The Footstep Man

This is an ambitious feature which succeeds well in incorporating two merging tales into one movie. It is easily followed and engrossing from start to finish. The Footstep Man fills a niche of art house cinema rarely seen in New Zealand features.

The Footstep Man, New Zealand, 1993

Director: Leon Narbey
Production co: John Maynard Productions
Producer: John Maynard
Associate producer: Trevor Haysom
Screenplay: Leon Narbey, Martin Edmond
Cinematographer/camera operator: Allen Guilford
Location sound recordist: Robert (Bob) Allen
Production designer: Kai Hawkins
Composer: Jan Preston
Editor: David Coulson
Costume designer: Barbara Darragh
Foley recordist: Helen Luttrell

With: Steven Grives (Sam), Rosey Jones (Vida), Jennifer Ward-Lealand (Mireille), Michael Hurst (Toulouse-Lautrec), Sarah Smuts- Kennedy (Marcelle)

35mm, 90 minutes, PG–Contains sexual references

Sam Jolley, a film sound technician and footstep artist, is making a professional comeback on a low budget film about two prostitute models, Mireille and Marcelle and their relationship with the painter Henri de Toulous-Lautrec. As he commences work in the sound studio, a conflict develops between Sam and the director Vida over the film’s ending. Sam doubts that Mireille would commit suicide as Vida has shown in her film. Mireille appears to Sam as a ghost, invades his dreams and emerges as an intervening phantom in the studio. She pleads with Sam to convince Vida that the real Mireille would not commit suicide. Sam’s grasp on reality starts to slip, but he breaks through to Vida, who discovers a new ending which allows him to “walk” Mireille – and himself – back to life.

“Beautiful filming brings to life late nineteenth century Paris and the paintings of Toulouse-Lautrec. Each scene begs to be savoured… This is an ambitious feature which succeeds well in incorporating two merging tales into one movie. It is easily followed and engrossing from start to finish. The Footstep Man fills a niche of art house cinema rarely seen in New Zealand features.” — Bronwyn Trudgeon, Capital Times, 2 December 1992

“Whatever you do, don’t go to see The Footstep Man in the company of someone with a large packet of potato chips. As one would expect of a film about film-making, directed by one of the leading lights of the New Zealand film industry, The Footstep Man is a movie in which evocative use of picture and sound – but especially sound – count for a great deal… The transitions between film, and film-within-film, are handled with all the confidence and ease one expects of writer-director (and highly-regarded cinematographer) Leon Narbey, whose Illustrious Energy was one of our best movies yet. His latest effort works best for the glimpses it provides into the fascinating world of film-making – the magic involved in the process of recreating the world; the way film-making, or indeed any art, cannot only parallel, but start to consume one’s normal life; and the dangers of letting the screen images take over from the real… the film has moments of great beauty, plus originality.” — Ian Pryor, The Evening Post, 30 November 1992

“The Footstep Man is an intriguing variation on the Purple Rose of Cairo notion of a film character coming to life… scenes of the Foley artist at work, dubbing not only footsteps but other soundtrack effects, are fascinating… Buffs should enjoy this inside look at the post-production process.” — David Stratton, Variety, 29 June 1992

Screenings: The Footstep Man screened on 29 November 2006 in a season honouring sound man Robert (Bob) Allen 29/11/6 Bob Allen