GIVING IT ALL AWAY

D: Paul Davidson

Documentary Feature Discoveries From Down Under

Sir Roy McKenzie is one of New Zealand’s wealthiest retail heirs and most generous philanthropists. Any kiwi will tell you how great Roy is, and they do, repeatedly, throughout Giving It All Away, a documentary portrait of the man and his work. Surely though, as with most great families, there must be a skeleton in the McKenzie closet? In this case, it seems the answer is not so much. The film’s closing sequence explains that McKenzie has succeeded in a particularly New Zealand fashion, with “quiet determination, minimum fuss, and maximum integrity.” Often, though, fuss is what makes the story. While there’s no doubt that McKenzie is a good man, the time devoted to family vacations and Roy’s passion for skiing raises the question of whether being magnanimous when financially unimpeded is remarkable enough for such a paean. Does triumph require adversity, or altruism sacrifice? That’s up to you.

This article appears in March 25 • 2005.

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