Once Were Warriors (1995)

A Masterpiece!

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

"It's just the way things are," admits Beth Heke after another one of her drunken husband's beatings that has left her with a black eye that would do more harm than good if she was to show up at the court proceedings that will decide if her son Boogie is safe enough to live in the household. The sad reality of Once Were Warriors is that we feel this is a regular occurrence, and that the members of the Heke family have come to expect these incidents and normalise them within their daily routine, even as no wife should ever have to endure such things and no child should ever have to listen to them. The film's opening serves as the beginning of another cycle. Beth is a mother that is still fiercely beautiful, but perhaps has been weathered and aged by the torment she has had to endure. Is there a hint of this in the smile as she sees Jake come home? Rena Owen hides it very well, as if she is hopeful that today is the day things will change. The film also serves as a catalyst point for each of the older Heke children, and the direction in which they are headed. The viewer is made invested with each of Nig, Grace and Boogie's journeys, as Beth desperately tries to ensure that they are not caught up in their father's wrath like she is continually. Grace's arc is the pivotal point which shatters the cycle, but it is sad that it takes her suicide to finally set it in motion. Nig, the eldest son and the one who most physically resembles his hulking, brutish father, joins a gang and takes part in a violent initiation ceremony...in some alternate timeline it seems almost certain that he end up in the same situation as his father does. But he gains the strength and resilience to stand up to him, instead of merely walking away in disgust. Boogie's story-line is the least developed of them all - there are vague aspirations about the Maori culture and a spirited haka which could have unearthed more pathos had this aspect been better explored. The strength of Once Were Warriors, and what elevates its solid script into emotional harrowing events with powerful impact is the performances from the cast. Temuera Morrison is all size and brutish strength; in his flashes of anger and violence he is terrifying, but he is also very good at deceiving us with that laid-back, New Zealander smile, and a voice which shows us glimpses of his love for song and family. Even near the end as he collapses under the weight of everything thrown at him, his innate masculinity is still trying to rear its head, still trying to drown his sorrows and pretend that nothing is wrong. Do his final words betray a fear and awareness of the wrongs he has committed? Morrison makes this possible. Owen excels in both the subtle and the overt; the blood-curdling scream as she discovers her daughter's body hanging from a tree, and in the silent, trembling fury as she fiercely attempts to "hold her tongue" in front of her husband. And what about Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell, who treads almost silently as the beaten-down Grace, who whimpers like a helpless, abused dog as she is raped, and later shivers in the bathtub as she tries to erase physical traces of the violation but cannot scrub it from her mind. In the end there is only a little solace that she found relief from the pain, and a bittersweet feeling that it has resulted in the rest of the family finally moving away from it all.

I first saw OWW at the cinema back in the mid-nineties and it blew me away. I got it on video and remember re-watching it a number of times and still being struck by the power of the story and performances.However, I've just watched it for the first time in over 10 years on DVD and have to say that it doesn't seem quite as strong a film as I used to imagine. My old impression was that it avoided the clichés of the weaker 'ghetto' movies: particularly, those pieces of dialogue that are so clumsily shoehorned in to emphasise the social point being made, they make you wince. Maybe it's unfair to suggest this film can be rather glib or clichéd at times but there are some awkward moments, largely due to wooden acting from the young actors playing Grace and Boogie. I thought that Kerr-Bell was great when I first saw it but I wasn't quite so impressed this last time.It is a gripping and harrowing drama, though, and the leads are fantastic. Morrison's part could have been an exercise in scenery-chewing if not handled right, but it's a very assured performance and he brings such conviction to the role that his character is truly believable. Frightening but compelling, Jake is a horrendous, damaged and utterly selfish person but you feel his charisma and he can turn on the charm when he wants to. Owen's Beth starts the film displaying a weary playfulness as she tries to stay strong for her children while her disgust with Jake's selfish and violent behaviour is reaching the limits of tolerance. When it all spirals out of control, Owen brings a strength and dignity to the role that make Beth such a memorable heroine. Cliff Curtis as slimy Uncle Bully is pretty good, too.

This movie was an epic experience. I have never experienced a movie with such insight to Maori culture in the 90's. Temeura Morrison's performance was spot on and who could forget Rena Owen. The storyline was superb and kept the audience engaged every second of the movie. One drawback is the outcome was rather predictable but still I was engaged. The insight to Maori culture was phenomenal however. Being a person of Poly decent I was drawn into the movie through cultural aspects and i enjoyed every minute of it. Nothing compares in my book. Great job to the director and it will be a classic in my eyes. All in all, great movie experience.

This controversial movie is about a young girl who is trying to make the best of her situation at home, but at the end fails to be happy due to the environment around her. It surprised me when the dad seemed to be a nice guy in the beginning then as soon as he touched alcohol, he turned in a raging bull. It sickened me to see the horrid realities that was happening around this family. The drinking, daily beatings, sexual harassments, all of which happened around the atmosphere of the children. Jake's incontrollable temper leads him to live a life tormenting his family. What i didn't understand was if he was making their lives so horrible why not leave that much sooner? Did the death of Grace have to be the push she needed to know that the environment the children were living in was not safe? Overall this movie moved me and kept me at the edge of my seat especially when sweet Grace turned sour, with all reasons deserved, on her family.