

Meantime, the general release of the film begins tomorrow (7^th October) in New Zealand. Details can be found here. The film is also premiering in the UK with its London screening at Cineworld Haymarket on the 11^th October at 7:30pm. If in or around London and you’re able to get to that screening I’d encourage you to do so. Tickets can be purchased from the cinema.

Steve Taylor’s blog is also carrying his interview with Mike (here), and you’ll find his review of The Insatiable Moon here or here in Touchstone (PDF) - pages 13 and 15.   

Finally, an exhortation from Mike, one which I endorse, “...For those of you who love the film or have heard how good it is, please make sure you spread the word, and if possible get a bunch of friends together and go see it over opening weekend. And remember, telling people about it is the best way of helping this film find its place in the world. This is not a studio film with big resources – it’s a humble but profound story that needs all the support it can get from ordinary people…”

Read Steve’s review, read this story by Peter Calder, Peter Calder's review, and spread the word if you’ve seen the film, and if you haven’t seen it, get along and allow yourself to be drawn into the story, and touched by its magic. 

Download Paul Fromont interviews Mike Riddell on Film and Story - 2010