Drawing from his own experience growing up in Christchurch in the 1970s and ’80s, Jonathan Ogilvie’s warmly engaging film delves beneath the city’s prim and proper exterior to portray its nascent post-punk underground. A scene which would later birth the record label Flying Nun, that would go on take South Island music to the world.

Ed Oxenbould stars as teenaged Angus, who has been left alone for a fortnight with his old-school civil engineer father Gordon (Márton Csókás). It’s 1979 and long hair is out, spiky hair is in. While visiting the local record shop Angus’s mind and the film literally expands on first listening to Public Image Limited, Johnny Rotten’s post-Sex Pistols band.

Oxenbould provides just the right dose of wide-eyed naïveté and schoolboy enthusiasm in the role of Angus and the film makes pointed use of an era-appropriate soundtrack including choice cuts from the fabled AK79 punk compilation and several new tracks from composer Shayne Carter (frontman of iconic Flying Nun band Straitjacket Fits)

98 mins