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DVD Once Were Warriors
New Zealand filmmaker Lee Tamahori (The Edge) directed this brutal but powerful story drawn from the culture of poverty and alienation enveloping contemporary Maori life. Rena Owen plays the beleaguered mother of two boys--one of whom is already in prison while the other contemplates membership in a gang--and a daughter whose potential is being smothered at home. Temuera Morrison gives an outstanding and sometimes shocking performance as the violent head of the household, more adept at keeping up his social stature within his community of friends than holding down a job. The film pulls no punches, literally and figuratively, but despite the rough going, Tamahori gives us a rare and important insight into a disenfranchised people digging down deep to find their pride. --Tom Keogh
You just feel for this family. I guess it hit closer to home for me because this family did in some ways remind me of mine, especially Jake the Muss who has to be one of my all time favorite movie characters. He comes off as so ferocious and vicious at times, yet can have some endearing moments although the real him always comes out. Rena Owen is ALL WOMAN in this movie as she struggles mightily to keep her family together in the modern world after abondoning her heritage.
If you haven't seen it, you must. It's that good.
**Favorite Scenes: any part with the haka in it and Jake finding out the truth
Sensational movie from New Zealand!
"Jake the muss" is the main character in this one.A violent drunk who has a fuse shorter than 10 centimetres he causes trouble first then thinks later.Don`t rent this movie buy,its that awesome.
Violence and Hope
I had seen "Once Were Warriors" after the publicity and hype here, and for that reason, I was fairly well prepared for the movie itself. In some ways, despite this, the movie did present surprising elements and messages that were not so well publicised in the media.
Focusing on a troubled family of urban Maori, the story revolves around the Heke family, with the mother battling to keep things together in the face of the violence and rage of her husband, Jake "The Muss" Heke.
With an emphasis on heritage and who people really are, the movie goes beyond the shocking violence, and gives hope of something better. It is a surprisingly positive movie, that presents tragedy as a catalyst for positive change. It is in the midst of loss and misfortune that people find themselves and are moved to something better. Of course, Jake provides the counter-point of attempting to deal with it in his own violent way, as he has done throughout the movie.
With supreme performances from Temuera Morrison, Rena Owen, Cliff Curtis and many others, Lee Tamahori has directed a masterpiece of a movie. Violent, brutal, and honest, the movie also gives a profound message of hope and self-knowledge. Take the tissues, but also be prepared to be spoken to at a deep level. "Once Were Warriors" is simply one of the best movies to come out of New Zealand.
One of the most charming and critically acclaimed films of 2003, the New Zealand hit Whale Rider effectively combines Maori tribal tradition with the timely "girl power" of a vibrant new millennium. Despite the discouragement of her gruff and disapproving grandfather (Rawiri Paratene), who nearly disowns her because she is female and therefore traditionally disqualified from tribal leadership, 12-year-old Pai (Keisha Castle-Hughes) is convinced that she is a tribal leader, and sets about to prove it. Rather than inflate this story (from a novel by Witi Ihimaera) with artificial sentiment, writer-director Niki Caro develops very real and turbulent family relationships, intimate and yet torn by a collision between stubborn tradition and changing attitudes. The mythic whale... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Niki Caro DVD Release Date: Released the 28 October 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Based on a true story, Rabbit-Proof Fence moves with dignified grace from its joyful opening scenes to a conclusion that's moving beyond words. The title refers to a 1,500-mile fence separating outback desert from the farmlands of Western Australia. It is here, in 1931, that three aboriginal girls are separated from their mothers and transported to a distant training school, where they are prepared for assimilation into white society by a racist government policy. Gracie, Daisy, and Molly belong to Australia's "stolen generations," and this riveting film (based on the book by Molly's daughter, Doris Pilkington Garimara) follows their escape and tenacious journey homeward, while a stubborn policy enforcer (Kenneth Branagh) demands their recapture. Director Phillip Noyce chronicles... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Everlyn Sampi - Tianna Sansbury - Kenneth Branagh Director(s): Phillip Noyce DVD Release Date: Released the 15 April 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Based on a couple of short stories (from The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven) by Sherman Alexie, Smoke Signals is a lean and assured feature that speaks well of its lengthy, rich evolution, including a development stint at Sundance. The first feature made by a Native American crew and creative team, the film concerns two young Idaho men with radically different memories of one Arnold Joseph (Gary Farmer), a former resident of the reservation who split years before and has just died in Phoenix. Arnold's strapping, popular son, Victor (Adam Beach), remembers him best as an alcoholic, occasionally abusive father who drove off one day and never came back. By contrast, Thomas Builds-the-Fire (Evan Adams), whom Arnold had saved from certain death years earlier, has... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Adam Beach - Evan Adams Director(s): Chris Eyre DVD Release Date: Released the 02 October 2001 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Gary Farmer (Smoke Signals) is the standout in a fine film by Jonathan Wacks about an oversized Cheyenne man-child (Farmer) who decides to go on a spiritual quest, while simultaneously giving a ride to his lifelong Indian activist friend (A. Martinez). The film takes us through some pretty desolate Indian communities, but while Wacks makes a point of revealing harsher aspects of life on some reservations, the emphasis is on Farmer's delightful performance. A bonus: among the cast are Graham Greene (Dances with Wolves) and Wes Studi (The Last of the Mohicans), neither of whom were well-known in 1989, the year this film was released. --Tom KeoghMore Info about this DVD Actor(s): A Martinez - Gary Farmer Director(s): Jonathan Wacks DVD Release Date: Released the 23 November 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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The Fast Runner turns the frozen landscape of northern Canada into the stage for an adventure as sweeping as The Odyssey or Beowulf. Adapted from an Inuit legend, The Fast Runner centers on Atanarjuat, a charismatic young hunter struggling for the affections of Atuat, who has already been promised to Oki, the son of the camp's leader. When Atuat chooses Atanarjuat, Oki seems to accept it, but later events turn his anger and hatred into a murderous spite. This story, as passionate and primal as any film noir, is framed by the daily lives of the Inuit--a struggle for survival that is both simple and vivid, foreign yet immediately understandable. No one in the cast is a professional actor, but the performances are direct and compelling, telling a story that is... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Natar Ungalaaq - Sylvia Ivalu Director(s): Zacharias Kunuk DVD Release Date: Released the 11 February 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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