October 25, 2025 • 5 mins
Pike River, the film based on the 2010 West Coast mining disaster, has officially been released.
The film tells the story of Sonya Rockhouse and Anna Osborne’s 15-year fight for justice following the deaths of the 29 men impacted.
Flicks.co.nz editor Steve Newall discusses the impact of the film.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudgin
from News Talks EDB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
This is the Bets song is Metal Straight Line as
a lies their latest album. And you may remember that
we had Liz and Jonathan from the band on the
show a few weeks ago ahead of their return to
the US. Well, some very exciting news from them. They've
posted on social media they will be on Jimmy Kimmel
Live this week, so it's set for Tuesday to keep
(00:33):
an eye out for that one. Joining me now to
talk entertainment, Steve Neill, editor at flicks dot co dot
in Ze, Good morning.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Good morning.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
That's exciting for the bedsay it's ruling.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Yeah, And you know, for a minute there, maybe Kimmel
might not have had a TV show.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
I know.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Timing is good though, guid and how gutted you'd be
if your US two kind of coincided with him being
off the air or in the case of New Zealand
band The d four, they played the Late Show with
David Letterman, except Letterman wasn't there and it was Bill
Bloody Cosby and Bill Cosby did a bit and his
bit that was that he'd fallen asleep and that they
(01:09):
were giving him like que cards instead of talking. So
they got introed for their big night by a giant
creep who didn't even say lettend and.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
The default that would be disappointing.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Hey, what's not disappointing is the film Pike River.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
It's pretty good, am.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Yeah, real specih. I think that for people in New
Zealand who have been familiar with the elements of the
story now for fifteen years, there's still a kind of
totality that's missing. This really helps flesh it out and
tells from a human perspective, this wonderful strength and effort
(01:47):
by two really everyday women to seek answers, justice and
accountability for the dead men in their lives and the community.
It's really really powerful.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
So this is the new film by Robert Saki's which
is hitting cinemas this Thursday, starring Melanie Lynsky and Robin Malcolm.
And you could not cast this film better. It is
a masterclass in acting on.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
It, absolutely, and they have got extremely different but very
compatible acting styles and I think that you know, they're
bringing to life these characters really well. Lynsky made it
clear like it's not an impersonation that she's performing. So
it's sort of not this going down the road of
actors trying to be true to life of the people,
but emotionally it's very true to life. I like how
(02:32):
they don't come into contact with one another on screen
for a while into the film, and when they do it,
it's a really awesome scene. But yes, mirroring the real
life campaign, it's a real story of courage, and I
think it highlights a type of New Zealand, like Graymouth,
small town, slightly isolated, working class community that has kind
of slipped from our view in recent years, like it
(02:54):
used to be such a big part of our national identity.
Now it kind of feels really really overlooked. And that's
kind of a theme of this film too, right, that
companies and government don't look after the little guy.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
I'm going to my reveal come out in the Herald
next weekend. But one thing I do say in the
review is that to me, and it's a very clinical
way of looking at a film, but to me, in
this film, decision making was key, and all the decisions
that were made were spot on, from the angle that
they chose to the casting, to the cinematography. Like, I
just felt it was very considered because there was a
(03:26):
huge responsibility in telling this story.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Hugely absolutely, and Saki's has form in this regard. Right
out of the blue, the Atamana film is a masterpiece
of New Zealand cinema. This is really different because what
Pike River doesn't do, and I was really glad about this,
was it doesn't really take us into the mind. It
doesn't recreate a disaster, it doesn't dwell unnecessarily on death as.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Such and details over and over again those.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
Strung totally explosion and so you know, it tells it
from the perspective of the community, but also it means
that we as an audience have the same questions that
the wives, the parents, the friends and family do as well.
Like it leaves this kind of a king chasm at
the center of this film in a way that's really powerful.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
I think it's going to conjure up. It conjured up.
I've seen it twice and I've cried both times. I
think it's going to conjure up a lot of emotions
in people. But the thing that I was quite surprised
about was the shame I felt as a New Zealander
percent that there has been no justice or accountability for
these families one hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
And Robin Malcolm points to the current Fast Track Approvals
Bill as basically put in New Zealand on the track
for another Pike River. So I think that's a really
great time to re examine what led to this, the
corner cutting, the prioritizing profit and convenience over people, and
so it's the timing of this film's release is really
(04:51):
really interesting. Anna and Sonya's fight to the woman featured
in Pike River is not finished. So it's a really
great amplification of their voice, doesn't take over from them,
doesn't put into the sidelines, it's just helping their message
reach more people.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
And the film is out on Thursday. Put it to
the top of your list. Thank you so much, Steve.
