Once Were Warriors
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Movie Reviews of Once Were Warriors
Movie Review: If the man wants some eggs, you cook him some F*****G EGGS!
Summary: 5 Stars
"Once Were Warriors" is a powerful tale of what it is like, to be treated as a stranger on your own land. It gives an intimate look of a people who have not quite shaken off their warrior roots, living in a society that rewards civility.
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Temuera Morrison and Rena Owen play Jake and Beth Heke, Parents of five, trying to make a go, if Jake were a little more responsible toward his familial duties. He also has a "hair-trigger" temper, along with a sizable alcohol problem, and as we all know, they don't go well together.
This is a family in deep crisis. The eldest son Nig, has joined a gang (a sort of throwback to their warrior roots). Their middle son "Boogie", seems unable to stay clear of trouble either, being picked-up by Police in the company of real delinquents. Their eldest daughter Grace, is a shy, quiet, introverted girl, thoughtful and kind to her siblings. For some reason, we don't see much of their two youngest, and only one of them has a couple of lines in the film.
Jake has an unhealthy penchant for partying and drinking (one wonders how he can afford this, as he is on the Dole), inviting his drinking buddies over to his house, with no concern towards his children. Beth is really no better, as she allows this sort of thing, and you get the sense that it has been going on for quite some time. We are witness to Jake giving Beth a "beatdown", for not cooking for one of his buddies, and the aftermath, which shows how little regret Jake has for his actions. It seems that Jake's routine is no more than sleeping, drinking, fighting, partying, beating on his wife, and bullying his children.
When Boogie is remanded to State Custody, Beth wants to visit him, and because of a gambling windfall, Jake comes up with the money to make it possible, but on the appointed day, Jake would rather get drunk, than see his own son. During one of Jake's parties, Grace is raped by one of Jakes "mates", "Uncle Bully" (Clifford Curtis). Finding no solace within her family or friends, she commits suicide.
The cauldron boils over, as Beth is determined to take Grace's body back to her tribal land, to be buried with her people. Jake resents this, but Beth will not be swayed. After the burial, Beth discovers that Grace was raped, after reading Grace's journal/diary, by Uncle Bully. Beth goes to Jake's favorite Bar, and confronts them. It is here, that Jake shows SOME concern, and beats down Bully in a scene that makes one wonder how Clifford Curtis wasn't injured in the filming of it.
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"Once Were Warriors" became a hands-down favorite in New Zealand, out doing other "Blockbuster" films, upon it's initial release. There's no wonder as to why. It is an intimate look at a people at war with themselves, trying to make sense of a world they had no hand in creating.
Very well done film!
Movie Review: Transcendent movie.
Summary: 5 Stars
I have seen this movie over a month ago and have wanted to write a review of it ten minutes into beginning the movie. Alas, I never found the words to perfectly describe the movie's beauty and power. Because really this movie is beyond words and beyond moving pictures.
Once Were Warriors is a movie about a poor Maori family. Jake is unemployed and is also an alcoholic. His wife doesn't work and his children are heading straight for the life of crime and no future. A suicide in the family forces the family to reevaluate their culture, their friends and their complacency. (I am aware that I am being vague, but I have opted to do so, because I believe that the viewer is entitled to know as little about the plot as posssible preceding the viewing. Read another review for more plot).
Before watching this film, I hadn't the slightest clue as to what it was about. The beginning didn't give me too many hints either, but it could have gone in a thousand directions. The first half of the movie shows us the disintegration of the family. One son is sent to a Maori boarding school where he learns about his culture, another is initiated into a Maori street gang with tatoos on their faces just like those worn by traditional Maori warriors, the Mother gets beaten, and the daughter finds no place to go.
About halfway through this movie, I had a dirty t-shirt in my hand and began to wipe the tears from my face with it every few seconds. My roomates were in the room and I was doing everything in my power to hide my emotions, but alas they probably leaked out (quite literally). As an 18 year old male, I seldom cry while watching films. Instead I typically laugh at the emotional scenes ,while everyone else has a tissue to their face. For some reason, Once Were Warriors managed to break down my defences and open the floodgates. It wasn't that the act itself was so horrible, there are many movies with far worse instances of abuse and hopelessness, but somehow the presentation of the suicide transcended any presentation of a death that I have ever seen before.
So far, I have only gotten halfway through the film... but the movie keeps improving from there. The decisions made by Jake's wife and his son Nig reflect true and utter power and conviction. Each scene was acted out to its utter potential, each line (especially the line "once were warriors") reflects true and pure emotion of the characters, actually, I'll call them people because they were nothing short of it.
I could write a thousand essays on this movie, analyzing each action and each subtext, but alas, I will just suggest that everyone see this movie, for it is more than just watching a film is a literal experience in the brutality and reality of the life of a family. Watch it alone with a clear mind and I am sure that any viewer will be able to experience the movies sheer intensity.
Movie Review: Thank you to the cast and Lee Tamahori
Summary: 5 Stars
Anyone who has been affected by the cancer of domestic abuse can relate, and find strength in this tragically beautiful film. Once Were Warriors will come too close to home for many.
The stories center is Beth Heke(Rena Owen) a Moari matriarch, who is struggling to tend to her volatile family. Rena Owen, and especially Temuera Morrison were criminally overlooked in international acclaim for their career defining performances. Temuera Morrison's performance to this day strikes me to the core of my being as a character that I have known, fear, pity, and can relate to on many different levels. The family's situation is volatile for the following reasons.
