ONCE WERE WARRIORS Movie Review

This is the violent and deeply poignant story of a struggling Maori family, the Hekes, who have left their rural New Zealand roots to live in the city. Feisty mother Beth (Rena Owen) is struggling with five children and her abusive, volatile husband Jake (Temuera Morrison) who's always out of work, always drunk, always brawling, and always blaming everybody but himself for his sorry state. Once Were Warriors is a horrifying picture, but never gratuitously so. Jake could be a poster child for uncontrolled, alcoholic, addictive behavior as he brings his battling “mates” home to destroy what little domestic life he and his family have left. Ultimately, his wife understands what she has to do. Owen's remarkable portrayal won her the Best Actress Prize at the Montreal World Film Festival, but all the performances are superb. This was director Lee Tamahori's first film; his recent Alec Baldwin/Anthony Hopkins survivalist bear hunt picture, The Edge, marked a step up in pay and a step down in importance.

NEXT STOP … Broken English, Ladybird, Ladybird, Distant Voices, Still Lives

1994 (R) 102m/C NZ Rena Owen, Temuera Morrison, Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell, Julian (Sonny) Arahanga, Taungaroa Emile, Rachael Morris, Joseph Kairau, Pete Smith; D: Lee Tamahori; W: Riwia Brown; C: Stuart Dryburgh; M: Murray Grindlay, Murray McNabb. Australian Film Institute ‘95: Best Foreign Film; Montreal World Film Festival ‘94: Best Actress (Owen), Best Film. VHS, LV, Closed Caption NLC