Once Were Warriors on DVD (1995)

Average rating: 77%

from 1,050 members

6 Critics reviews
41 Members reviews

Starring:	Rena Owen, Temuera Morrison, Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell
Director:	Lee Tamahori
Studio:	ENTERTAINMENT IN VIDEO
Run time:	98 mins
Certificate:
User collections:	Choice New Zealand Films, If I watch these films anymore..my husband will go nuts!!, Top Must See, a few personal favourites, Judas' British, American and Asian Thug Most Wanted, Great Films for evolved people, Films that rock it for me :), Films I urge everyone to see at least once...
Genres:	Drama
Languages:	English
Released:	16/08/1999

Brief synopsis of Once Were Warriors

ONCE WERE WARRIORS is a powerful film that focuses on a New Zealand family descended from Maori tribesmen. For Jake (Temuera Morrison) and Beth Heke (Rena Owen), life in their suburban ghetto is going from bad to worse. Jake's just lost his job, their delinquent teenage son Boogie has to appear in court, and they can't make ends meet with five growing kids. Late that night, they host another one of Jake's raunchy drinking parties while the children lie awake in their bedroom. When their oldest son asks for money, which Beth discovers Jake has gambled away, it ignites a vicious argument that Jake solves by giving Beth one of his brutal beatings. The tide of violence continues to ebb and flow in the Heke household until a terrible tragedy makes them confront the dysfunctional state of their family.

Related

Made In Britain

Julien Donkey Boy

Inspector Morse: The Infernal Serpent

our price: £4.93

Eye For An Eye

our price: £4.43

Last Days

our price: £4.93

Critics Reviews

Radio Times

Told in a bold, unflinching manner, director Lee Tamahori's award-winning drama grips and fascinates as it lifts the lid on ghetto Maori life. Rena Owen is drainingly moving as the put-upon housewife, pushed physically and mentally to the brink while trying to hold her family together, bearing the brunt of her unemployed husband's drink-fuelled frustrations. Tamahori's bleak film is raw, brutal cinema with a unique voice, showing a people adrift from their cultural roots and trapped in an urban nightmare of cheap housing and gangland controlled precincts. One of the most pertinent and important works to emerge from Down Under in years.

Rating of 3
stars out of 4 Halliwell's Film Guide

A powerfully emotional and often disturbing drama of the dispossessed, making its points with sledgehammer force, but also giving a place to the tenderness and pride that exist within a family forced to the edges of society.

New York Times

"...Brutally effective....This film's stars are frighteningly credible....[Ms. Owen] radiates a physical vitality..."

See all 6 Critics Reviews »

Members Reviews

Reviews Voted Most Helpful

Probably not the New Zealand Tourist Boards favorite film

Waterboy [Highly rated reviewer] , 18/11/2007

This is a powerful and violent film about the city dwelling Maori underclass that few people knew about outside New Zealand before this films release. The performance of the lead actress is outstanding and she is well supported by the rest of the cast. Brace yourself for a tragic, violent story about a family in meltdown and a small ray of possible sunshine at the end; but stick with this masterpiece to the end, this is a truely great film.

10 out of 14 people found this review helpful

Report offending content.

Read all reviews

Bleak

Neil1963 from Oxon , 01/07/2004

This film is very very bleak and brutal - it shows a side of New Zealand that I have never seen before, a world away from the tranquil scenic shots you normally associate with this country.

Violence and despair are unremitting throughout the tale of domestic disaster caused mainly by the subhuman father of the family, Jake, who is more concerned in drinking with his mates than looking after his family, which is falling apart.

I feel that it could have been an even stronger film if there had been at least a short respite from the hopelessness to contrast with the family's desperation but as it is Once Were Warriors is very powerful but ultimately very depressing.

5 out of 6 people found this review helpful

Report offending content.

Read all reviews