We're Here to Help

In Christchurch, a real life clash unfolds as a small businessman takes on the Inland Revenue Department. The film bypasses a conventional narrative in favor of a documentary style that threads together paperwork, testimony, and recreated scenes to illuminate a one sided battle with power. Dave Henderson stands his ground with a quiet humor that keeps him afloat as pressure mounts. Officials insist on high level compliance, while the man questions the fairness and pace of the process. The result is a Kafkaesque portrait of how red tape and authority can grind down ordinary lives, even as perseverance and wit keep a sense of dignity intact. The tone stays restrained, focusing on the texture of interactions rather than melodrama, and the camera lingers on the awkward distances between offices and shop floors.

Directed by Jonothan Cullinane, this 2007 New Zealand drama draws on a real life dispute to profile a small Christchurch businessman clashing with the Inland Revenue. It uses interviews, archival material, and staged scenes to map the tension.

Box office details are not publicly reported for this limited release; the film appears to have circulated primarily on the festival and TV circuit, rather than delivering a wide international gross, making commercial figures scarce and uneven at best.

Awards: There are no major nominations documented for We're Here to Help. The film is more noted for its documentary style and its portrayal of a real life tax dispute rather than awards recognition. Some viewers praise its patient observation of procedural detail.

Reception & themes: The film presents a measured critique of bureaucratic power by tracing a stubborn entrepreneur who refuses to concede under pressure. It blends factual material with a dry wit, underscoring the friction between rule bound systems and personal livelihoods, and invites reflection on due process.