Once Were Warriors - 10 Year Anniversary

[PackMule]

I noticed that it is now 10 years since this film was made. Thinking about it, I was wondering how many people outside of New Zealand have actually seen Once Were Warriors. I heard it got a fairly wide international release compared to most NZ films. Anyone here seen it?

[Sir Sirius]

I've seen it and quite liked it as well, but the sequel sucked monkey balls.

BTW some of the hype about Once Were Warriors I've seen mentioned that the movie was a big deal and even had some cultural effect in the NZ, is that true or is it just movie hype?

[Sarevok]

I have not seen the movie yet but it sounds interesting. What is the movie about ?

[PackMule]

Yeah it was pretty big. When people first saw the film audiences were coming out pretty shocked. My grandmother cried when she watched it. (She was from a huge Maori family, one of 16 children.) Everyone was aware of the problems, but to have them illustrated thus was a big eye-opener.

The sad fact is the film was hugely accurate in regards to current Maori life, and that little - if anything - has changed since the film was made. Maori have lower life expectancies than Pakeha New Zealanders, lower incomes, higher rates of disease, higher rates of suicide etc. Gangs are still a large "problem".

[PackMule]

I have not seen the movie yet but it sounds interesting. What is the movie about ?

From IMDB:

"Once Were Warriors" tells of one woman's struggle to free herself and her family from the fist of abuse, the grip of oppression, and the slow assassination of self esteem at the hands of an alcoholic husband. This film's story of a Maori (indigenous New Zealanders) underclass family shows the male turning to violence and self destruction to vent frustration with his plight while the female draws strength from her cultural heritage in an attempt to save her children and restore their dignity. Gripping, intense, and powerful, "Once Were Warriors" is a critically acclaimed must see for anyone into serious human drama. (A)

It is disturbingly accurate of modern Maori life.

[Joe Momma]

Ironically (given the board we're discussing it on), I saw it because of AOTC. When it was announced that Temuera Morrison was playing jango Fett, I wanted to see some of his other work.

It must have gotten a fairly wide release in the US because I was able to find it at the local video stores pretty quickly, which is amazing for this town (Spokane WA). To give you an example of the limited culture in terms of movie rentals, only one store out of the fifteen I went to even carried Equilibrium or Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and those aren't exactly obscure films.

Very touching film, though. I don't know anything about New Zealand or the Maori, but it reminded me a great deal of Native American life on the nearby reservations here. The details vary of course, but the overall atmosphere and impact on the culture is very much the same.

-- Joe Momma

[Plekhanov]

My amnesty group showed it earlier this year as part of our Stop Violence Against Women campaign. I thought it was excellent, a powerful story and great acting Temuera Morrison should have gone on to be a star it’s a shame his career seams to have stalled as has practically everybody else’s involved in the film it’s strange how a film like this can just burst onto the scene to be followed up by nothing of note.

On the subject of films where unpleasant things happen women we also showed “Lilya 4-Ever”, which is an absolute masterpiece but also relentlessly bleak and by some distance the most depressing film I’ve ever seen, I highly recommend it.

[Zoink]

I've never seen it.

You should make make a poll.


edit:typo

[Bertie Wooster]

I saw the first half-hour or so on TV but it was very depressing and was one of those movies that stresses you out while you're watching it so I changed the channel. I was 14, so maybe I was too young to appreciate it.

[PackMule]

I thought it was excellent, a powerful story and great acting Temuera Morrison should have gone on to be a star it’s a shame his career seams to have stalled as has practically everybody else’s involved in the film it’s strange how a film like this can just burst onto the scene to be followed up by nothing of note.

Interestingly enough, its not so much that his career has stalled as he is still quite big in NZ, but not much of his other work has recieved such a wide international release.

A similar example is Jay Laga'aia who played Captain Typho in AOTC. He has done a lot of work in NZ, and was recently Mufassa (spelling?) in The Lion King over in Sydney. Yet he is mostly unheard of outside of New Zealand and Australia.

Sadly, quite a lot of NZ work never gets seen overseas.

I should have made it a poll. Meh.