I have a crazy theory: it’s impossible to take a good picture in New Zealand, despite being one of the most picturesque countries on the planet It’s as if the camera suffered from ESS (Electronic Stendhal’s Syndrome). Nevertheless, Jane Campion proved, with THE PIANO, that North Island could be made to serve as an exceptional film set. Eleanor Catton, on the other hand, manages to transport us to the South Island with her novel THE LUMINARIES, now a TV adaptation for HBO. Both, though, come with a colonial bias, albeit tempered with Maori touches.