On screen, Sam Neill 'gave shape to our shadows, dignity to our unease'

On screen, Sam Neill 'gave shape to our shadows, dignity to our unease'

The passing of Sam Neill is a profound loss to Aotearoa New Zealand’s film industry. In the documentary he co-directed, Cinema of Unease (1995), Neill captured the essence of an anxiety that has permeated our films for the past half-century. That unease was not just a theme he observed, but it was the perceived psyche of our national culture that became closely associated with the local film industry. Few actors have done more to shape its ident…