King Tide

Date
2013
Authors
Marbrook, James
Supervisor
Harrison, Jacqueline
O'Sullivan, Aileen
Hughes, David
Item type
Thesis
Degree name
Master of Philosophy
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Auckland University of Technology
Abstract

King Tide is a 114 minute comedy-drama that is an exploration of care and of community. It follows the middle-aged Reade as he returns to New Zealand from the Gold Coast to begin an unofficial investigation into ACC fraud in the Kaipara/Dargaville community. He has left the Gold Coast under a cloud. His relationship with girlfriend Sharon has also drastically soured. Worst of all, he must leave his adored step-daughter Summer as he starts a new life in Dargaville.

His undercover investigation is soon complicated by the possibilities of a new relationship with country school teacher Nadine. Adding to this complexity is the very make-up of the community he finds himself in. News spreads fast here. His cover is blown almost immediately when he follows up on a tip and seeks out the head-injured Clay, a possible recipient of illegal ACC funds. Clay, the local woodchopping hero whose injury has reduced him to a silent state, is also Nadine’s ex. The stumbling block of any investigation in the area is Roy, the enigmatic ACC co-ordinator and charismatic guardian of this town. Coalescing around him are a host of locals; hairdressers, carers, woodchoppers, fishermen and the local antique dealer Merle.

While the spine of the film centres on Reade’s enquiry and investigation into fraud and community connivance, his journey also becomes a prism through which other things are seen; there is the Kaipara environment itself, small town culture and also Reade’s own personal connection to the area (and this is mostly kept hidden). While Aoetoeroa / New Zealand has a reputation for its “cinema of unease” (Botes, 2008), King Tide represents an attempt to circumvent this by embracing weakness, disability and idiosyncracy as the ties that can bind and protect a community.

NOTE: The screenplay is embargoed until 20 August 2019.

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Marbrook , King Tide , Screenplay
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