This Way of Life (2010)

Sick Product of a Sick System

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

I've waited a while to see This Way of Life, I'd lived in NZ for a while, before returning to the UK. It most definitely transported me back to a place so often idolised for its dynamic landscapes and quirky folk. I even met Barbara Sumner-Burstyn at The Film Archive in Wellington when she hosted a Writer's Room.But, for me, this documentary felt like the eternal trailer. It lacked pace, or movement, and I felt it was very one-sided. The cinematography was indubitably beautiful; the characters were unforgivingly lovable; and the setting predictably enchanting. The story was one infused with tragedy, resilience and overbearing pride; but spliced with stubborn bitterness and noble horses.As a film, I felt, it lacked impact, structure and punch, so I awarded it a well-rounded six.

The iconic image of a ruggedly handsome man atop an equally impressive steed ~ rearing up between dappled grassland and dazzling sky, mane and tail lashing in all directions ~ tells us some essentials about THIS WAY OF LIFE, the sterling documentary it advertises.It tells us, in a glance, that the man in question is capable and seasoned, outdoorsy and independent, the sort of man who can probably fish and hunt, read the land and weather, wrangle wild horses and build their corrals ~ living as best he can outside any deadening constraints of Western civilization. And all of this proves to be true.What this image doesn't disclose is that what we actually have here is an inverted and updated Trojan Horse, in the best possible sense of the term. Instead of being the predictable tale of a Lone Ranger, THIS WAY OF LIFE reveals that the rider, Peter Karena of Aoetoara/New Zealand, is a man for whom marriage and family are of paramount value. The question this story poses is ~ can he secure his beautiful, growing, and beloved brood a home, with his integrity intact? Opposition to this dream resides closer than even the usual social, political and economic demands that erode the likelihood of obtaining freedom in this day and age. For Peter is the chosen enemy of a stepfather who still operates out of the worst possible facets of the old Patriarchal paradigm: the will to be divisive, destructive and, above all, domineering.Ultimately this apparently modest slice of life, via deft story-telling, provides an arc of development which applies not only to one family in the back of beyond, but engages entire cultural gears: our shared longing to deconstruct an old model which is abusive of far too many and to supplant it with one of our own making. As our rigged economic system and oppression by corporatocracy collapses, THIS WAY OF LIFE becomes an option that feels vital and venerable rather than quaint or exotic.I want to wrap up this review with highest praise: by the time the credits rolled, I was left feeling, in a quiet yet indelible way, that these beautiful people are necessary to our way of life, as they display our participation in nature, and demonstrate that the personal is universal. May their message radiate worldwide.

This is the most beautiful documentary I have watched this year, or indeed ever watched. It shows the true love that holds together an extraordinary family. The Karenas show that money doesn't equal happiness, that through adversity you can gain strength, and that even in the face of that adversity, with love and compassion, you can pull through. I think that Peter, speaking very candidly about his life, his perspective on existence (such as the concept of land ownership), and about what his family means to him is a wonderful example of what it means to be a real man in this country. He's obviously a hard man, but shows he has wisdom, restraint and compassion, and above all a reverence for the world. I have, since first seeing this documentary bought a copy for my own viewing, and have recommended it highly to everyone.

How life can be led if you don't conform to todays norms, and instead embrace a way of life far closer to the real world.Peter and Colleens loving and wise relationship with their children (and many horses), is counterpoised with the very difficult relationship Peter has with his father. They survive distressing trials and tribulations, stay true to their philosophy and raise an amazingly confident, fluent and self reliant tribe of children.Its a visually beautiful and thought provoking film on a number of levels - could I be brave enough to live like that, and when the real world inevitably catches up with the Karena children what will happen then?