Then he moved on to Hollywood, becoming a successful director of thrillers and adventure movies. In 1982 he directed " Smash Palace," with its strong performance by Bruno Lawrence in the story of a man who grows desperate when he loses custody of his daughter. The biggest box-office hit of its time in New Zealand, it launched Donaldson's career. A medical attendant, who is coping with the loss of his father, is sent after a blind diabetic who escaped from the hospital. The movie resembles " Z" and " The Battle of Algiers" in the way it combines ideology with fiercely-paced action. Donaldson uses precise details of Hitler's takeover of Germany and plugs them into the New Zealand setting, and then he gives us a hero who wants to sit the fight out and is publicized by the government into being a symbol of opposition.Īmerican troops are sent in to help the New Zealanders put down the "rebellion," and the rebels conduct a running guerilla battle against them. Roger Donaldson's "Sleeping Dogs," from New Zealand, is a very well made and acted movie about a time in the near future when New Zealand goes into a state of martial law, and underground groups form to fight against the dictatorship.
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