1. The extreme levels of poverty and unemployment, and the social ills that accompany them. The plight of the Moari people was compared once to the plight of Native Americans living on land reservations here in America, by a friend and resident of New Zealand.
2. Her children Grace(Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell), Nig(Julian arahanga), Boogie(Taungaroa Emile), and two youngest are all succumbing to their environment in dramatically different avenues. Grace is the artistically inclined sensitive protector of her under 5 year old brother and sister. Grace shields the little ones from the horror of life, at the cost of her own passions and talents. Nig is approaching adulthood, and is heavily involved with urban street gangs. Boogie is the teenager who is regularly in trouble with the police, and is looking at institutionalization.
3. Jake Heke(Temuera Morrison) a.k.a Jake the Muss a.k.a. Beths husband and the childrens father. Jake and his "friends" are the end product of the social machine that the children are dangerously close to entering. Jake is regularly unemployed, constantly drinking with his friends, and always ready to answer any situation with rage and or fists. Jakes regular target is Beth.
What this film is truly about(without spoiling the film) is rediscovering the pride that exists within a people. Once Were Warriors transends all ethnic barriers in this respect( but does an outstanding job of shedding light on the little known Moari people). Pride and history is present in all peoples. To find solutions to the present, you have to examine the past. Do not search for villains in this film. Even in the monsterous Jake, one can still see the young boy that lost faith in his people, his family, and himself a long time ago. A brutal, honest, soul ravaging film, this should be required viewing for any family
Movie Review: Unforgettable and powerful drama
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie, impressively, describes the daily reality of a Maori family in New Zealand and puts a stop straight away to any romantic myths one might harbor considering the Maori people. This is perfectly illustrated with the opening shot in which we look at a beautiful landscape with a sun soaked lake, marvelous trees and hills. The camera however moves back somewhat and reality sets in: we were looking at a bill board and as a matter of fact we find ourselves near a highway winding itself through the slums of Auckland, New Zealand.
Its director, Lee Tamahori weaves, in a truly unforgettable way, the torturous existence of the Heke family, a tapestry of which the strains have been dyed in blood, sweat and tears, even though in some spots specks of sunlight can be noticed, but the chain of dramatic events that lead to a tragic unraveling, prove unstoppable.
Tamahori is far from gentle with the audience and the impact of the at times extremely violent scenes at times hit with the force of a sledge hammer. These images show a family trapped in social-economic hopelessness, to which the only escape seems to be through alcohol and/or sexual abuse and fortunately, every once in a while, a beautiful song. As head of the family, Jake, magnificently portrayed by Temuera Morrison, in this sense also takes the lead through physical violence in what he considers maintaining his pride in a world that will not allow him any otherwise. As these attempts fail on a regular basis, he takes out his frustration and subsequent rage on his family, especially his wife, an equally impressive portrayal by Rena Owen, who seems to be the victim but in the end is the only one maintaining her dignity and pride.
When we first meet this family, it's clear it has been suffering under these circumstances for years, causing family ties to be strenuous to say the least, if they haven't already been irreparably damaged as they are between Jake and both his sons Nig, Sonny (who we only meet in the sequel to this movie "What becomes of the broken hearted") and young Mark.
Their mother already has a hard time making ends meet, so the children are mostly left to their own devices.
Dramatic events follow, mostly ensuing from Jake's violent nature and selfishness, until a climactic event becomes the turning point in the movie and the lives of all involved will change definitively and will also be engraved in the viewer's soul.
Movie Review: Tough, Gritty and Emotional. Do Not Miss This Powerful Film!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've just had the opportunity of witnessing this film for the very first time and now understand why it received the great reviews that it has---especially in reference to the performances of Tem Morrison and Rena Owen. Two beautiful and magnetic performers who breathe life and great depth into the troubled world of Jake and Beth Heke. This is one of those rare gems of a movie one usually discovers only through word of mouth as it contrasts greatly from the sort of tripe that Hollywood churns out every summer that's meant to appeal to teenagers and separate them from their hard earned cash working lousy summer jobs.I was amazed in observing that, although the story centers on the cultural loss and disenfranchisement of a Maori family living in the slums of Auckland, New Zealand, anyone can quickly identify with its universal themes of domestic abuse, hoplessness and the consequences of what can happen when a community becomes a victim of ill conceived "social welfare" programs and the vicious circle of dependency that accompanies it.
The opening scene is priceless and unforgettable as director Lee Tamahori stamps an indelible impression of a beautiful, picturesque backdrop of New Zealand that tourists usually see in travel guides--only to have the camera gradually pull away to reveal that the scenic natural beauty is only a billboard set high above a noisy freeway amidst the slums of South Auckland. This is just the beginning as the story proceeds to take you on an emotional rollercoaster ride that doesn't let up on your senses.
The film also features a great supporting cast as well, most notably, from Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell who gives a touching and poignant performance as young Grace Heke, the family's one shining light amidst all the darkness that covers their lives. Her portrayal makes you want to reach out to the screen and ultimately help and save this young soul---that's how affecting her performance was. Why isn't Mamaengaroa an international star by now? Also, the amazing Cliff Curtis who can play so many diverse characters has a short, but crucial role in the movie.
While the very uplifting and highly enjoyable film Whale Rider shows you one aspect of Maori life, Once Were Warriors brings you the unflinching and graphic urban realism of the other. Run, don't walk to your nearest video store and buy this movie. It's that good!