Once Were Warriors was one of the most powerfully affecting films I have endured. It's not a film that I feel I can say I enjoyed or loved, but it is an incredibly powerful work... And while I usually feel a certain sense of disdain for powerful films being sequeled... In this case I relish it as... the characters and the situations cry out to be listened to and watched. So take a look at this news from way over seas...
In 1994, the movie Once Were Warriors was released, and quickly became the highest-grossing NZ film, with significant success overseas, including in America. It gave some an insight into their own lives, and there were many people who left abusive relationships after seeing that film. At the same time, there were many (like myself) who gained an insight into a lifestyle that we put to the back of out minds and forget is there. OWW was a truly eye-opening experience. Not an enjoyable one, but an important one. What SPR did for war, OWW did for poverty and abuse.
Last week, the sequel, "What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted?" was released here, and I would like to attract the attention of everyone to see this film. It is a film that is (arguably) better than the original.
For those of you who have (somehow) forgotten, OWW was set in Auckland, New Zealand. It was about a Maori family, the Heke's. Living off a benefit, the woman, Beth, suffered through an abusive relationship with her husband Jake "the Muss". The elder son, (Nig) was joining a gang, the middle son (Boogie) was starting on a life of crime, and was taken into care. And when tragedy struck the daughter, Grace, Beth found the strength to leave Jake.
The Plot Setup: WBOTBH? is a sequel, taking place a few years later. Where OWW was Beth's story, WBOTBH? is Jake's story. He starts the film as the same old Jake. (The first sight we have of him is at a pub drinking, before assaulting two guys with a chair for looking at him). But then the elder son, Nig, is killed in a gang fight, and Jake starts to reassess his life, and for the first time, try to improve his life, and make it be more than simply an endless wander from drink to drink and fight to fight. Meanwhile, Nig's brother, Sonny, learns from Nig's girlfriend that Nig was set up and killed by the leader of Nig's own gang. So Sonny decides to join the competing gang, to get them to kill the leader that had Nig killed, and thus have revenge.
One of the most memorable parts of OWW was the violence. In WBOTBH? the violence is there, but not as pervasive. It is always the minimum necessary. Instead, we have a much more character driven film. OWW was directed by a first-time director whose experience was mainly with commercials. Skilled with individual sequences and images, not so with developing longer stories. The director of WBOTBH? is Ian Mune, one of NZ's oldest and most respected directors. His experience really shines through, and this is necessary. In this film, Jake takes stock of his life, sees where he is, and tries to improve it. To do this, we need a director who can make this character human, and sympathetic, and Mune is brilliant at this.
Temuera Morrison, as Jake, was better than in OWW. Probably because he was a meatier character here. Not just a monster or villain, but a real person. The rest of the actors were excellent. Most noticeable was Nancy Brunning, as Nig's girlfriend. A stunning performance. Also Rawiri Paratene as Mulla, a bald tattooed gang member, mean and tough, who surprised occasionally with a humanity and compassion. Rena Owen, as Beth, is little more than a three scene cameo, but even in this, she grabs attention, as a woman who is truly moving on in her life.
The film itself - may be a little bit naive, but maybe not. All Jake seems to really need is to make some good friends. But it's convincing in the film, and I think (hopefully) realistic. And there's this one scene, where Jake talks to his girlfriend about learnt behaviour patterns (my old man beat his missus, and that was all I ever knew) where you can really see that Jake sees the pain that he's caused, regrets it, and is desperately trying to understand why he is like he is, so that he can change and improve.
Two things irritated me about the film, though. Firstly, the character of Sonny. Very well acted, written. However, he wasn't in the first film. Thus, the Heke's suddenly acquire a new son, with no explanation of where he came from. This annoys. Also, the casting of Pete Smith as the gang leader Apeman. Smith played one of Jake's drinking mates in the first film, and although he is very well hidden under dreadlocks and scruffy beard, the presence of a familiar face in a different role confused. (Is this a different character, or the same guy fallen in the world)?
Most annoying, however, was the cinema. In Wellington, we have a cinema called the Embassy. It has the largest screen in the Southern Hemisphere, and has the latest digital sound, etc. This cinema is almost universally considered in Wellington to be the best place to see films in Wellington. One of its most vocal supporters is LOTR's Peter Jackson. Ian Mune, Temuera Morrison and Alan Duff (the original writer and producer) all wanted the film to show there. Indeed, it had its premiere screening there. But the distributors, after agreeing to show it there, stated a week before starting that they were not providing the Embassy with a print (outside of the premiere), preferring for it to be shown at the local Hoyts multiplex, where, of course, it will be downgraded in cinema screen size from this Thursday to make room for Star Wars. The reason, the distributors say, is that they wanted to show it in a more "commercial" theatre, thus showing complete disregard and contempt for most of the city who want it at their Embassy. This attitude disgusts me. Someone must tell the distributors: Treat the audiences well, and you will make money; Treat them with this contempt, and you lose money, now and in the future. The loss of this film, on top of its failure to get Star Wars (I believe there is a 1000 name petition doing the rounds at the moment to get that one) is putting at risk the financial viability of the finest cinema in New Zealand. Currently they are advertising for requests, just to keep some money coming in for the next seven weeks. And if we lose the Embassy, movie going will not be the same.
But back to the movie. See "What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted?", if at all possible. If you haven't seen OWW, don't worry. They refer to events from the earlier film, and Jake's transformation would be more powerful if you see the earlier film, but WBOTBH? stands easily on its own. The violence is less, but the characters are more real, and this adds up to a film as powerful and moving, if not more, than OWW. And a better film all round.
KIWI
