Rather an unpleasant and tedious watch with mundane storyline and only workmanlike direction. Bruno Lawrence carries the film as the distinctly uncharismatic scrapyard owner although his scenes with the excellent young girl Greer Robson are some of the best elements.
Roger Donaldson wrote, produced, and directed this combination of character study, melodrama, and thriller. Kiwi icon Bruno Lawrence stars as Al Shaw, a former pro racer who now operates a rural junkyard (the "Smash Palace" of the title).
Bruno Lawrence owns and operates the titular auto wrecking yard, and races cars when he gets the chance. He took over the business when his father died, planning on selling it right away, but has grown to love it and won't sell.
I'd heard of this film back when it was first released, hailed as one of the new breed of films being released from the Australian/New Zealand part of the world. Along with several others that were making a splash at the time critics loved the movie and couldn't say enough good about it.
This is one of those intuitive, risky movies that a viewer will either take to his heart, or reject completely. It is almost impossible to explain to friends how compelling it is--describing the plot, which involves psychological domestic violence and the kidnapping of a child, certainly doesn't make it seem appealing.
I saw this movie while on vacation in New Zealand and loved it. Lawrence gives a terrific portrayal of a man whose life is thrown into chaos when his obsession with building a race car and paying more attention to his new car junkyard leads his wife to an affair with his best friend.
Married couple in New Zealand with a young child separate, but he can't let go. Art-house stunner delivers some amazingly raw and complicated emotions in its early stages, but then gets confused and falls off.
