The movie Poi E: The Story of Our Song has had cinema audiences on their feet in standing ovations since it opened to special premieres last month and general release last week.

It is currently playing at Embassy 3 Cinemas in Whanganui and is now attracting sell-out audiences.

Cinema assistant manager David Hooper said audiences loved the film. "We've had wonderful audiences and it's a sell-out audience tonight."

Reviews have said:

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NZ Herald: "Never have I sat in a movie theatre and felt more of a sense of pride than when I saw this film.

"They call it a feel-good movie, but it's more than that. People laughed, cried, cheered, and even sang along and, at the end of it all, they shared their own memories of the song as they filed out of the theatre.

"It's the perfect tribute to a song that is ingrained in this country's past, present and future, and generally just a really good time."

And Stuff.co.nz: "Poi E: The Story of Our Song was heralded 'the Kiwi feel-good movie of the year' as it opened the New Zealand International Film Festival, and while in truth we're halfway through the film before it really brings the feels, as soon as Dalvanius and his crew are heading to Auckland to record their single, the story takes off and every detail is fascinating, moving and ultimately enchanting.

"... it provides a wonderful opportunity to reminisce about life in New Zealand in the early 1980s. It's an era that has tended to have been overshadowed by a certain rugby tour, but Poi E, coupled with Geoff Murphy's Utu and the Te Maori exhibition, reoriented our identity as young New Zealanders.

"Poi-E: The Story of Our Song is also a terrific shared experience that will leave you tapping your toes, laughing at all the 80s fashions and culture, and smiling all the way home."