Great acting and direction, but a hard film to watch.

Red-125

Once Were Warriors (1994) is a movie from New Zealand, directed by Lee Tamahori.

I have no expertise about the race situation in New Zealand. Based on what's shown in the movie, the non-Europeans in New Zealand are in the same marginalized situation as Native Americans in the U.S.

Not only that, but there is a division within the non-European community between those that participate fully in the Maori culture, and those that exhibit only passing reference to that culture.

In the latter group is Jake Heke (Temuera Morrison). The main pastimes of Jake and his friends are drinking beer and fighting. As it happens, Jake excels at fighting, so he seeks out opportunities to hit people. These people include other men in bars, but also his wife.

Rena Owen portrays Beth Heke, who is married to Jake and mother of his five children. Both of the adolescent boys have strayed from the right path. The teenaged daughter, Grace is the child who is loving and caring. (Grace is portrayed by the excellent actor Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell,)

This movie is hard to watch because of the many fight scenes, and the social and personal problems that are everywhere. There's a nod to Maori pride, but I found it too little and too late.

On the other hand, the film was made by a director with a skilled eye and a sure hand. It's a great movie, but not an easy one.

We saw the film on VHS. It's available on DVD and streaming. It worked well on the small screen. Once were Warriors has a high IMDb rating of 7.9. I think it's even better than that.

score 9/10

Red-125 30 August 2019

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw5090023/