Two Cars, One Night
Live-action drama, New Zealand, 2004
Director: Taika Waititi
Writer: Taika Waititi
Language: English
Colour: Black and white
Runtime: 13 minutes
Short synopsis
While waiting for their parents, two boys and a girl meet in the car park of a rural pub. What at first seems to be a relationship based on rivalry soon develops into a friendship.
Long synopsis
Romeo and his younger brother, Ed, while away time in a car parked in front of a rural pub. The movement of cars in and out are shown in double time, their lights streaking the night sky. While Ed is reading, nine-year-old Romeo sits in the driver's seat and watches these cars, and people, come and go. Then another car parks beside them, and Polly, a 12-year-old girl, is also left to wait for her parents. She climbs into the front seat of her car, and Romeo, restless and bored, decides to make contact. He starts off playing it very cool, calling her names and teasing her from the safety of the car. Polly gives him as good as she gets, matching each of his comments with a witty rebuttal.
At one point an old man, perhaps a drifter, on a bicycle stops and addresses the children. He seems to scare Polly, and she rolls up her window. Romeo continues to taunt her once the man leaves, and as they sit in their cars, teenagers hang out in the car park, their images sped up like the cars' as more time passes.
Polly looks out of her window and notices that Romeo has left his seat. He is hiding and tries to make her jump by abruptly appearing at her window. From this new position the two engage in slightly more pleasant conversation. Trying very hard to impress with his wit - which the younger Ed undermines with his matter-of-fact denials of his brother's claims - Romeo continues his advances from the car park. They both stop and stare in awe as a tattooed Maori man drives past and, after a short introduction, Romeo is allowed into Polly's car. She shows him her 'diamond' (plastic) ring and the two appear to be developing a bond. But Polly's parents return and she has to bid farewell to her new friend. In a poignant moment, Polly gives Romeo her ring as a lasting memory. They smile at each other affectionately as the car drives off into the night, leaving us with the question, will these two ever meet again?
Background information
About the film
Waititi says that for him Two Cars, One Night depicts one of those few childhood moments of unexpected joy that can be found in the ordinary everyday:
One small moment of beauty, happiness or love lives longer in the memory than a lifetime of sorrow. This brief but enduring encounter is like a flower in a field of coal - small but beautiful. Love, or even human contact, like a seed, searches for soil to grow. Sometimes it takes root, sometimes it doesn't, but it always has the potential to create something wonderful.
Waititi's film is based on personal experiences of spending time in a large Holden outside various pubs, 'waiting for adults to finish their business.' He filmed it in the East Cape setting, in the stronghold of Te Whanau-A-Apanui, where he grew up, shooting outside the local pub. After scouring ten schools to find his cast, Waititi finally found all three children at the same school. He states that it was madness to do a first short film with kids. But things clicked into place - Rangi Ngamoki, his eight-year-old lead, won the award for best performance in a short film at the New Zealand Film Awards.
The film is an Oscar nominee for Best Short Film, 2005 and has won several awards, including:
- 2004 Best Short Film Berlin Film Festival (Panorama);
- 2004 Best Short Film Aspen Shortsfest;
- 2004 Best Short Film AFI Los Angeles.
About the film-maker
Taika Waititi was born in Wellington in 1975, where he still lives. He has been involved in the film industry for several years, initially as an actor, and is now focusing on developing his skills as a writer and director. He is best known in New Zealand as Taika Cohen, an award-winning actor and stand-up comedian; but for his work as a director, painter and photographer, he takes the name Waititi from his Te Whanau-A-Apanui heritage.
Using the name Cohen helps him to avoid getting typecast - enabling him to be seen more as a Maori who acts, rather than a Maori actor. "Yes. That's the problem I've had with everything I've done. I don't ever want to be seen as a Maori artist. I'd rather be an artist who just happens to be Maori - and not like my art must always, and necessarily, reflect being a Maori."
Teaching materials and additional materials
The teaching materials have been developed by practising teachers to provide a springboard for your own work with your students. Feel free to use and adapt them appropriate to your students' needs.
The additional materials, provided by the film-makers, can be used to develop your work with the film and deepen students' understanding of the process of film-making.
Download resources (password required)
