The Map "I Mean Crap" Reader

This past weekend I traveled Texas for the Austin Film Festival and Screenwriters’ Conference. As a student in Australian Cinema and a fan of films from New Zealand, I went to the screening of Map Reader and was extremely disappointed. The Map Reader was the worst film at the Austin Film Fest. It was overrun with nothingness and lacked the portrayal of New Zealand I have loved in other films. The only mildly interesting character was an attractive 20-year-old blind woman, played by Bonnie Soper, who laughs incessantly whenever on screen. Michael, the protagonist of the film and the map reader referred to in the title, is a self-proclaimed nerd in love with the school-wide slut, Mary.
I could not wait to leave the theatre and move on to my next film viewing. Like Michael, I had no change of expression during the entire film. I did not care about him as a character and he never developed as a person. The Map Reader was advertised as a coming-of-age story but Michael matures little and simply runs away from his life. At the end of the film, the audience is left hanging. We never learn where he has gone off to and the film finishes with a pointless scene where the young Michael flies a kite. I could have spent those last few moments of the film exiting the theatre. Overall the water and fries I ate at the Alamo Ritz was more interesting and satisfying than this piece of crap film.