The Hollow Men
New Zealand Listerner
Helene Wong
In The Hollow Men, Alister Barry (Someone Else's Country, In a Land of Plenty, A Civilised Society) continues his steadfast chronicling of the big picture of contemporary New Zealand politics.
Drawing on Nicky Hager's book, he transforms the words of the infamous leaked emails into pictures, tracking in a clear and compelling narrative the arc of Don Brash's quest to become prime minister in 2005.
Blended with his usual meticulous marshalling of archive footage - some of it amusingly telling - and some simple reconstructions, the emails starkly illuminate the thinking and practices of supporters, advisers and strategists to manipulate the voting public.
It would be disingenuous to be shocked by what's revealed. But in an election year where "secret agenda" has suddenly become a buzzword, this is a vital work for wising us up to what lies behind the scenes in our political process.