Movie Review – Tenor: My name is Pati

Jean Hudson and her opera loving friend Lizzie attended the Media Screening of Tenor: My name is Pati on Saturday 4 July at Luna Leederville. Here’s Jean’s review.

I love New Zealand movies, and Rebecca Tansley does a great job directing this documentary that follows the extraordinary personal journey of tenor Pene Pati and his brother Amitai, two Samoan brothers who rose from humble beginnings in a single-roomed family home in Samoa, through the churches and community halls of South Auckland, and onto the world’s greatest opera stages.

This crowd-pleasing movie gets off to a slow start, but stick with it – the payoff is heartwarming. And you don’t need to be an opera lover to be moved by it, you’ll find yourself recognising most of the arias performed, and they are delivered with a kind of vocal power that fills a room or a cinema. Tansy blends soaring stage performances with behind the-scenes footage and home archive material to create a wonderful music biography.

Those unfamiliar with the Pati brothers of SOL3 MIO (the popular trio Pene and Amitai formed with their baritone cousin Moses Mackay) may need a little patience in the early stages of the movie.

This is a story about family, faith, cultural pride, and the sheer determination it takes to pursue an unlikely dream. It’s filmed across seven countries and capital cities including Samoa, New Zealand, Germany, Paris, London and New York. The documentary captures milestones like Pene’s debut at the Metropolitan Opera (New York) and his rise as an international opera star.

The audience response at the screening said it all – there were cheers. We really enjoyed this inspiring movie. At the age of 38, Pene Pati is currently one of Opera’s most-watched new stars, he is booked by top houses through to 2030 and is hailed as the new Pavarotti.

I give this movie, 8 out of 10

Screening from July 23 at Luna Leederville and Luna on SX.

*By Jean Hudson.

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