Tangiwai

Even though I knew the ending, the Tangiwai movie on Sunday Theatre was compelling watching. Linda Burgess reviews it for the Dom Post.

They managed to capture the tragedy of the crash so well, with 151 dead. But most of all the focus on Nerissa Love, the fiancee of cricketer Bob Blair.

The film seemed historically accurate in most respects to me. I did wonder whether the engagement did actually meet such resistance from the parents, or whether that was dramatic licence.

For me the most powerful scene is Blair coming out to bat, surprising even his own team-mate, Bert Sutcliffe. As they showed the entire South African stadium rising to their feet to silently welcome him on, you get some idea of how poignant a moment it must have been at the time.