Girl Happy (1965)

In 2010, 29 miners were killed in an explosion at Pike River mine in New Zealand. Their family members fought for accountability and to be reunited with the bodies of their loved ones for the next decade. In Pike River, a film coming to theaters in the U.S. on January 30th, the miners and the women who loved them are given a touching and heartwrenching tribute.

“Pike failed him. The law failed him. The government failed him.”

A monologue delivered by Robyn Malcolm, who plays Sonya Rockhouse, perfectly sums up the ache which I’m sure the families still feel to this day. Although I wasn’t familiar with Pike River prior to watching, the film itself and my independent research has made me deeply aware of how negligence on the part of the mine and the government agencies caused not only death, but unnecessary harm to those who love the deceased.

As someone from the United States, my knowledge of New Zealand politics is limited at best. The film did celebrate the Labour Party and specifically Jacinda Ardern. I have seen mixed feelings about this decision from those who are more educated on the topic, but I can appreciate the fact that for Sonya Rockhouse and Anna Osborne, the sympathy of the Labour party was in stark contrast to the mistreatment they suffered at the hands of Sir John Key and the National party.