Director: Lee Tamahori
Screenplay: Riwia Brown
Starring: Rena Owen, Temuera Morrison, Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell, Julian Arahanga
Year: 1994
Language: English
UK rental release: August 1999
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Multi-climatic. Steeped in Maori history. Some of the most beautiful vistas this planet has to offer. New Zealand's cultural stature has always been prevalent thanks to these facts and many more, but Once Were Warriors delves deeper into the more contemporary Moari communities and the characters inhabiting them.
Rebellious tribes of the youth populate the streets in the less privileged area where our tale begins. There's evident tension in this modern Maori society - blighted by Caucasian settlers and self-resentment through fleeing from their spiritual roots.
We're introduced to the Heke family. The head of the household is Jake "The Muss" (Temuera Morrison, Jango Fett of Star Wars prequel fame) - a charismatic ten tonne truck of strength, both demanding of respect and carefree at the same time. His wife, Beth (Rena Owen), feels the constant strain at home. Contending with her son Boogie facing court charges from a string of petty crimes, her eldest boy, Nig (Julian Arahanga, The Matrix, Fracture) leading a life away from the family that he is slowly feeling estranged from and Jake losing his job, she's struggling with the reality that they can't make ends meet.
Where Boogie may be mixing in the wrong crowds, leading to court cases and pushing him ever nearer to the possibility of welfare housing away from his family, Nig is involved in a gang of a different calibre. His new new found tribe wear the ink of their ancestors with pride, carrying with them a sense of honour over their neighbouring fellow Maoris. Yet, it is Boogie's path that is one of true New Zealand heritage, as the next steps he's forced to take also directs him down the warrior's path in channelling the native Maori within him.
Brimming with hope and mothering tendencies, clearly influenced from her mother, eldest daughter Grace (Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell) still looks to the future with positivity. However, she can only confide fully in her feelings with her homeless best friend, Toot.
With the continued divides brewing within their family, Beth continues the fight to bring honour, decency and stability back to the Heke family...a notion that Jake may find difficult to grasp and with dangerous circumstances.
Based on Alan Duff's novel, Once Were Warriors was produced in just six weeks on a minuscule budget of just $1.2 million. It was screened at both the 1994 Venice Film Festival and the following Montreal Film Festival, receiving plaudits and acclaim at the latter. It was clear that Lee Tamahori in this, his feature length debut, had an eye for great drama, an ability to extract thrilling performances from his cast and overall had the right mind to tell a good story (leading him towards the bigger movies we know him for today, such as Along Came A Spider, Next and The Devil's Double).
How he handles this tale in particular is interesting due to how he creates the environment immediately, throwing away the stereotypical idyllic expectation of the rural country of New Zealand by not shying away from exposing some of the more underground, grittier elements of the nation's persona. The film begins with an edge, one of which it grasps onto until the credits roll.
Also, as the pressures on the Heke family begin to erupt early on, he helps you realise that this isn't the straight forward kitchen-drama the film first presents itself as. Instead, it's a brave insight into volatile relationships with incredible guts and little shame.
The characters in particular are very intriguing. Jake is a real "Jekyll & Hyde", flipping between a loving, boisterous (sometimes singing!) father and a tumultuous behemoth, swelling with violence and hatred...the only constant in his schizophrenic personality is his overbearing righteousness.
Beth is the keystone to the family, seeking a peaceful, happy route for her children. No matter what has overpowered her, or how beaten she feels, she wears a smile and pushes out her inner strength in order to stay supportive to her kids.
The strongest vein throughout the entire tale though falls with Grace, who's trail is intertwined through each of the other characters' misfortunes and misgivings. She is the story's faith and ambition, making her journey all the more heartfelt at its more poignant moments.
These individuals shine not just through their situations, but due to some outstanding performances from the cast. The natural approach taken by all the key performers lends the right amount of realism to the piece, especially from the incredible execution of Beth by Rena Owen. Where Grace's story links the whole tale, Rena Owen's performance is the fundamental backbone to this film, and is the overwhelming heart it truly needs.
If you choose to rent this wonderful New Zealand indie, once you press play on your DVD remote you are opening a window into the heavy responsibility of parenthood, questioning your ability to handle it. It shrewdly illustrates the impact you can have on your children, as your negative actions rub off on them, burdening them with your own faults and fates. However, as courageous as it is to approach such issues it's hard to ignore such a powerful drama, steeped with volcanic performances from its main stars and a brilliant handling of the material by its director.
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