For more details on it, your head to flix dot
co dot.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Nz for more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin.
Listen live to News Talks a B from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudgin
from News Talks EDB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
This is the Bets song is Metal Straight Line as
a lies their latest album. And you may remember that
we had Liz and Jonathan from the band on the
show a few weeks ago ahead of their return to
the US. Well, some very exciting news from them. They've
posted on social media they will be on Jimmy Kimmel
Live this week, so it's set for Tuesday to keep
(00:33):
an eye out for that one. Joining me now to
talk entertainment, Steve Neill, editor at flicks dot co dot
in Ze, Good morning.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Good morning.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
That's exciting for the bedsay it's ruling.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Yeah, And you know, for a minute there, maybe Kimmel
might not have had a TV show.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
I know.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Timing is good though, guid and how gutted you'd be
if your US two kind of coincided with him being
off the air or in the case of New Zealand
band The d four, they played the Late Show with
David Letterman, except Letterman wasn't there and it was Bill
Bloody Cosby and Bill Cosby did a bit and his
bit that was that he'd fallen asleep and that they
(01:09):
were giving him like que cards instead of talking. So
they got introed for their big night by a giant
creep who didn't even say lettend and.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
The default that would be disappointing.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Hey, what's not disappointing is the film Pike River.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
It's pretty good, am.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Yeah, real specih. I think that for people in New
Zealand who have been familiar with the elements of the
story now for fifteen years, there's still a kind of
totality that's missing. This really helps flesh it out and
tells from a human perspective, this wonderful strength and effort
(01:47):
by two really everyday women to seek answers, justice and
accountability for the dead men in their lives and the community.
It's really really powerful.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
So this is the new film by Robert Saki's which
is hitting cinemas this Thursday, starring Melanie Lynsky and Robin Malcolm.
And you could not cast this film better. It is
a masterclass in acting on.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
It, absolutely, and they have got extremely different but very
compatible acting styles and I think that you know, they're
bringing to life these characters really well. Lynsky made it
clear like it's not an impersonation that she's performing. So
it's sort of not this going down the road of
actors trying to be true to life of the people,
but emotionally it's very true to life. I like how
(02:32):
they don't come into contact with one another on screen
for a while into the film, and when they do it,
it's a really awesome scene. But yes, mirroring the real
life campaign, it's a real story of courage, and I
think it highlights a type of New Zealand, like Graymouth,
small town, slightly isolated, working class community that has kind
of slipped from our view in recent years, like it
(02:54):
used to be such a big part of our national identity.
Now it kind of feels really really overlooked. And that's
kind of a theme of this film too, right, that
companies and government don't look after the little guy.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
I'm going to my reveal come out in the Herald
next weekend. But one thing I do say in the
review is that to me, and it's a very clinical
way of looking at a film, but to me, in
this film, decision making was key, and all the decisions
that were made were spot on, from the angle that
they chose to the casting, to the cinematography. Like, I
just felt it was very considered because there was a
(03:26):
huge responsibility in telling this story.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Hugely absolutely, and Saki's has form in this regard. Right
out of the blue, the Atamana film is a masterpiece
of New Zealand cinema. This is really different because what
Pike River doesn't do, and I was really glad about this,
was it doesn't really take us into the mind. It
doesn't recreate a disaster, it doesn't dwell unnecessarily on death as.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Such and details over and over again those.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
Strung totally explosion and so you know, it tells it
from the perspective of the community, but also it means
that we as an audience have the same questions that
the wives, the parents, the friends and family do as well.
Like it leaves this kind of a king chasm at
the center of this film in a way that's really powerful.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
I think it's going to conjure up. It conjured up.
I've seen it twice and I've cried both times. I
think it's going to conjure up a lot of emotions
in people. But the thing that I was quite surprised
about was the shame I felt as a New Zealander
percent that there has been no justice or accountability for
these families one hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
And Robin Malcolm points to the current Fast Track Approvals
Bill as basically put in New Zealand on the track
for another Pike River. So I think that's a really
great time to re examine what led to this, the
corner cutting, the prioritizing profit and convenience over people, and
so it's the timing of this film's release is really
(04:51):
really interesting. Anna and Sonya's fight to the woman featured
in Pike River is not finished. So it's a really
great amplification of their voice, doesn't take over from them,
doesn't put into the sidelines, it's just helping their message
reach more people.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
And the film is out on Thursday. Put it to
the top of your list. Thank you so much, Steve.
For more details on it, your head to flix dot
co dot.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Nz for more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin.
Listen live to News Talks a B from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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