Once Were Warriors

Dir: Lee Tamahori

1994

*****

Based on the bestselling 1990 debut novel by Alan Duff, Lee Tamahori's Once Were Warriors has been voted best New Zealand film of all time and was famous for outselling Jurassic Park there in the early 90s. It's a devastatingly bleak look at what has become of many of the Māori families in modern society following development and economic progression. The land no longer belongs to the Māori people and many feel left behind. While this isn't an attack on the Māori people or New Zealanders in general, it just shows a very real struggle that many indigenous people have around the world. The story centres on one family, led by Jake "the Muss" Heke, a volatile and violent man with unpredictable mood swings. Along with his wife the couple have five children and live in the same dishevelled state house they've lived in for eighteen years. The children, two who are reaching adulthood, have become accustomed to their father's outbursts and late night parties their parents have. After one particularly rowdy evening, where Jake beats his wife Beth to the point she is completely unrecognizable. Due to her disfigured face, she is unable to attend a court appearance her second eldest son has for petty crime and she realizes that life like this can't continue. When her eldest son joins a gang and has his face completely tattooed in the Māori tā moko style and her other son is taken into a young offenders institute and starts learning the ways of old Beth realizes that her family are in the middle of an identity crisis and that she needs to go back to her roots and leave Jake. Jake, who is widely feared, doesn't take it lightly and the families struggle to leave him becomes a living nightmare that has cataclysmic conclusions. It is a brutally real and graphic depiction of domestic violence that shows the truth that many families face. It's also an in-depth look at the distortion of tradition and culture, of poverty and alcoholism. Temuera Morrison is terrifying as Jake "the Muss" Heke in one of the most villainous roles in cinema's history. Rene Owen is also brilliant as his long suffering wife Beth and while the performances from the supporting cast can be a bit amateurish at times, the two leads share some of cinema's most powerful scenes together, making Once Were Warriors an unforgettable experience. The subject matter is handled brilliantly, the crux of the message is grabbed with both hands and the film is only subtle when it has to be. I love it and it remains director Lee Tamahori's best film without a shadow of a doubt and I would suggest that it one of the most influential and important films of the 90s. If in years to come people look back at films that capture a decade, then Once Were Warriors should be towards the top of the list.