E
EmilyAlexandra
Guest
Originally broadcast on TVNZ1, this is now available on Netflix.
It’s a delightful, quirky series that follows the team at Tipene Funerals in Auckland, New Zealand. Francis Tipene is a Catholic. His wife and business partner, Kaiora, was apparently raised as a Mormon, but presumably has become Catholic. It’s never really explained. They seem to be a lovely couple, and this impression was confirmed when I read an interview with Kaiora in which she talked about how supportive Francis had been when she was suffering from postnatal depression. The staff all seem to be really nice people too, and they seem to get on more like an extended family than a business.
As for the series, I found it fascinating. Although they do organise funerals for European New Zealanders, the series mostly (though not exclusively) focuses on the funerals that they organise for Māoris and Pacific islanders such as Samoans, Tongans, Fijians, and Niueans. One of the really interesting things is how they combine Catholic and Protestant Christian funeral rites with indigenous traditions.
I think my lasting memory of the series, however, is the obvious love and respect that Francis and his team have for both the deceased and their families. There’s a beautiful scene in which Francis personally conducts a funeral service for a baby who is buried with no mourners present other than Francis himself. He tells us that the baby’s mother was not well enough to attend the funeral, although we aren’t told why nobody else is there or why he is conducting the service rather than a minister doing it. Although it’s unbelievably sad, there is also something surprisingly joyful about seeing Francis standing in front of the grave with his guitar singing a Māori song.
It may sound like an odd idea for a TV show, but it’s one of the heart-warming things I’ve seen all year.
